The next edition of soccer’s European championships will be a little different. Rather than having one or two countries host all matches, UEFA Euro 2020 will be played in 12 cities in 12 different countries.
From Dublin in the West of the continent to Baku in the Eastern frontier, next summer’s pan-European competition will be like no other before it. But Euro 2020 will be notable for another reason–the parallel staging of the first-ever European ‘eFootball' championships.
Like several other sporting governing bodies, UEFA sees eSports as a way to engage with younger fans, new audiences and generate new revenue streams.
eEuro 2020 tournament
It already has the "eChampions League" tournament, played out on EA Sport’s FIFA video game series, but has partnered with Japanese publisher Konami’s long-running PES series for its national team equivalent.
"eFootball is played by tens of millions of people across the continent and we are delighted to give competitors from our national associations the chance to represent their country on the biggest stage," said UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein.
"We have seen massive growth in the popularity of eFootball over the past few years and the eEURO 2020 will give us the opportunity to connect with new and existing fans of national-team football."
The format of eEuro 2020 will mimic that of the real-life European Championships. All 55 national associations will select a squad of between two and four players to represent their country in a qualifying phase stating in November 2019.
Teams will be divided into groups, members of which will play each other twice. The aggregated score will determine the victor and the group winners, along with the six best runners-up, will advance to the final tournament in London.
The finals will take place on July 9-10–just before the final of the real tournament at Wembley Stadium on July 12. The winners of the competition will receive a cash prize and tickets to the final itself.
Konami is giving PES 2020 a strong eSports emphasis, as demonstrated by its official title of eFootball: PES 2020, as it battles with the market-leading FIFA for gamers' attention. However, PES has traditionally lagged behind FIFA in terms of official licenses, limiting the scope for a huge competition like the eWorld Cup.
The partnership with UEFA Euro 2020, therefore, gives Konami a significant platform to advertise its eSports ambitions. PES 2020 will receive a specific Euro 2020 mode via a future update, giving players access to licenses kits, balls, and stadiums.
Deloitte predicts that by 2020, the global eSports market will generate $1.5 billion in annual revenues thanks to income from sponsorship and advertising. It also believes 600 million people will be regarded as eSports fans.
