The Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs is promoting eSports for the European Football Championship: the government is investing almost 450,000 euros in an almost month-long competition in EA SPORTS FC 24
The Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs has released an impressive amount of funding for the virtual pitch on the occasion of the EURO. The project “eSports meets soccer clubs as part of Euro 2024” is being funded with almost 450,000 euros. What this means is that a Bavaria-wide FC-24 tournament will accompany the action on the real pitch. The Bavarian Football Association (BFV), which has had an affinity for eSports for years, is supporting the Digital Ministry as a partner.
24 qualifiers will be held online every day, the first of which will take place on June 17. According to the press release, “up to 1,000 participants” are planned for this preliminary round. 64 players will ultimately make it through to the final, which will be held offline on July 13 at FC Augsburg’s WWK Arena. During the tournament, the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the BFV are also organizing a “roadshow” that will “visit around ten Bavarian clubs on site.”
With the national teams of the EM mode
The new European Championship mode of EA SPORTS FC 24 will be played, which features various authentic facets – but also some fantasy squads. Each participant represents a national team that will also be playing in the real EURO. The PlayStation 5 serves as the platform, so owners of an Xbox or old-gen console cannot take part.
The winners will be awarded cash and non-cash prizes worth up to 5,000 euros in total, with an additional 1,000 euros up for grabs in the offline final. At the “Team Nights” of the roadshow, there will also be non-cash prizes worth up to 2,500 euros for the winners and the club. The first Team Night has not yet been scheduled – June 21 is the favorite.
FC 24 players can register for the qualifiers via a dedicated website. Only people from Bavaria who are at least 16 years old are allowed to take part
BFV President emphasizes “pedagogical approach “
“Football unites and we are incredibly proud to be able to host the European Championship for the world. Digital tools will help those fans who can’t cheer on their team in person to still get a taste of the European Championship atmosphere,” says Bavaria’s Digital Minister Dr. Fabian Mehring.
According to BFV President Christoph Kern, the Digital Ministry’s project “strikes a chord with young people” and reflects “the needs of the times”. In addition to the competitive nature of the project, “a very conscious educational approach is also being pursued in terms of raising awareness and dealing with eFootball.”
