Portuguese esports agency BITZER has announced a €20,000 (£17,685) investment fund ‘to stimulate the Portuguese esports ecosystem’.
It has been stated that this fund will support existing Portuguese organisations, as well as ‘Portuguese line-ups that want to establish new companies and teams’. This fund will be available between 2017 and 2018.
In an interesting move, BITZER Ventures will be investing exclusively in League of Legends and CS:GO teams. This support aims to improve the conditions of players and teams, improve the training of Portuguese players in these titles and finance entries and expenses that are involved in entering major tournaments.
João Duarte, CEO of YoungNetwork Group, stated: “BITZER Ventures was planned for 2018 but given the feedback from the community, we feel that there are needs that urge to be fulfilled quickly, such as the support and recognition of Portuguese players. This is why we have anticipated the announcement of the fund.”
In order to be considered it was mentioned in the press release that organisations should submit their project containing their objectives and strategy for the next 18 months. The BITZER team will then analyse this and decide which organisations or lineups will receive financial support.
It’s no great secret that the Portuguese esports ecosystem lags behind many others in Europe and elsewhere. Sporting CP have a FIFA player via an arrangement with Qwatti Esports Agency, whilst S.L. Benfica recently invested in a company called gleetz. As for major teams and successful players from Portugal however, they’re few and far between.
Esports Insider says: This is positive news for budding teams in Portugal though some in other titles such as Dota, Overwatch, Rocket League and so on may be dismayed at the decision to focus exclusively on CS:GO and League. Perhaps this is a test, and if all goes to plan this will be expanded. For now though, the race is on for teams in Portugal to prove they’re worthy of investment!
