eSports obligation for the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga is coming: Bayern and Co. will soon have to kick FIFA 23

The VBL becomes mandatory for all Bundesliga clubs.

As GamePro reported almost a year ago, the German Football League (DFL) had been planning for some time to establish its eSports competition Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) as a further mainstay alongside the 1st Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga. Now the time has come, because eSports will officially become part of the organization’s “Statutes, Preamble and Licensing Regulations”. This has very concrete effects on the 36 clubs in the top German football leagues.

This is what the VBL should look like from the 2023/24 season

Participation becomes mandatory: So far, participation has been voluntary for the clubs, but this season 26 of the 36 clubs from the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga have already taken part. From the season after next, i.e. 2023/24, each club must provide its own eSports team, an eSports manager and a room with the appropriate equipment. Of course, every team plays with the digital version of their club.

What is gambled? The game is for the title “German Club Champion in eFootball” – by the way, the current final will take place in three days (via VBL). As now, the tournament will be held in FIFA, or in EA Sports FC, as the series will be called from 2023. This means that competing products such as Konami’s eFootball or the new game series planned by FIFA are left out. But that can change at any time.

There might be exceptions: The DFL makes it clear that although participation is mandatory in principle, there could also be exceptions (via table football). One of these exceptions might be FC Bayern, which has a cooperation agreement with Konami and is the only German team available in eFootball. The organization is considering possible sanctions, but the game operations of the respective clubs in the federal leagues should not be endangered.

FIFA 22 is currently being played in the VBL:

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FIFA 22 – Gameplay trailer explains the new features

What are the chances of the VBL?

When we think of eSports, full stadiums and big prize pools might come to mind. However, the Virtual Bundesliga still has a long way to go before then. The competition, founded in 2012, is currently struggling with low viewership and lags behind both real sport and other eSports formats.

New rules should help: Just like real football, eSports also have their stars who generate attention. The fact that the VBL will soon include all clubs in the federal leagues could also make better use of the attractiveness of the clubs that already have existing fan structures. The fans – primarily the young target group – should follow the games of the associated eSports team in addition to the Bundesliga games of their club in the future.

Are you interested in the Virtual Bundesliga? And would you watch your club’s games?