Football’s role in the Maturing Esports Market
Soccerex Europe 2019
The Academy | 6 September 2019 | 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Esports may be an industry in its relative infancy but it is one that is nonetheless worth close to $700m worldwide, with phenomenal growth forecast over the next few years. While China and the US are the biggest individual markets, collectively Europe accounts for almost one third of all global esports revenues and 20% of the global audience. While the pace of growth may depend on factors such as regulations, competition formats and rights sales, the industry’s rapid maturity is in part being driven by the increasing involvement of elite European football brands who, as they look to claim their piece of the esports pie, bring with them brand equity and established fanbases. At Soccerex Europe, we will gather a mix of leading football, media and gaming organisations to analyse the role of football in the maturing esports market and the opportunities the future might hold.
Suggested for: Clubs & Rightsholders, Commercial & Sponsorship, Broadcasting & New Media
Speakers
Raul Faria was born in Beja on 8 February 1990.
A fanatic of video games since he can remember, it was from 2011 that he became one of the main driving forces behind the development of the virtual football community in Portugal by organising tournaments, leagues and events.
His hobby turned into a profession in Hamburg, Germany, where he was the Quality Manager for Travian Games between 2014 and 2016.
His influence in the community also allowed him to create the FIFA Portuguese League in 2016, one year prior to being invited to coordinate FPF eSports.
In his current position he has drawn on all his experience to design a competitive schedule (20 tournaments), oversee the organisation of over a dozen events, create the Portuguese Virtual Football National Team (which finished in 3rd place in the first FIFA-sponsored competition) and register more than 10,000 players and 200 clubs on the esports.fpf.pt platform.
Ben has 17 years experience within the videogame industry, having held roles at multiple leading publishers and platform holders. As a former professional sportsman and long term games industry professional, Ben’s personal experiences of these two worlds bring unique insights and have led to successful results in the esports and competitive gaming discipline. His current role, leading the EA SPORTS FIFA Program Management team, carries responsibility for developing and managing relationships with multiple partners including some of the world’s largest and most influential sports leagues and federations as well as leading tournament operators. Ben has been a key driver in the growth and development of the EA SPORTS FIFA Global Series program that has seen participants from over 60 countries and delivered 61 million views in the season to date.
Paul Rayment joined Goal, the world’s number one digital football destination and part of DAZN Group, in 2016. Since then he’s been instrumental in raising Goal’s profile with football fans, clubs and organisations around the world, through the cultivation of partnerships and creation of new platforms which align with Goal’s brand values.
More recently, he has been responsible for developing Goal’s gaming strategy through both editorial content and partnerships with some of the biggest brands in football, gaming and esports including EA Sports and City Group. In 2018 this included launching Goal’s first esports team to take part in the EA Sports FIFA 19 Global Series.
