Top Italian football club AS Roma and leading eSports organization Fnatic announced a partnership around FIFA, it was announced on Tuesday in Italy.
According to AS Roma President Jim Pallotta, the joint venture will enable the football organization “to start building a strong legacy in eSports and engage our fans in exciting new ways.”
“As one of the most digitally-connected sports teams in the world, we’ve strived to create an organisation at Roma that engages our fans through all digital channels,” Pallotta said in a statement. “With the tremendous growth of eSports and continued attention placed on games like FIFA, we’ve partnered with Fnatic, the world’s leading eSports organisation, to launch our eSports team.”
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Added Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of Fnatic in a statement: “FIFA’s entry into the world of esports has received the attention of many organisations both from established football clubs and esports organisations. Fnatic is excited to enter this rising esports game with AS Roma, one of the most iconic clubs in football with a long and successful history.
“We’re thrilled and honoured to work alongside AS Roma by helping the club take its first steps into a new, digital chapter in its rich and storied legacy. Whether on the grass or in-game, we share the same ambition: be among the top in the world.”
Benoit Pagotto, Head of Marketing at London-based Fnatic, said that all three eSports players would wear AS Roma jerseys during competition with a Fnatic logo on them. As of the time of the announcement, details were still being finalized on what upcoming FIFA tournaments the team would be participate in along with exactly what league, too.
However, Pagotto did say competition would begin soon after the announcement against the likes of Manchester City, Ajax, Valencia, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Galatasaray and Paris Saint-Germain, which recently entered eSports last October.
The AS Roma FIFA team powered by Fnatic, as it will be formerly called, includes players Sam “Poacher” Carmody, Aman “Aman” Seddiqi, and Nicoló “Insa” Mirra in addition to Manager Colin Johnson. Fnatic will mange the entire team on a day-to-day basis.
“Roma is a huge team to represent,” Aman said in a statement. “It makes me proud to wear the shirt, and it’s an honour to be the first American to be signed by a European club. It’s incredibly humbling, and I can’t wait to bring more trophies to Roma. I’m here to win.”