SC Freiburg will be active in eSports in the coming season. The club wants to concentrate exclusively on eFootball. In this context, the Breisgauer have confirmed their participation in the Virtual Bundesliga.
The list of participants in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) for the coming season continues to grow. It was officially announced on Tuesday that SC Freiburg will become active in eSports and take part in the German Football League competition.
While the Sport-Club stayed away from eSports for years, the anchoring of the VBL in the DFL statutes has been the main driving force behind the change in thinking. “Without the new regulation, there would have been no entry into eSports at Sport-Club,” says Holger Rehm-Engel, Head of Club Media and Digitalisation at SC Freiburg.
From the 2023/2024 season, all 36 first and second division clubs are required to enter the virtual Bundesliga with a team. If this does not happen, unspecified sanctions may be imposed. However, these consequences would not have any influence on the professional football teams’ playing activities, and exceptions would be possible “in justified cases”, as is the case with other licensing criteria.
By entering eSports, SC Freiburg is concentrating exclusively on virtual football. League of Legends or shooters are not part of the orientation, he said. “Instead, from the very beginning, the aim was to define authentic club themes that distinguish the Sport-Club and that can also be transported via eFootball,” the statement reads.
SC virtues also in player search in eFootball
First personnel have already been determined. Konstantin Sarantidis will be the eSports coordinator. The 23-year-old comes from the region and was previously head of the eSports department at CfR Pforzheim, then at Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. In addition to two experienced players, who will be presented separately in the coming days, two to three squad places will go to young talents who “at best come from the region”.
They will be scouted via four online scouting tournaments, in which the best players will qualify for a final tournament on site. However, the Breisgau team does not want to focus solely on playing ability. “The affinity to SC Freiburg, the character and an authentic appearance of the players” are also to be taken into account.
“With eFootball, we want to address young target groups, introduce them to the club in a different way, but of course also entertain them,” explains Rehm-Engel. “But it’s also important to us to cover topics that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in eFootball. “
“eFootball with impact “
Under the umbrella term “eFootball mit Wirkung” (eFootball with Impact), there will be workshops on the topic – for example on the responsible use of computer games, fitness or nutrition. “But also the involvement of athletics coaches, players from the SC women’s team or the Freiburg Football School to generate attention and interest for the entire club via a new platform.”
In addition to SC Freiburg, other clubs have recently ventured into eFootball. For example, FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund will be taking part for the first time next season. It is unclear whether all clubs will follow the new regulations.
