The Bavarian FC-24 event for the European Championship was criticized by eSports associations after it was announced. The Ministry of Digital Affairs reacted with a late transparency offensive – and criticism of the ESBD
A state government grant of almost 450,000 euros for an eSports event seems at first glance to be news that meets with the ESBD’s approval. Instead, the Bavarian project “eSports meets soccer clubs as part of Euro 2024” – or “Bayern zockt” for short – quickly triggered criticism from the federal association and the Bavarian association. The biggest issue was the exact use of the relatively high amount of funding, which was still unclear when it was announced last week.
Online and offline events in Bavaria, a roadshow, the final in the WWK Arena in Augsburg and undefined “media education and youth prevention aspects” left one or two question marks. The ESBD, in the person of Vice President Christopher Flato, expressed skepticism: “Spending just under half a million on a European Championship happening can be neither sustainable nor beneficial for local eSports.”
The money could be used “much more sensibly – also at a national level”. Flato cited eSports funding in Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia as examples. On the specially created website for tournament registration and overview for the Bavarian eSports event, “total prizes worth 5,000 euros” have been advertised since the release. Which in fact left open what exactly happens with the remaining almost 445,000 euros.
According to Flato, the platform in particular was “obviously sewn with a very hot needle”. In the first few days after publication, it provided little information on the process and extent. We can therefore “currently only judge with the rudimentary information that is available to us”, the ESBD Vice President told eSport last Thursday. However, he also added: “There may be great opportunities for the local eSports scene over the next four weeks and the big news is yet to come. “
Article aims to clarify – funding from “special budget “
Whether the latest response from the Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs should be classified as “big news” is for everyone to decide for themselves. In any case, there has been an article on the website since Monday entitled “How does it all work?”, in which the creators of “Bayern zockt” explain themselves and their tournament. The technical implementation, the personnel involved in various processes and additional advertising measures are explained in more detail.
“European Championship content is provided by well-known influencers to create an atmosphere and increase coverage. This is intended to fuel enthusiasm and attract a broad public to the event,” it says. Depending on who they are, the influencers alone could cost a significant proportion of the almost half a million. The eleven offline events would also require 15 employees for set-up and dismantling, while the 30 online events would have to be administered by five employees
In addition, the Ministry of Digital Affairs clarified in an interview with eSport that the 450,000 euros came from a “special budget for the home European Championships 2024”. This suggests that the focus was to be on virtual soccer right from the start – so EA SPORTS FC 24 with its EURO mode was probably inevitable. Nevertheless, the aim was also to “draw attention to the diversity of eSports and create the basis for better recognition and appreciation of the industry as well as new club members.”
However, the Digital Ministry also expressed its displeasure at the ESBD’s criticism: “It’s a shame that the Federal eSports Association, of all people, is failing to back our joint mission to strengthen eSports,” the statement to eSport reads. In turn, the company is “in good and close contact with the Bavarian eSports Association about how the association can participate in the project and how we can get more people excited about eSports together”. The Bavarian eSports Association also criticized the project after it was first announced – albeit more moderately than the ESBD.
When asked by eSport, President Sandra Bloy has since said that she is pleased “that Bavaria can release such a large sum for the promotion of eSports”. In her opinion, however, “it would certainly have been helpful to clarify how the total amount of funding would be used at the time of the announcement in order to avoid misunderstandings”.
According to her, it is “completely understandable and even welcome that the Digital Ministry is focusing on eFootball for a European Football Championship in Germany”. However, Bloy and her association also see the funding “as an impetus for the Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs to value all facets of eSports and hopefully further funding can be expected”. These words speak not only of hope, but also of a mandate to politicians.
The first online qualifier of the Bavarian eSports event will take place this Monday evening at 7:30 pm. The participants who have already registered include VBL players such as Niklas Rank (1. FC Nürnberg), Thomas Ostermaier (FC Bayern München) and Ekrem Dogan (SpVgg Greuther Fürth).
