The Football Association (FA) has revealed that it is partnering with esports company ESL to host online qualifiers on March 9 and 10 for the FIFA eNations Cup competition, with four finalists progressing to the live finals of their FIFA competiiton on March 14.
The tournament is open to all FIFA 19 players on PS4 or Xbox One over 16 years of age, and you can register here for Xbox and here for PS4. The eNations Cup will be an invite-only exhibition event seeing 16 national teams fight it out, and the prize for the FA's competition is the chance to represent the country in this cup. The eNations Cup is also one of the eight major events in the FIFA 19 Global Series, leading to the eWorld Cup in August.
Mark Bullingham, The FA's chief commercial & development officer, said: "This presents an exciting opportunity for Three Lions fans to help form a new chapter in England's history. The FA prides itself on being a modern, innovative organisation that strives to engage and inspire all generations of football fans. FIFA 19 is played by hundreds of millions of players daily with many selecting our male and female players so we have a great chance to engage with these as part of our efforts to continue to grow the game in England."
Luis Vicente, FIFA's chief digital transformation & innovation officer, added: "The involvement of our member associations with a dedicated nations tournament is another significant and exciting step forward for FIFA and the development of eFootball globally. After the successful introduction of the FIFA eClub World Cup™ in recent years and the new team mode, we are looking forward to integrating this nation vs nation competition into our eFootball portfolio."
The FA also adds that they're talking with FIFA about the ability to extend this opportunity to the women's national teams, as this is a competition representing the men's senior team in the virtual space.
How well can England do at the eNations Cup?