Are eSports the new football?

"ESports are the new football". It's a phrase I heard in Gamergy on December 16 of an executive from a large company in the VIP area of witch; Exaggeration or reality? From my point of view: now a clear exaggeration, in a future of less than 20 years eSports will have reached an absolutely prime position but football will remain more important, in 100 years ... probably, we will see if on Earth or On another planet.

 It is an exaggeration, but if it is true that has interesting parallels with football that will make eSports a massive sport. In future posts we will analyze in depth each aspect, today we point the 5 from our most relevant point of view:

1.Structures and professionalization

ESports clubs are professionalizing on the go, from the arena with psychologists or analysts to structures like CMO. It is obvious that there is a lot to achieve the professionalism of the big football clubs, but the scene has understood that this is the way and that is good.

 2.Industry around electronic sports

A business ecosystem is being created around eSports, apart from endemic products (PCs, peripherals, etc.). Play the game is a clear example of this, a communication and marketing agency specializing in eSports and video games, but there are others: media, legal buffets ... and new ones that will be entering.

3.Global

ESports are global since birth, derived from the Internet. This sets it apart from football at birth, but it resembles football at the moment. A spectator can see competitive quality electronic sports practically 24h a day, the big tournaments bring together teams from all over the world, in any team there are many nationalities and there is a transnational transfer market.

 4.Phenomenon fan

One of the main factors to look from you to you to football: the phenomenon fan. There are many fans who not only watch matches or play, but also inform themselves in different media, actively think, travel thousands of miles to eSports events, buy merchandise from their teams, keep autographs as gold cloth, etc. Other sports also have fans and will not become the prince of the sport, the reason is the amount. The fan base of eSports, and especially its growth, is much greater than other sports with fan phenomenon.

 5.Spectators who do not play

This is what differentiates a niche sport from a sport that is going to be majority, not everyone who views eSports plays electronic sports. A high percentage of the audience of competitions like golf, sailing or billiards practice it, unlike football, basketball or tennis. In the USA (the country that sets the trend), 40% of the eSports audience does not play.

But there are also differences: in eSports there are several disciplines and not one, the difference of figures are abysmal, electronic sports must not spend the period of 100 years of learning football, among many others. But what is clear is that eSports have a clear upward course and at some point they will get to play the sport king.