FIFAe has announced its first-ever multi-title football esports event which will take place from 28 August to 1 September. The event will feature Football Manager alongside eFootball™, celebrating football and esports alike together with different communities.
Following the significant interest generated by the new approach to featuring different football esports titles, the FIFAe Next Gen event offers a platform for new communities worldwide to join the FIFAe ecosystem.
To bring this event to one of the most passionate football cities in the world, VisitLiverpool has joined forces with FIFAe. The partnership will see VisitLiverpool becoming an Official Sponsor of the FIFAe Next Gen 2024 which will be held in the Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:
“As a city that lives and breathes football, loves bringing people together and relishes putting on big events, we’re delighted to be welcoming the first FIFAe Next Gen event to Liverpool. We are home to a vibrant and growing digital and gaming sector with strong esports credentials. This will be a fantastic opportunity to establish our city as a long-term host for the esports industry, boosting the local economy through tourism, hospitality, and retail.”
Twenty managers with one assistant manager* each will compete at the inaugural FIFAe World Cup™ featuring Football Manager and represent their respective nation at the event. All participating member associations can be found below. Players will compete from 28 August to 1 September to be crowned the world’s best and win their share of the USD 100,000 in prize pool.
In addition, the winner will receive an exclusive invite to the FIFA Diploma in Club Management and participate side-by-side with legendary football players and coaches, enabling a once in a lifetime chance to build a career in football. The programme is a leading knowledge-sharing and networking platform for senior club executives and previously featured participants such as Cesc Fàbregas, Radamel Falcao, Roberto Di Matteo and speakers like Arsène Wenger, Antonio Conte and many more.
On the final two days of the competition, a dedicated show around all things football, tactics and Football Manager will be streamed across FIFAe channels with Spencer ‘SpencerFC’ Owen hosting the event. More information about the format is available here.
Spencer Owen commented on the announcement: “By merging the worlds of esports and football with this exciting event, we are bringing together fans and players from various football titles in one of the world’s most iconic football cities. The winner’s entry into the prestigious FIFA Club Diploma program offers an incredible pathway for the community to enter the traditional football industry through esports. Don’t miss out — tune in to the broadcast starting 31 August!”
In addition, FIFAe will host the FIFAe Fame Your Game Cup – a special eFootball™ mobile showcase event. Local players are invited to join a qualifier event on 29 August via this link and have the chance to compete against some of the best global players from eFootball™ mobile leaderboards on 30 August.
To support local communities as part of the Good Game Promise, FIFAe will work together with TheRockinR to provide gaming carts to a hospital in Liverpool and with EveryoneCan to offer event equipment to their disability gaming centre in Manchester.
Media interested in the event can share their names and email contacts with media@fifa.org to receive accreditation. For more information, please visit FIFA.GG.
The participating member associations for the FIFAe World Cup featuring Football Manager are:
Belgium
England (Two seats as hosting nation)
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Korea Republic
Lithuania
Malaysia
Netherlands
Norway
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Türkiye
*Numbers have changed from the initial announcement following further alignment with stakeholders for this first test event