E-Sports: FIFA eWorld Cup

By Emre Bilginoglu, Attorney-at-Law, Istanbul, Turkey The world’s best 32 FIFA players will gather for the FIFA eWorld Cup, an annual tournament organized by FIFA in partnership with EA Sports, which was first launched in 2004. In last year’s edition of the event, there were more than 20 million competitors and a total prize money of US$ 400,000. The previous event was watched by around 30 million viewers. The grand final of this year’s tournament will be held at the end of July 2019 and the venue will be announced by FIFA shortly. Last year’s grand final was held at the iconic O2 Arena ( the Dome) in London. It should be noted that there are 20 official football league partners, such as the Bundesliga, Eredivisie, La Liga, Ligue 1, MLS, and the English Premier League. The 20 million competitors literally demonstrate that this is a ‘World Cup’; something that is not capable of being achieved outside the digital world. E-sports remain an essential catalyst for any traditional sport and a means for stakeholders to reach the gaming youth market!   Emre Bilginoglu, who is also admitted to practise Law in the State of New York, USA, may be contacted by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.’