La Liga, the organising body behind Spain’s two top flights in football, has launched its first esports competition as part of its new ‘It is not football, it’s La Liga’ campaign.
With La Liga Esports, the organisation seeks to “bring the institution closer to the millennial generation and engage with this particular sector of the population”, as well as use the opportunity to reach new audiences.
It hasn’t yet been announced what exactly La Liga Esports will entail, stating that it has plans to “roll out several ambitious projects which aim to bring together a passion for football and the exciting world of esports.”
Long-term the organisation is aiming to make the program an international one, providing they see success in Spain, to satisfy both sports and esports fans collectively.
It seems somewhat safe to presume that the competition will feature EA Sports’ FIFA 18, as would be the natural choice given what La Liga is at its core, and its previous work with EA. However, La Liga’s intentions are clear in wanting to move in to multiple esport titles, and FIFA might lose out to one of their players’ personal preference in football game; PES (Pro Evolution Soccer).
This news follows Barcelona’s announcement that they will be stepping in to esports, with the La Liga leaders competing in eFootball.Pro’s PES tournaments, with their defender Gerard Pique being the founder and president of eFootball.Pro.
La Liga is not the first sporting league to take steps in to esports; only in the last few months we’ve seen the NBA, NFL and MLS take steps towards organising their own esport leagues in their respective titles.
Esports Insider says: It’s fantastic to see yet another sporting body appreciate the huge appeal and potential esports has in developing their brand on both a national and global scale. It will certainly be interesting to see how La Liga creates their esport presence – especially with the intention of hosting multiple titles.