FC Barcelona, one of the world’s most famous soccer clubs, has announced that it will join League of Legends’ competitive environment.
Starting in January 2022, Barça will compete in the Superliga, Spain’s top Division of Legends league. Vodafone Giants, UCAM Esports Club, Movistar Riders, G2 Artic, and MAD Lions Madrid are among the teams competing in the Professional Video Games League (LVP) event.
After a club controlled by Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos and Barcelona’s soccer captain Gerard Piqué purchased AstralisSB’s spot for 300,000 euros in September, Barcelona will be the second major entry to the Superliga in 2022.
The Spanish club’s entry into League marks the next step in its esports engagement, which began two years ago.
“The commitment to developing Barça’s new esports division forms part of the club’s digital strategy,” the announcement reads. “And is motivated by the same on-field desire of FC Barcelona – to become a main player in the digital esports sector worldwide in the next few years, building a leading division to help connect the Club and its philosophy to new audiences, particularly among emerging markets for football fandom, and to take the Barça brand to countries such as the United States of America or China.”
In eFootball, Rocket League, and Hearthstone, Barça has esports teams. The Spanish team intends to extend its esports initiative, but will only play “non-violent” games.