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Manchester United women’s team footballer Hannah Blundell has announced she will be studying esports alongside her playing career.
The 30-year-old defender and Puma athlete, who also has a few caps for the England Lionesses, has teamed up with Fraser Esports Ltd, Minerva’s Virtual Academy and Minerva Tutors to study the esports BTEC qualification online.
The news comes a few days after Hannah Blundell announced she is pregnant, and will not be playing in the 2024/25 season.
The Women’s Super League and FA Cup winner – and Call of Duty gamer – reached out to Fraser Esports and Minerva to learn about the esports business.
It’s a first for the esports education space, which could see other sports people and academy players study the qualification in the future, when not training or playing.
James Fraser-Murison, director at Fraser Esports Ltd, will be teaching the Esports BTEC to Hannah one-to-one online.
Hannah Blundell said: “Excited to share that I’m partnering with MVA Athletes and heading back to school this September!
“I’m thrilled to have found Minerva’s Virtual Academy, an online school doing incredible work helping young athletes get their GCSEs and A Levels while they train, travel and pursue their goals.
“As for me, I won’t actually be in the online classes – I’ll be getting direct support from James Fraser-Murison and Fraser Esports Ltd while I pursue a two-year BTEC in esports, with MVA providing their award-winning learning platform and guidance along the way. So to everyone going back to school this September—I’m with you!”
James Fraser-Murison added:
“This is a really exciting time to be involved in the esports industry and we can’t wait to work alongside Hannah, a current professional footballer, as we look to combine esports education alongside a more traditional sporting route.”
James Fraser-Murison, Fraser Esports Ltd
“We know this collaboration will open more doors for Hannah as she learns with us and we can’t wait to get started. Hannah is already a role model for many thousands of fans globally as a Manchester United player, and we believe this partnership will make her a role model for many others, in the esports world.”
Esports Insider will also support Hannah Blundell on her journey.
Sam Cooke, MD and Co-Founder of Esports Insider, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Fraser Esports and Minerva as they work with players such as Hannah.
“We are big believers in the potentially enormous and myriad benefits of the further crossover of sports and gaming, very much including but not limited to esports. Education and career pathways are key component of this, and we’ll be continuing to work with Fraser and others to progress this development in the UK and globally.”
The Esports BTEC qualifications were first announced in 2020, from Pearson and the British Esports Federation, and Minerva’s Virtual Academy announced the first online Esports BTEC qualification in the UK, targeting home-schooled students, last year.
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.
