It’s been a known fact that soccer players love EA’s FIFA – the video game that features all soccer players from every big league in the world. Call it vanity, but that has excited the interest of professional athletes who are ever so more serious to dominate the digital competitions just as well. In fact, soccer players have been known to call EA and ask why their stats weren’t maxed out. Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the most frequent callers who didn’t believe 9/10 properly reflected physical prowess.
Such as the quirks of soccer players are, many players have looked past the stats and are now seriously considering starting their FIFA teams, meaning esports. And while you could argue that this seems a little silly, just consider the story of AC Milan Football Club captain Alessio Romagnoli who recently announced his own plans to start competing professionally in esports.
Why wouldn’t he? FIFA is watched by some 30 million people. Yes, this is competitive video gaming right there. It seems almost bizarre, but it’s the truth. There seems to be an equal number of soccer and esports fans who are vastly interested in seeing what the digital competition will produce.
And now, there is another high-profile team to watch, specifically Team Romagnoli who will be joining in the FIFA 20 competitive fray. One of the players to be hired will also be a coach for the rest. The team will be managed and sponsored by Pro2Be Esports, which is a talent management company.
As to Romagnoli, all he had to say was that he has always been a huge fan of the esports. The FIFA 20 Global Series are now awarding $3 million, which isn’t as much as Romagnoli makes, certainly, but this is still an impressive amount for a video game!
Thanks to its popularity, FIFA now generates some steady viewership as mentioned before. Video games as popular as FIA have quickly turned into popular titles to place wagers on. That’s a fact – esports betting is actually immensely popular and you can find all sorts of titles to bet on.
For example, if you visit https://gg.bet/en/betting/ you will be able to place over 220 different bets on games such as Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six 6, Dota 2, StarCraft II, League of Legends, and even King of Glory!
FIFA is hardly the only sports simulator you can bet on. Another largely popular game has been the NBA 2K. The National Basketball Association (NBA) in the U.S. hosted the first professional NBA 2K League in 2018, offering players salaries of $36,000 a year. Still not as much as you would expect to make on a ‘real job,’ but a pretty good remuneration rate for a hobby.
EA has been committed to pushing the popularity of its products. FIFA has, of course, held a flagship position in pushing its content. For instance, FIFA is now part of the English Premier League (EPL) and the Super Liga in Denmark.
EA also wants its esports to be more readily taken up by actual sports fans and as it turns out – professional athletes. This is the best way to legitimize esports as a real sport. Then again, it’s not necessary for the success of excellent games such as FIFA 20.
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