The French Professional Football League announced a partnership with EA Sports to launch E-Ligue 1, with its FIFA title at the center of the mix. The league will kick off with a Winter season next month and running through January, with a media partner expected to be announced later this month. Meanwhile, a Spring season will begin in February and run through May with winners qualifying for a European League. The press conference noted that there will be other European leagues announced over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, the actual FIFA has its own plans in the eSports space, announcing an an expansion into eSports. In a report detailing its strategy for growing in the future, the organization noted that “FIFA will increase its role in the exploding eSports market, which in 2015 generated revenues of almost USD 1 billion, and work to capture a greater share of that market by better leveraging the popularity of the FIFA video game and the FIFA Interactive World Cup. The administration will establish a dedicated team to explore opportunities and develop a business strategy that ensures FIFA is responsive to current trends and able to quickly adapt to developing trends in the eSports industry.”