Can eSports clubs survive?

Offers will be made.

So far we have  seen FC Lausanne-Sport,Besiktas, Schalke 04, Valencia,  Manchester City, and Sporting Lisbon expand into the exciting realm of eSports.

As I stated in  my article "Would SA football clubs buy into eSports?" the reasons for them  to do so are that the football clubs can consolidate their brands into eSports (further enhancing their marketability and reach), but also allowing the football clubs to become dominant in other national federations, and possibly even influence another sporting code (IeSF) that may soon become a member  of the IOC.

In short it is a 'land-grab' where virgin eSports territory can be picked up for a song!

Even now, there are football clubs in South Africa surveying the eSports scene.

Their choices are to 'buy-out' existing clubs or just to poach the athletes themselves.

This poses a number of problems for existing clubs. The biggest problem is quite frankly, will the clubs not affiliated to football clubs survive?

The football clubs will burst into the scene with a level of professionalism as hitherto not seen by many existing clubs and athletes. Lawyers, contracts compliant with the law, academies, bargaining power, and monthly salaries will be their main weapons to entice eSports athletes away from the clubs for which they currently play.

With the best players stripped from existing clubs, the old names, if they cannot at least match the offers being made by the football clubs, will wither and die.

Corporate South Africa will prefer to deal with the football clubs as they have an established track-record and support base.

Already we can see a huge re-alignment happening in the USA, Europe and Asia. It will spread to South Africa, it is just a case of whether South Africa's gaming scene is ready for it.

MSSA, South Africa's largest member based organisation, is not only ready for it, but welcomes such a development.