In a lengthy document titled ‘FIFA 2.0 – A Vision for the Future’ Gianni Infantino has laid out his ambitions for the future of the organisation, which included a page on EA’s game position in esports.
As would be expected in such a document the big stats around esports were first detailed, including how it has grown as an industry and how it packs out stadiums in South Korea for events in League of Legends.
In addition Infantino detailed the rise of the FIWC from its humble beginnings in 2004 to this year which saw 2.3 million players compete and the winner, Denmark’s Mohamad Al-Bacha, walk away with a $25,000 (£20,421) prize.
EA and FIFA have expanded the competition for next year with a $200,000 (£163,000) prize confirmed for the final which will take place in London, England. Both organisations though seemingly have further plans to further expand the game as a competitive gaming title though the FIFA President was lax to give away any concrete details about how they plan to go about this.
Infantino stated: “As the world of gaming expands, FIFA has a tremendous opportunity to mimic the production of global events on the pitch with enhanced production of virtual FIFA competitions. To investigate the benefits and feasibility of expanding FIFA’s engagement in esports, FIFA will commission a working group to consider its forward-looking strategy.”
Esports Insider: With Infantino at the helm a new and hopeful era has begun at FIFA HQ. This document outlines the organisation’s general plans for the future, and an entire page dedicated to esports is excellent news for the industry and stakeholders in the competitive FIFA scene. More details of this ‘working group’ will be revealed in due course.
