The Celtic eSports League officially launched Monday as gamers from around the United Kingdom and Ireland will be matched with professional soccer clubs.
Eight eSports teams in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland will compete for the Community Cup this week, with full league competition slated to begin in early 2017. The inaugural league will be sponsored by Sportego, an Ireland-based global fantasy sports development platform that helps soccer clubs gamify their match day.
“eSports is growing at a phenomenal rate worldwide and the clubs’ involvement demonstrates their proactive and innovative approach to growing the brand of their clubs online,” Geoff Wilson of Celtic eSports League said in a statement.