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Aberdeen FC make move into eSports – with Richard Donald Stand to play host to FIFA 22 tournament for fans next month

Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium.
Aberdeen will lose their head of recruitment. Image: SNS.

Aberdeen are to host a FIFA 22 showdown at Pittodrie next month – in the club’s first foray into eSports.

The Dons are working with gaming arena company Belong and retailer GAME to run the trial eSports event on Friday, September 16.

A minimum of 32 competitor slots for the computer game battle will go on sale this Thursday (August 18), with local gamers able to sign up to compete for cash prizes, signed AFC merchandise and “money-can’t-buy” experiences.

Aberdeen are also throwing the doors to the event open to spectators – who can attend the trial event for free – and will also be able to take part in other gaming experiences on-site provided by Belong, another company GT Omega and others.

Rob Wicks, Aberdeen FC’s commercial director, initiated discussions which led to the event being organised – and is keen to see what opportunities there are in eSports for Aberdeen long term.

He said: “The teams at Belong and GAME have a track record of delivering eSports events with several top clubs and are the ideal partner to kick off our first foray into competitive gaming.

“Running this trial event will allow us to ascertain demand and then explore hosting bigger and more frequent tournaments that attract national and, potentially, global audiences.”

The poster for Aberdeen FC’s first eSports tournament.

eSports first for Scottish football

This is the first eSports event Belong have worked on with a Scottish football club and John Loat, business development manager, said: “We’re really looking forward to delivering Aberdeen FC’s inaugural eSports tournament and are confident it will be a big success given the large gaming community in the north-east of Scotland.

“We’ve mapped out a tournament that will deliver on player experience with little dwell time between games.

“It’s set to be a fantastic trial event for the club, allowing them to explore the demand for eSports experiences among their fans.”

Five-hour gaming event to take over Richard Donald Stand

The September 16 event, to take place in the Richard Donald Stand Lounge at Pittodrie Stadium will begin at 4pm with player registrations. The tournament will get under way at 5pm, finishing up around 9pm.

Competitors can register here – https://tickets.afc.co.uk/en-GB/categories/Events – for a fee of £5.

Spectators can attend free of charge, but are advised to arrive early as spaces are limited.

Refreshments, including hot dogs, pies, confectionary and hot and cold drinks will be available to purchase during the event.

 

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