Football’s governing body FIFA has created a working group to look into the growth of eSports to see what opportunities are present to help enhance the beautiful game on a global scale.
Tonight, Manchester United head to Anfield to take on Liverpool. It is the biggest derby in English football. When I was a kid, the whole world stopped on its axis in the build up to this game. We would use our school jumpers for goal posts and play out the game ahead of the real thing. Those with great Dads would head to watch the match live, and the ones with Dad’s who were too busy working their right arm down the pub would huddle around the TV set or radio.
I wonder how many kids will be watching the game tonight?
I wonder how many of the working class can afford a Sky TV subscription?
I wonder how many of them care?
The parents needn’t worry. The school jumpers won’t get dirty. Instead, the children will head home after school and play out the Liverpool v Man Utd clash live on the PlayStation or Xbox.
The digital world is the future of football. Marketers par excellence understand the importance of identifying where your customers hang out and learning why they like to dwell there. If FIFA wants to increase the number of kids running around a park trying to keep the ball away from dog shit, then they need to take a long hard look at the world of eSports, particularly EASports FIFA franchise.
FIFA 2.0: The Vision For The Future
FIFA Prez, Gianni Infantino, and his team have recognised the importance of taking a peek into the world of digital sports by creating a new working committee to investigate the boom.
FIFA announced the news inside the FIFA 2.0: The Vision For The Future manifesto. The Prez calls the document the ‘roadmap for the growth of the game’ and highlights the ‘wealth of opportunities to make the beautiful game bigger, better and more meaningful to the world.’
The meat on the bones consists of a three-part strategy:
1. Grow The Game
2. Enhance The Experience
3. Build a Stronger Institution
FIFA’s interest in eSports appears in the ‘Enhance the Experience’ section, where it begins by talking about the relationship between FIFA and EASports, in particular, the creation of the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) in 2004.
The FIWC holds the Guinness World record for the largest digital competition in the world when in 2013 more than 2.5 million players entered. The reigning champion is, Mohamad Al-Bacha, who defeated Sean Allen on away goals after a 5-5 two-legged draw. Allen was later signed by the English Premier League outfit West Ham United, to represent the London club in official eSports events, and handed an official squad number.
eSports video consumption will increase to 6.6 billion hours in the next two years, and it allows FIFA the perfect opportunity to mirror their live tournaments in the virtual world, ‘expanding FIFA’s engagement with eSports.’
A Few Ideas For The FIFA Working Group
Football is a team sport, and currently, the digital FIFA franchise is a solo endeavour. It would make sense to work with EASports to create national teams that mirror the squad size of the real thing. Each team could have a manager in charge of tactics, and in-play decisions. 11 players would each take control of an individual avatar, and there would even be bona fide substitutions.
I also think FIFA have to increase the prize pool for the FWIC and make it the largest in eSports. Currently, the world record for a digital prize pool belongs to Dota 2’s The International. In 2016, players helped create a $20,770,460 prize pool with $9,139,002 going to the eventual winners Wings Gaming.
The International manages to accrue such a gargantuan haul because a portion of the in-play purchases made by people who play Dota 2 week-in-week-out contributes to the prize pool. The FIFA franchise is the best-selling sports video game in the world. The game has sold hundreds of millions of copies. And the in-play purchases available in the FIFA Ultimate Team game make it a goldmine for both EA and FIFA.
Let’s not be greedy folks.
Take a leaf out of Dota 2’s books and syphon a portion of the funds towards the FWIC prize pool to make it the largest in the world. A $20,000 first prize after wading through 2.5 million people is laughable. If FIFA wants to get the attention of the digital public, make the most popular physical sport in the world the most popular eSport and slapping millions onto the winners price tag will help.
FIFA Ultimate Team already does an excellent job of mirroring the real-life ups and downs of the professional footballer with their digital cousins. My 16-year old son knows more than me about the ins and outs of the EPL, and he never watches football on TV. He learns through FIFA Ultimate Team, and this is an important point that needs to be poked and prodded to see how much value FIFA can squeeze out of it.
The digital game is a great way for your kids to learn how to do the fancy little flicks and tricks of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Whereas players might pull these off once or twice in a physical game, they are more prevalent in the digital version. I would like to see FIFA roll out some individual skills competitions in conjunction with EASports where they have to combine skills on the digital pitch with real life skills. I think that would be an excellent way to incorporate the two worlds.
Finally, FIFA will have to clamp down on the recent skin betting type incidents that recently hit the news. If FIFA manages to grow the digital version of the game it will become a heavyweight in the betting world. FIFA already has much work to do to rebuild their reputation in the wake of the Sepp Blatter debacle, and they don’t need controversy following the organisation into the digital realm.
Last week, FIFA enthusiasts Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby pleaded not guilty at a Birmingham Magistrates Court where they were facing charges of ‘promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling.’
It seems inviting underage children to gamble with the virtual currency earned in FIFA Ultimate Team is a big no-no. It’s the first time someone in the UK has been charged with betting offences connected with video games and shows the need for a fully regulated and transparent betting market.
