September 21 – The football eSports market is opening up in Germany with Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs to get the opportunity to compete against each other via a DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) competition for a German championship title.

There are already 11 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs with e-athletes signed up to play for them on a competitive level. The new eSports competition will rapidly expand that number.

The DFL already sanctions the TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga (VBL), the first professional football league eSports competition launched in 2012. Now more than 150,000 gamers play in the league which is still the only professional sports league which is directly integrated into the EA SPORTS FIFA game.

The DFL said that it would work EA Sports with the creation of the new competition which will be played as a football simulation game only.

DFL CEO Christian Seifert said: “eSport is highly popular among the younger generations, it has almost become part of everyday culture – in Germany and far beyond. With this as a background it is a right decision that clubs and the DFL further expand their engagement in this area. It is a matter of shaping the future and responding to changes in media consumption and leisure time in the digital age.”

The market for eSports competition linked to governing bodies is hotting up. Last week UEFA issued a request for proposals for the organisation and promotion of a new Euro2020 eSports competition.

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