Argentinean Soccer Giants Boca Juniors to Enter Esports in 2021
Along with River Plate, Boca Juniors are one of the most famous names in Argentinean and South American soccer. The Buenos Aires based club has a long history of success on the field both domestically and across South America and the club has announced that it will be entering the esports industry in 2021.
In an announcement via Twitter, the club revealed that it would be entering specially selected teams in League of Legends and CS:GO tournaments in 2021. The move which was deemed “the beginning of a new stage for the club” is not wholly unexpected.
That is because Argentinean soccer rivals San Lorenzo have already launched its own League of Legends team and Boca’s biggest rivals, River Plate have followed suit, with the exciting prospect of the trio of teams forming a very competitive domestic scene for League of Legends in Argentina.
Argentina Forges Ahead in Esports
The news is potentially massive for the esports and esports betting industry in Argentina. We already speculated back in November whether Latin America would become the new esports betting hotspot and developments such as this will only further confirm this.
What is interesting with this announcement is that while Boca Juniors have joined San Lorenzo and River Plate in announcing a League of Legends team, the club has also announced it intends to move into the CS:GO market too, something which their rival teams are yet to do.
Industry insiders expect a number of high profile Argentinean free agents, such as coach Elias “s1cop” Cisternas, Eduardo “laser” Chshekin and Facundo “minimal” Pereyra will be confirmed as part of this new CS:GO Boca Juniors roster.
The esports industry in Argentina is undergoing a transformative phase at the moment and teams from the country are starting to get noticed at larger scale events. Soon, two of their best teams, 9z and Isurus, will battle it out for a place in the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown when they meet at the Regional Finals of the FlowFiReLEAGUE.
This new event is worth $70,000 and was launched only this past year.
Details of the exact rosters for the Boca Juniors League of Legends and CS:GO teams are expected to be announced in the next few days.
Boca Following Trend of Soccer Clubs Investing in Esports
Boca Juniors and their rivals San Lorenzo and River Plate are just three professional football teams that have entered the esports industry in a big way over the last few years.
Other big-name teams from around the world to do so have included Turkish sides Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, German sides Wolfsburg, Schalke 04, Danish teams FC Copenhagen and Brondby, and French side Paris St Germain. Other teams, notably the likes of West Ham and Manchester City, also have their own FIFA esports division.
What is notable is that many of these teams are moving beyond just FIFA and into esports with League of Legends, CS:GO and Dota 2 being particularly popular with soccer teams, while the likes of PSG have expanded into other arenas such as Brawl Stars too.
With the support of soccer teams, esports will continue to grow around the globe, and in Argentina, the fact that three of the countries biggest football teams are now actively involved in the esports industry hints at a very rosy future for esports in Argentina and a chance for these sports teams to diversify their interests away from just the beautiful game.
Since: August 10, 2015
