Valencia CF is the first soccer club in La Liga to sign its own eSports team. The club believes that the eSports team will give more visibility to the overall organization. With other eSports leagues making millions across Europe, and with more growth expected, it is no surprise that Valencia is getting a head start in the gaming world.
The club signed four players that will compete for the first time under Valencia at Gamergy, Spain’s biggest online gaming event. Valencia management is excited for the start of the team. “For us it is a challenge and big responsibility to defend the Valencia CF colors in the virtual gaming competition,” said Sergio Benet, the project’s manager.
CLUB | El Valencia CF crea su equipo de eSports: el @VCFeSports #VCFeSports https://t.co/1Gfcd5lEvq pic.twitter.com/M0GJO2UQ5O
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf) June 7, 2016
Although there are no reports on what else Valencia will have their team compete in, there are suggestions of forming a team in Rocket League, which is a soccer game played with high-powered cars and having them play Hearthstone a game based on Warcraft.
The introduction of an eSports team for Valencia could mean a lot in both revenue and fans. As Valencia is one of the earlier clubs to be entering into this realm more will surely follow and with more teams means more competition and therefore revenue possibilities in terms reaching younger fans and gathering sponsorship friendly demographics.
As mentioned before, other teams across Europe are adopting eSports teams. All of the Euroleague Basketball teams are looking to sign with eSport teams to create an eSports league that will parallel the Euroleague. Another popular team involved in eSports is English Premier League club West Ham United, who signed Sean Allen, a professional FIFA player last month.