June 22 – Germany’s FC Schalke 04 has become the second European club side after Barcelona to enter a professional esports team in the Konami-backed eFootball.Pro league.
“FC Schalke 04 was one of the pioneering sports clubs worldwide to incorporate its very own eSports department. We opt to expand our commitment even further and venture out into different branches as well,”said Schalke’s chief gaming officer Tim Reichert.
“We are looking forward to joining the competition by eFootball.Pro and KONAMI. Our participation allows us to establish our brand also internationally and continue competing at the highest level. We believe that this league with teams like FC Barcelona will be such a great event for us and our fans, in which we will be able to further showcase our expertise and effort.”
eFootball.Pro’s president is Barcelona and Spain central defender Gerard Pique who is actively involved in the running of the company despite being on international duty at the World Cup in Russia.
“We are very happy with this signing for eFootball.Pro. Schalke has a lot of experience in eSports and will help us achieve a quality competition,” said Pique.
“Schalke 04 will be a very tough opponent to Barça, but so will be the other teams that will be announced to join the competition. We want to create a reference league within electronic sports and are sure that we will surprise both current fans and those who will be in the future.”
More teams are expected to be announced in the near future.
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