Spanish football club, FC Barcelona, announced its cooperation with the Chinese conglomerate, Tencent. According to an official statement, the goal of FC Barcelona in collaboration with Tencent is so that they can explore the world of esports.
To that end, FC Barcelona will hold discussions with Tencent regarding everything they have done in esports. They will also discuss esports competitions, esports education, and the esports industry. Not only that, they will also discuss the potential for collaboration between esports and the world of sports. Unfortunately, there is still no information about the concrete activities FC Barcelona will undertake with Tencent, according to the Esports Insider report.
FC Barcelona began to enter the realm of esports in 2018. At that time, they recruited the Pro Evolution Soccer team, a soccer game made by Konami, which is also a sponsor of FC Barcelona. One year later, in April 2019 to be precise, FC Barcelona decided to recruit the Rocket Leauge esports team, a game that combines football with acrobatic cars. The team that carries the name FC Barcelona competes in the Rocket League Championship League, whose format has just been overhauled.
FC Barcelona’s decision to take an active part in the world of esports is not a strange thing, considering that many other football clubs are doing the same thing. For example, Arsenal also has a roster that competes in PES eFootball Pro League while FC Schalke 04 also has its own League of Legends team. Even so, earlier this year, the President of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu said that they would not participate in violent esports games. However, they don’t mind taking part in League of Legends or Fortnite because both games are considered strategy games.
In February 2020, news emerged that FC Barcelona was interested in participating in the League of Legends esports scene in China. Cooperation with Tencent is a good start for realizing this plan. Tencent is one of the owners of TJ Sports, the company responsible for organizing the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) together with Riot Games.
