The Celtic eSports League officially launched Monday as gamers from around the United Kingdom and Ireland will be matched with professional soccer clubs.
Eight eSports teams in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland will compete for the Community Cup this week, with full league competition slated to begin in early 2017. The inaugural league will be sponsored by Sportego, an Ireland-based global fantasy sports development platform that helps soccer clubs gamify their match day.
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“eSports is growing at a phenomenal rate worldwide and the clubs’ involvement demonstrates their proactive and innovative approach to growing the brand of their clubs online,” Geoff Wilson of Celtic eSports League said in a statement. “The Sportego Celtic eSports League is an exciting new concept, and we hope to attract new fans for not only the league but all the clubs involved.”
The soccer organizations involved in the Sportego Community Cup include Crusaders FC, Dundalk FC, Hamilton Academical FC, Hibernian FC, Linfield FC, Shamrock Rovers FC, TNS FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.
“We are delighted to take the opportunity of working with the guys at Celtic eSports League in our first venture into the area of eSports,” Shamrock Rovers FC marketing officer Mark Lynch said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how the competition goes and are confident that it will be a big success for all participants. This will further extend our digital footprint and can only grow awareness of and interest in our club.”
All matches will be live streamed on Sportego’s Twitch channel starting tonight.