Konami and FIFA have entered into an agreement for the FIFAe World Cup featuring football with teams spanning 18 countries. The collaboration between Konami and FIFA follows last year’s split between FIFA and longtime partner, video game publisher EA. That partnership was dissolved after EA reportedly rejected FIFA’s licensing demands. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was then quoted as saying FIFA would compete head-to-head with EA by launching its own game. Since then EA has gone on to launch its EA Sports FC franchise with the debut of FC 24. Meanwhile, FIFA has yet to launch its title but this agreement with Konami could begin its new path forward.
Press Release:
- “The objective of this collaboration is to further boost the joy of the global football community through esports. By allowing players to represent their nations through dedicated competitions, this initiative will take the connection with the community to a new level.”
- “The FIFAe World Cup™ will begin qualifying around the world on Thursday, October 10. To engage with the entire community, two competitions will be held — one on console and one on mobile — each crowning a FIFAe World Champion. More information is available on FIFA.GG and on the Konami website.”
- “In the inaugural year of this collaboration, 18 nations have been invited to be represented at the final events. Nations are selected based on different factors such as player base and previous performances of competitors from the respective countries. Everyone who plays eFootball™ is welcome to engage, so please update to the latest version of the game and challenge the world to an exciting global match.”
List of participating nations:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
- England
- France
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Korea Republic
- Malaysia
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Saudi Arabia
- Spain
- Thailand
- Türkiye
Those not residing in a nation listed above can still participate by selecting one of the listed nations as their favorite. Rounds one and two are already underway, both happening from 09:00 – 17/10/2024 08:59 (UTC). The third round will span three days, from 10/18 – 10/21, 06:00-02:00 (UTC). The first three rounds will be held on PlayStation 4 and 5 along with iOS and Android platforms while the World Cup has yet to announce its platform support. Basic participant requirements are listed below and more information regarding matches can be found here.
- “In this inaugural tournament, participants representing 18 countries around the world will battle for supremacy. The matches will be played 2v2 for the Console Category and 1v1 for the Mobile Category.”
- “In order to participate in the FIFAe World Cup 2024™, users will have to pass a qualifier phase comprised 3 Rounds of in-game Events.”
- “In addition, all participating teams will have their scored goals tallied throughout the event. In the end, a pool of rewards will be distributed among all participants, based on the final position of their team.”
- “Even if you are from a nationality other than the applicable countries, you can still join the FIFAe World Cup 2024™ by choosing your favourite country. Feel the energy of an international competition!”
Discussion (6 replies)
Join Discussion →eSports hasn't died yet?
I remember hearing about huge LoL and Overwatch tournaments and pro teams, but seems like all that kinda died off during covid and none of it has really popped back up on my radar. Maybe they are still a huge thing and my news feeds just don't pick up on them at all.
I mean, there's professional curling and I don't see much news on that, but it's a thing, I guess.
I've been asking the same question every year since the CPL first came around. I used to laugh at this sh1t, and thought that it would disappear within a few years. Around 2 decades later, boy was I wrong. I still do NOT get how eSports is even a thing.
AFAIK, LoL, Overwatch, Fortnite and StarCraft tournaments and many others are still a thing. Not that I follow any of them.
Yeah, I think we're all kind of in the same boat with this one in that its nothing any of us really track but yet still there. I also remember hearing about some schools or colleges making curriculum in recent years. Hilariously though I think if I was that young again I'd be more into getting on that robot wars cable show.
The f*ck
My son's highschool had an eSports team when he was a Freshman. He was all jazzed to join it until we pointed out - they don't play any of the games you play, and they expect you to be good at the ones they do play and he'd have to play them and practice them even if he didn't like the game. He decided against it - I would have been ok had he chose to move ahead, but I think he realized it wouldn't be nearly as much fun as he first thought and thought better of it.
The eSports team disbanded his Sophomore year - it wasn't terribly popular and the teacher who was coaching moved to another school and no one else wanted to pick it up.
Not the same thing as a Curriculum, but still - close to home. I did think it was kinda cool that they actually traveled for Away games, and it was set up like a giant LAN party. I never went to any but saw the photos in the yearbook.
Kinda funny how anything looses it's luster once you have to do it for reasons other than "because I enjoy it"