International competition is coming to the EA Sports FIFA franchise, and U.S. Soccer announced on Monday that it will be part of the inaugural FIFA eNations Cup, set to take place on April 13-14 in London.
“As we work toward our mission of making soccer the preeminent sport in the U.S. we see competitive gaming as an opportunity to engage fans and gamers while exposing U.S. Soccer to a growing and connected soccer audience," said U.S. Soccer Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer Jay Berhalter in a statement.“The U.S. Soccer eNational team will provide a unique platform for the best players in our country to represent the United States in a global competition.”
The US will be represented at the eNations Cup by the top two US-eligible finishers at the upcoming eMLS Cup in Boston on March 30. This will ostensibly be the winner and runner-up of the tournament, though if either position is occupied by a player that is ineligible to represent the US, the next highest eligible player based on playoff results will be selected.
Set to kick off its inaugural competition, the eNations Cup is the premier esports competition for FIFA member associations. National teams from across FIFA's six regional confederations will take part in next month's event. The US joins a tournament field which already includes Argentina, Australia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa and Sweden.
Currently in its second season, eMLS is comprised of 22 MLS clubs, with one player representing each club. The league pits the best FIFA 19 players from the US and Canada against each other over a series of competitions. eMLS Cup is the final competition to determine the eMLS champion.
