One of the bigger clubs outside the Premier League, QPR, have announced that they have entered esports.
The London club has plans to field an 11 strong FIFA team and has partnered with Virtual Pro Gaming to do so. The press release on the club’s site, which you can read here, notes that there are four positions waiting to be filled, with the roles of keeper, right back, right attacking midfielder and centre forward still up for grabs. The aim is to generate some engagement with fans by offering trials for a chance to be signed up.
QPR Commercial Director, Euan Inglis, told www.qpr.co.uk: “We’re excited to be taking our first steps into eSports with Virtual Pro Gaming.
“There is great scope for us to take this partnership with VPG from strength to strength over the coming seasons, with eSports very much at the fore-front of our digital strategy going forward.”
? #QPR have teamed up with @OfficialVPG to launch our first official #eSports team, @QPReSports!
Be part of it: https://t.co/IVm089X5q4 pic.twitter.com/gQBhJg4vhQ
— QPR FC (@QPR) November 7, 2017
We’ve long been advocates of football clubs entering esports by doing more than just FIFA, with the examples of the likes of PSG and Schalke key ones to look to emulate. That said, we can also understand the idea of clubs dipping their toes into the water and being more comfortable with the obviously more natural fit of the FIFA scene. Many clubs have gone down this route by signing a player or two, but few have opted for the 11v11 Pro Clubs Mode angle.
As such there have been some eyebrows raised from prominent figures in the esports industry, one of which can be seen below.
https://twitter.com/PaulChaloner/status/928318240056635392
The club have launched an esports focused Twitter channel (@QPReSports) and the action will get underway this weekend with the trial game scheduled to take place on Saturday 11th November. Once the players have all been confirmed they’ll play one match a week which’ll be streamed on the club’s Youtube channel.
Esports Insider says: Another big football club in esports which is good news for the FIFA scene but a somewhat surprising choice to enter in the way that they have done with 11v11. That said it’s a cool opportunity for fans of the club to get involved, and should generate some engagement for the Hoops. We’ll keep an eye on this one!