GMB - eSports has stood out a lot when football leagues are canceled, and the Fortaleza eSports project emerged in quarantine. How do you see the growth and prominence of this activity?
Alex Santiago - It is an important moment to make this sport grow mainly because the fan is away from the team for a long time and wants to consume something that the club offers in some way. And virtual sport, especially PRO CLUBS in the case of football, has similarities, the methodology of being virtual and real football has this correlation. So, the choice was to start the Fortaleza eSports project by PRO CLUBS precisely because of this identification with football and the need for fans to consume some product of their team related to football during this period of stoppage.
With little project time, what is the reaction of the fans supporting the team in the broadcasts?
The return of the fans has been very cool. We have daily numbers of views in Facebook and YouTube, on TV Leão, and the data is fantastic. We have already had a total of more than 383 thousand visits, totaling April and May. So, it is a project embraced by fans, like everything that is launched in Fortaleza, and their interaction with the idea is rewarding. It is very cool to see this connection being built between fans and the eSports team.
The eSports project, in the first year of the modality at the club, is already playing major international and national tournaments. What worked so well for this to happen?
In terms of results, they have really come very quickly. We got the runner-up at Global Semi Pro; we advanced in the Open ISL Cup phases going to the semi-finals and reached the round of 16 of the ISL Super Cup. It is very gratifying to have achieved these results and we are currently in the CSVP Pre-Libertadores, where we finished the first phase leading the group. We played 6 games with 5 wins and 1 loss; we were leaders in the round with 15 points and 12 goals on balance. We participate in a group with a Paraguayan team, Rycuata; a Chilean one, San Luis de Quillota, and Platense, from Argentina. The results are coming very fast due to the dedication of the people involved in the project and also for the partnership with Hurricane, who was a friendly team and started to compose the cast with us. Due to these various factors, with the support of the executive board, of President Marcelo Paes who really wanted to invest in this pandemic period in the eSports modality, all this converged so that the results arrived quickly. Without forgetting another important factor which is the project management, which is very well monitored, very well done; Luciano Bertini has done a great job leading the portfolio.
Is there a relationship between real and virtual football? Formulation of strategies, rehearsed plays, who hits the foul or the penalty? Explain a little.
There is a lot of relationship between real and virtual football. Game concepts are also very applicable to the digital field when you take the experiences out of the pitch. The variation of strategy to face a team that attacks or one that is more in the rear is very similar to those that are made tactically on the real football. There are even coaches in Europe who use the FIFA virtual field to show their players positions and movements. It is a very well made, complex tool that can undoubtedly help the development of real football. We do have this association and we believe that, in addition to the identification of the sport of football, people can make the best possible use of this tool.
Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil
