ESL has struck a deal with the DFL German Football League to further develop the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). 

The partnership will see MTG-owned esports tournament organiser ESL take care of all media production for the national VBL competitions. The Grand Final tournament and Club Championship, which kick off next week, will also benefit from editorial support on ESL’s social media channels. 

As part of the deal, ESL has also been granted media rights to the VBL, which it intends to license to third-party distribution partners. The 26 clubs participating in the VBL Club Championship (up from 22 in previous seasons) will also be authorised to broadcast and report on their own games.

In 2012, the German Football League (DFL), which oversees the country’s top two football divisions, became the first pro football league to launch an eFootball competition with the VBL. Virtual Bundesliga competitions are organised by the DFL in partnership with game publisher Electronic Arts (EA). The VBL is divided into the VBL Open, VBL Club Championship, VBL Playoffs, and VBL Grand Final. 

Regarding the agreement Co-CEO of ESL, Ralf Reichert, said:

“EFootball has been an integral part of the esports community and ESL for many years. Together with the DFL, Germany’s most important sports league, we want to develop the VBL into a renowned sports league to take it to the next level.”

While EVP Digital Innovation at DFL, Andreas Heyden, added:

“The Virtual Bundesliga is already the most authentic representation of a soccer league in EA Sports FIFA. We would like to continue to establish it as a digital competition.

“With ESL, we have won a partner who has already proven that they can successfully set up esports competitions and communities worldwide – including in the field of soccer simulations. We want to make the VBL even more tangible and exciting and the ESL brings the necessary experience and passion to achieve exactly that.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Putting media production and development in the hands of ESL seems like a pretty safe bet on the part of the DFL, and should help catalyse the growth of the Virtual Bundesliga to entirely new levels. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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