As the biggest spectator sport in the world, football doesn’t lack attention from the fans, which naturally, generates a lot of business opportunities. But the financial aspect of the discipline might sometimes feel overwhelming. Especially for the smaller clubs who cannot effectively compete against larger brands in almost any capacity: be it transfer fees, wages or attracting good players and investors. Shifting some of the marketing efforts to eSports projects may bring positive results.

However, this it isn’t the first time we are wondering about whether those clubs with limited abilities to reach wide audiences should express strong interest in such ideas. Even the larger companies struggle sometimes and therefore, they have to look for ways to expand their brands and revenue streams. No wonder that more and more football teams, and sports companies in general, are becoming increasingly comfortable with the concept of eSports. Besides pioneering English clubs like Manchester City and West Ham United, Schalke, Wolfsburg and AS Roma are among the leading parties cementing the path for others.  

As portrayed at The Champions of eSports site, the numbers of people engaged in the electronic sports community are quite impressive and encouraging. Among the many spectators who enjoy watching tournaments, special events and online streams, there are professional players competing for big money prizes as well. Those trends are expected to increase in the future. In the light of all that, taking a closer look at what eSports may bring to the table for brand awareness is worth the time and effort as the potential benefits for growing and consolidating fans communities are promising.

In the least, it would be wise to exploit the possibilities. The English Championship clubs should especially look up to what F.C. Copenhagen is doing. Their eSports team is called North, and it operates within the game of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive instead of what is the usual choice, FIFA. The Danish team, although quite successful in their country and quite popular across Scandinavia, has got nothing on the massive global reach that giants like Manchester United or Real Madrid have. But they have the ambitions of becoming a multi-game organization and therefore, further promote their brand in the world. So far, it is going quite well for them.