EA Sports FIFA21 E-League adds Nivea Men as naming partner
Nivea Men announced as naming rights partners as EA Sports FIFA21 E-League returns for 2021.
The announcement:
It promises to be the ultimate festival of EA SPORTS FIFA21 across Australia, as the NIVEA Men E-League returns with a host of World Cup stars, the defending Premiers, a brand-new sponsor and an intense new format.
Esports is the world’s fastest growing spectator sport, and in 2019 the FIFAe World Cup™ saw more than 47million viewers across online platforms. In 2020, the FIFA21 Challenge became EA Sports’ most watched esports event, with an average minute audience of more than 254,000 and a total watch time of more than 1 million hours.
Over two high-octane days in April, some of Australia’s best-known EA SPORTS FIFA21 competitors will vie to call their clubs champions across both PlayStation®4 and Xbox One – all of it underpinned by a new sponsorship deal, with NIVEA Men signing on as naming rights partners.
Newcomers Macarthur FC join for the first time, and two winners of the tournament will enter the EA SPORTS FIFA21 Oceania Regional Playoff which serves as a direct qualifier for the FIFAe World Cup™.
A high-profile commentary line-up featuring YouTube stars JarradHD and TheMasterBucks and esports analyst Nate Patrick and Treaders will bring viewers all of the action on the free streaming platform Twitch.
Current NIVEA Men E-League competitors Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomesFIFA) and Mark Brijeski (Atlantide Marko) have both tested themselves at previous global FIFA eWorld Cups, while Negede Hunegnaw (ANezer) and Dylan Campbell (DW_Dylan) took out the FIFA 20 Summer Cup Oceania which ran as a regional competition due to COVID-19.
The eleven-round tournament over the two days will see competitors playing from their own homes for the first time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and in line with EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series tournament guidelines.
“We are really excited to bring the NIVEA Men E-League back for our fans because we know they love football 24/7 and esports is a big part of that,” said APL chief commercial officer Ant Hearne.
“The new format is designed to be super-competitive, especially when we have some of Australia’s top players involved and more teams taking part.
“The numbers show that around the world esports is the fastest growing spectator sport – our fans connect with football in all different aspects of their lives, and we know that gaming is a key part of that.”
The defending NIVEA Men E-League Premiers, Mark Brijeski (Atlantide Marko) and Jamie O’Doherty (FUTWIZ Jamodo) will return to represent Sydney FC.
Other big names in the tournament are Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomesFIFA) at Melbourne City FC, Ryan Naylor (Naylor) from the Newcastle Jets, Negede Hunegnaw (ANezer) from the Western Sydney Wanderers FC and last season’s breakout competitor Dylan Campbell (DW_Dylan) from Western United FC.
Source: Australian Professional Leagues media release
