UEFA seeks
to make profitable its licensing for the different types of official video
games and, for the first time, puts the rights to electronic sports for sale.
UEFA wants to manage and take economic advantage and visibility of the trend
that dozens of football clubs have been confirming in recent months, such as
launching their own eSports teams and tournaments. To do this, according to
Palco23, it would have already opened the bidding for three different
categories of video game format for their club competitions and national teams.
UEFA intends to expand its control over the video game sector, which has one of
its biggest successes in football, with important companies such us EA Sports
and Konami with their respective Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer titles. Both companies,
which have long agreed to UEFA to use logos, hymns and club rights in their
competitions, may also bid for the official rights of eSports in football
simulation games, which currently belong to Konami.
In a second
step would be the bidding for the rights of the manager games, a segment where
some of the best known are Top Eleven and Golden Manager.
The third
one are the rights to casual games associated with eSports. These are games
like Crash Royale, which target a more recreational audience.
UEFA's strength position is clear as the official content (names, logos,
images) for this kind of companies is fundamental. That is why in this new
round of negotiations UEFA will rely on Team Marketing AG for the process of
club tournaments, a package that includes the Champions League, the Europa
League, the European Super Cup, the Women's Champions League, the Youth
Championships And the Futsal Cup during the 2018-2021 period.
For national team competitions, the federation will give CAA Eleven the Euro 2020
pack, the European football championships of 2018, 2020 and 2022, the Final
Four of the new Leagues of Nations in 2019 and 2021. Also included are the
Euro-Under-21 rights of 2019 and 2021.
Thus, companies interested in these rights may choose from six options, which
are expected to be much less "accessible" in price than in previous
seasons.
Source: GMB / PALCO23
