FIFA might not be taken seriously by many esports fans but it can't be faulted for effort.
Despite being among the most popular games on the planet, FIFA still has a long way to go before its esports credentials are universally recognised. However, there is clearly value in this recognition that is not lost on EA.
There's plenty of online and offline competitive FIFA tournaments and a growing number of professional players. And, of course, a close relationship with the governing body of the biggest sport on Earth helps a lot.
Next up on the horizon is the FIFA eClub World Cup.
It will take place in Paris on May 19 and May 20.
It is the first official FIFA team event, with one player on Xbox and one player on PS4 representing each club. They will battle for a share of a prizepool of $50,000.
That reward might be fairly low when compared with other esports but there is also chance for the top four players to qualify for the Global Series Playoffs.
Despite the relatively low amount of cash on offer, the draw of FIFA has attracted some famous names from the footballing world, including PSG , Schalke, FC Basel and Brondby.
Unilad and Hashtag Academy are also among the qualifiers.
FIFA eClub World Cup teams and players
- PSG eSports - Xbox One: Corentin 'PSG Rocky‘ Chevrey (PSGRocKy) + PlayStation 4: Johann 'PSG Maniika‘ Simon (PSGManiiKa)
- Brøndby eSport - Xbox One: Muhammed 'Fifaustun‘ Üstün (FifaUstun) + PlayStation 4: Frederik ‚Fredberg‘ Fredberg (FIFA_Fredberg)
- UNILAD - Xbox One: Spencer ‘UNILAD Gorilla’ Ealing (GorillaUnilad) + PlayStation 4: Shaun ‘UNILAD SHELLZ’ Springette (ShellzzUnilad)
- BU e-sports - Xbox One: Subaru ‘SubaruMikey’ Sagano (SubaridasMikey) + PlayStation 4: Shota ‘Tsakt’ Sato (tsakt2525)
- Falcons eSport - Xbox One: Khalid ‘The royal’ Aloufi (1TheRoyal) + PlayStation 4: Mosaad ‘Msdossary7‘ Aldossary (Msdossary7)
- Xolos de Tijuana - Xbox One: Rodrigo ‘UL1BARRI’ Ulibarri (UL1BARRI) + PlayStation 4: Reinhard ‘Rein10’ Krause (ray_rein)
- Arte Virtual FC - Xbox One: Brenner ‘AVFC Brenner’ Silva (avfcbrenner) + PlayStation 4: Paulo Henrique ‚AVFC PH Freitas‘ Silva de Freitas (PauloFreitas_PH)
- FC Schalke 04 Esports - Xbox One: Tim ‘S04 Tim Latka’ Schwartmann (timlatka) + PlayStation 4: Lukas ‘S04 Idealz’ Schmandt (idealz_fifa)
- TEAM ENVY - Xbox One: Marvyn ‘Aero’ Robert (nVAero) + PlayStation 4: Philipp ‘Eisvogel’ Schermer (Eisvogel7)
- Hashtag Academy - Xbox One: Ryan ‘Hashtag Ryan’ Pessoa (HashtagRyan) + PlayStation 4: Ivan ‘Hashtag Boras’ Lapanje (HashtagBoras)
- Vfl Bochum 1848 - Xbox One: Michael ‘MegaBit98’ Bittner (MegaBit98) + PlayStation 4: Daniel ‘DaniFink’ Fink (DaniFink96)
- Mkers - Xbox One: Kurt ‘kurt 0411’ Fenech (Kurt0411Fifa) + PlayStation 4: Daniele ‘Ice Prinsipe’ Paolucci (IcePrinsipe)
- FC Basel 1893 - Xbox One: Florian Fritz ‘CodyDerFinisher’ Müller (CodyDerFinisher) + PlayStation 4: Tim Niclas ‘TheStrxngeR’ Katnawatos (TheStrxngeRFIFA)
- Transfermarkt eSport - Xbox One: Mario ‘MMayo’ Reubold (MrMMayoo) + PlayStation 4: Nicolás ‘nicolas99fc’ Villalba (nicolas99fcx)
- Lightning Pandas - Xbox One: Sean ‘Dragon’ Allen (DragonFIFA_) + PlayStation 4: Nicklas ‘Niller’ Stensgaard (NillerOfficial)
- Method - Xbox One: Owen ‘Venny’ Venn (VennyFIFA) + PlayStation 4: Kamil ‘Riptorek’ Soszyński (Riptorek)
FIFA eClub World Cup 2018 live stream
Group A matches
Group B matches
More live streams can be found on FIFA TV via YouTube.
There will also be details of the FIFA eWorld Cup on FIFA.com, Twitter and Facebook.
FIFA Global Series Playoffs qualification
The top four players from the FIFA eClub World Cup will qualify for the Global Series Playoffs.
The Global Series features 128 players (64 on each console) and will take place in Amsterdam on May 28 to 30 and June 1 to 3.
Players qualify via a variety of events all over the world and FIFA Ultimate Team champions.
The top 32 players from the Global Series playoffs will qualify for the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final.
The Grand Final will take place in August, with the location yet to be announced.
FIFA eClub World Cup stats
- 116 teams spanning Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania competed in online qualification, in the hopes of making it to the FIFA eClub World Cup 2018
- 200 hours of FIFA were played over the qualifiers weekend.
- 996 matches were played over three days to determine the 14 teams that would join the host club and last year’s Interactive Club World Cup champions Brondby at the premier club tournament in competitive FIFA.
- 4,304 goals were scored over the weekend of qualification, creating an average of 4.3 goals per game.
