Over the past few years, the worlds of professional sports and esports have gradually converged. Many traditional sports teams have already established their own esports divisions, which has helped esports reach new heights.
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Over the past few years, the worlds of professional sports and esports have gradually converged. Many traditional sports teams have already established their own esports divisions, which has helped esports reach new heights. What better way to highlight the most popular sport in the world now that the FIFA World Cup has concluded for the next four years than to highlight the well-known football players with their own esports teams?
One of the most well-known and recognisable video game franchises ever is EA Sports’ FIFA series, which has a large database of well-known people. The stats for each new iteration are something that many professional players are always interested in knowing. That demonstrates the long-term connections that have existed between the two parties. However, for some players, it goes beyond that; they’d rather own a team and play professionally rather than just taking part in the game.
Former Barcelona player Gerard Piqué, who recently retired, had an immediate impact on esports in 2021 when he founded KOI with renowned Spanish streamer Ibai. The organisation quickly won a spot in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) for 2023 after initially debuting in the Spanish regional League of Legends scene. Pique’s KOI currently competes at the highest level in VALORANT, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League in addition to League of Legends.
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During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, former Manchester City footballer Sergio Agüero started to gain popularity on the streaming service Twitch. He then founded KRÜ Esports. KRÜ Esports was chosen as one of the 10 partner teams for the VCT Americas International League. The esports organisation with headquarters in Argentina is best known for its VALORANT division. Additionally, the organisation has a South American Rocket League roster and has previously participated in FIFA and League of Legends.
Casemiro entered the esports scene while playing for Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid by founding his own company, Case Esports. The organisation primarily participates in regional leagues for popular esports games like FIFA, CS:GO (ESL Masters Espaa), and VALORANT (VCT Challengers Spain). In 2023, sponsors of Case Esports will include, among others, the sportswear brand hummel, the snack company Pringles, and the computer manufacturer Fierce PC.
In August 2022, Virgil Van Dijk, a defender for Liverpool, was introduced as a shareholder of the British esports organisation Tundra. It was mentioned in the initial release that Van Dijk wanted to advance and support Tundra’s commercial objectives. Having been established in 2019, Tundra first established itself in the FIFA community before branching out into games like Rocket League, Fortnite, and Dota 2. In the latter game, Tundra may have achieved its greatest success, taking home one of esports’ biggest awards, The International, in 2022 after only two years of Dota 2 play.
Ruud Gullit, a Dutch football legend and Ballon d’Or winner who founded the FIFA esports academy Team Gullit in 2018, is one of the more unexpected inclusions. In the world of FIFA esports, Team Gullit is an intriguing player because it places more of an emphasis on identifying and nurturing young talent than it does on simply participating in competitions. As a result, the academy has partnered with organisations like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Ajax Esports, Vitesse Arnhem, and Atlanta United in order to promote FIFA.
Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, invested in DUX Gaming in 2020. DUX Gaming is a Spanish esports team that primarily plays NBA 2K and FIFA. Following their announcement as an expansion team in the franchised league, DUX Gaming, representing Mexico, is currently active in the NBA 2K League. The group received €3 million (£2.6 million) in funding in 2022 from a group headed by NBA champion Marc Gasol. The company also owns the women’s football team DUX Logroo, which plays in the Reto Iberdrola, the second division of Spanish women’s football, outside of esports. The organisation also owns the men’s semi-pro football team DUX Internacional de Madrid.
Falcons, a Spanish esports organisation founded in 2020 by Chelsea defender César Azpilicueta, has since held competitive rosters in League of Legends, FIFA, and VALORANT. The Spanish League of Legends’ SuperLiga 2nd Division, where Falcons currently compete, is the second division. The competition also features Case Esports, Villarreal QLASH, and Levante UD Esports, three notable teams.
David Beckham, who will co-own the British esports organisation Guild Esports after its 2020 launch, rounds out the list. After securing notable partnerships with companies like Sky, Subway, and Hyper X, among others, Guild has developed into one of the more recognisable esports organisations in the UK scene. Guild has competitive rosters in Rocket League, CS:GO, FIFA, VALORANT, and VALORANT. The organisation also has a high-end headquarters and its own esports academy system.
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