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- Konami has announced the 10 professional soccer clubs taking part in its eFootball.Pro 2019/20 season.
- New teams entering the league include Manchester United F.C., F.C. Bayern Munich, Juventus F.C., and Arsenal F.C.
- Each club will put forward players for a 3v3 competition in Konami’s soccer simulation title, eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer.
Konami has announced the ten professional soccer clubs that will field teams in its esports series: the eFootball.Pro. The competition includes a 3vs3 regular-season league for pro players, as well as a set of open events, the latter played on the PC, console, and mobile versions of eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer (eFootball PES).
Alongside previous eFootball.Pro competitors F.C. Barcelona, F.C. Schalke 04, A.S. Monaco, Celtic F.C., F.C. Nantes, and Boavista F.C., the league will now introduce esports teams representing Manchester United F.C., F.C. Bayern Munich, Juventus F.C., and Arsenal F.C. It was announced yesterday that Juventus’ PES team would be run through a partnership with Danish esports company Astralis Group.
Each of the clubs will field a 3-man roster for the eFootball.Pro season. Players participating in the online tournament, the eFootball.Open, and a rewards-based competition, the eFootball Season Program, can pick one of the 10 clubs to play for as part of the series’ new “Matchday” feature—a special timed online match played each week.
By participating in the league, Manchester United and Arsenal will become the first English Premier League (EPL) clubs to field PES players. Until now, Manchester City, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed players only for Electronic Arts’ FIFA series. It is also the first time Bayern Munich—the most successful German soccer club by competition results and largest by revenue—has operated a gaming team.
The eFootball PES series is considered the biggest video game competitor to the FIFA series. For over a decade, both franchises have fought over licensing rights to the world’s biggest soccer competitions. FIFA currently retains the EPL, UEFA Champions League, and Bundesliga, meaning these leagues appear unlicensed in eFootball PES. However, certain teams (Manchester United, Arsenal, and Barcelona) are included through their partnerships with Konami.
