Italian football club ACF Fiorentina has established its own esports division through a partnership with Hexon Esports.
Fiorentina eSports will initially field competitors in FIFA and eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer.
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Giovanni “Giovhy69” Salvaggio and Angelo “Tipolosco319” Giannino will represent Fiorentina eSports in FIFA and eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer, respectively. The team is looking to add two more FIFA players to its ranks in the upcoming eSerie A draft.
Joe Barone, General Director of ACF Fiorentina spoke on the venture in a release: “Our move into eSports represents another step forward for our club as we look to focus increasingly on digital and the world of eSports, which are so popular with the younger generations around the world.
“With the support of a young, successful company like Hexon, we’ll build a competitive team which helps to promote Fiorentina among international eSports communities, bringing these people closer to our club.”
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Fellow Italian football club Juventus joined the eFootball League ahead of the competition’s second season in December last year, partnering with Astralis Group to operate the team.
More recently, Inter Milan entered esports by joining forces with Italian organisation QLASH. Much like Fiorentina eSports, Inter | QLASH competes in both FIFA and eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer. With the eSerie A on the way, more clubs from Italian football are expected to follow suit.
Esports Insider says: It’s not a huge surprise to see ACF Fiorentina get involved in esports considering the formation of the eSerie A. We don’t imagine that Fiorentina eSports will expand into games that don’t simulate football, only a few of the many football clubs in esports have committed to the industry in that way.