An Emirates FA Cup football gaming tournament will kick off at Wembley in May, with several well-known gamers set to attend.
The English Football Association (FA) has announced the names of 64 gamers who have been randomly selected to take part in the first Emirates FA Cup gaming tournament.
Each will represent their respective football club, including Trisha Barrett for Arsenal, Alfie Hoy for Manchester United and Devon Fields for West Ham United.
9,000 people put their names down to enter, and the final 64 is a mix of gamers of different abilities, with the FA saying it ‘expects amateurs to face elite gamers’. The full list of players can be found on the FA website.
The event will be hosted by sports presenter Colin Murray, while pundit and former footballer Jermaine Jenas will also be in attendance to support the gamers.
Several pro gamers and YouTubers will be there too, including the likes of AJ3, Behzinga, CapgunTom, Theo Baker, MattHD, Miniminter and Reev, though they won’t be competing.
The tournament will take place at Wembley Stadium connect by EE on May 7th. Weirdly, the FA hasn’t named the actual video game that participants will be playing.
Early rounds will be played in different locations in the stadium such as the changing rooms and players’ tunnel; the final will be played on Wembley’s 82-foot screens, with the two gamers sit in the centre circle.
The one-day event will begin by replicating the actual fixtures from this year’s third round, with 32 matches getting underway to begin with.
The winner will receive four tickets to the actual Emirates FA Cup Final on May 21st, between Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
Emirates FA Cup marketing manager Lucy Roberts-Hartley said: “We’re excited to give super fans and gamers the chance to play out their very own adventure and compete for the chance to lift The Emirates FA Cup on behalf of their club at Wembley Stadium.
“We’re expecting amateurs to face elite gamers, just as The Emirates FA Cup pits many David and Goliath fixtures. Many adventures have culminated at Wembley Stadium, but this gaming tournament will bring the spirit of The Emirates FA Cup to a new audience, whilst retaining its magic and unique history.”
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
