The first ever FISU eSports Challenge Football gets underway today, with a field of 32 men and 12 women from all over the world. The FIFA 20 competition will run until 16 July, when the men’s and women’s champions will be crowned.
The 32 men and 12 women participants have been allocated to eight groups and two groups, respectively. The men’s groups have four players, while the two women’s groups have six players each. This is how the groups have shaped up:
FISU World University Championships Manager Julien Carrel said, “We at FISU believe that we have a responsibility to move with the times and to keep track of the pulse of the youth. The 2020 FISU eSports Challenge Football is the first of its kind. By staging this pilot project – or you could say test event – we will be able to understand the interest level and global appeal of eSports among university students around the world.”
In order to reach as many viewers as possible and to balance many time zones, the daily broadcasts will take place at two times: 14:00 CEST (12:00 GMT) and 22:00 CEST (20:00 GMT). Four games will be broadcast during each slot, totaling 8 match-ups per day. All live streams will be with English commentary, available on the FISU , , and .
The objective of the competition, in addition to encouraging sport and competitiveness during these times of social distancing, is to provide a platform for university students to have fun and make connections between themselves.
Let the games begin!