English Premier League football club Leeds United have teamed up with Swedish esports organisation Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP).
The pair are partnering up for the ePremier League, the FIFA esports tournament featuring all 20 football clubs from the Premier League.
Last week, it was announced that the Premier League and EA are bringing back the ePremier League for a third season.
The competition is open to UK residents aged 16 and over and will once again take place on PS4 and Xbox One, with a £40,000 prize pool. There will also be seats on offer for top-ranking players at the FIFA 21 Global Series (FGS) European Playoffs.
In a press release on the NiP website, the esports org said they have been looking for opportunities to get involved in esports and has been looking for a partner.
Ninjas in Pyjamas CEO Hicham Chahine said: “This partnership with Leeds is an exciting milestone for Ninjas in Pyjamas. Our iconic clubs share similar histories of transformation and core values when fighting our way back to the top of our sports.
“We looked for a premier club with an ownership that was ready to go deep into esports – with the ambition of making an impact, integrating efforts on sports performance, fan activation and commercialization. We are very thrilled about this FIFA journey together, and keep your eyes open for more exciting announcements in the upcoming weeks.”
Leeds United executive director Paul Bell added: “Promotion to the Premier League has given the club some amazing opportunities so far, with involvement in the ePremier League the latest chance for the club to grow and impress.
“Just as Marcelo [Bielsa] has done with the men’s first team, we intend on making our presence in the league known and being competitive straight away, creating a partnership with NiP will give us a fantastic foundation to do so. Bring it on.”
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.
