eDivisie, the Netherlands’ official FIFA 21 esports league, has announced a new two-and-a-half-year partnership with Dutch telecom giant KPN.
As a result, KPN will become the official naming partner for eDivisie’s 2021 season. The competition is set to kick off on March 30th.
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KPN eDivisie’s championship will feature a grand prize of €50,000 (~£42,791). Last season saw record-breaking viewership for the event, with eDivisie garnering its highest average watch-time for its finale.
The telecom firm originally partnered with the eDivisie last November, alongside Dutch Insurance provider FBTO and H&M Netherlands for the second half of the 2020 season, which concluded in January 2021.
Mark Versteegen, Director of Sponsoring at KPN, commented: “Within the last months KPN became an official partner of the eDivisie, organised by the Eredivisie CV and DreamHack Sports Games, and also signed as the launching partner of E_Oranje, the esports initiative of the Dutch national football association (KNVB).
“With these two partnerships, we broaden our existing activities in Dutch football, and at the same time reach a huge part of the Dutch gamers. Now that the eDivisie becomes the ‘KPN eDivisie’ we are even more prominently present in the fast-growing gaming domain. esports is one of the fastest growing sports communities in the world.”
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The KPN eDivisie is organised by Dutch football league operator, the Eredivisie CV, in collaboration with DreamHack Sports Games, and features all 18 Eredivisie football clubs competing in esports competitions.
“We are absolutely delighted to expand KPN’s partnership with the eDivisie, and now add the league’s naming rights,”said Scott Steedman, Chief Commercial Officer of DreamHack Sports Games. “KPN is a long-time, trusted partner of the eDivisie and has experienced the benefits of working with the eDivisie itself.”
Arnoud Schonis, Project Manager eSports at the Eredivisie CV, added, “This is a huge step for esports in the Netherlands and we are proud that one of the largest companies in the Netherlands has put its trust in its in the eDivisie speaks out even more.
“This is how we build our trustworthy and professional image and reach and entertain even more young football and EA SPORTS FIFA fans. With a partnership of two-and-a-half years, we can structurally and stably expand the eDivision together with KPN, DreamHack Sports Games and our other partners.”
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Esports Insider says: This is big news for the Dutch esports scene as the massive telecom trusts in the region’s ecosystem and supports its competitive gaming sector, particularly in FIFA. A partnership like this may signal other large companies to start paying attention and open their wallets for the growing Benelux esports market.