The French Professional Football League (LFP) board of directors met on Tuesday to innovate and adopt new measures to improve the attractiveness of Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and the Coupe de la Ligue. The LFP board agreed to explore the launch of two new projects: a French esport championship and an “All Star Game” that will assemble the best players of Ligue 1. The LFP along with EA Sports, the game publisher behind the FIFA video game, are exploring a project to launch a new competition that would bring together all 20 Ligue 1 teams (
LFP). SPORTBUZZ BUSINESS’ Alexandre Bailleul wrote no other information “has been released surrounding the possible esports competition.” However, there is now “specific legal framework in place” for the adoption of a “Digital Republic,” or the official recognition of the practice of professional esports in France. The idea is to offer “a brand new audience to the clubs and league.” In recent months, several professional football clubs have “positioned themselves within esports by recruiting video game players.”
POLARIZING: The creation of a game that draws all the best players of Ligue 1 has “divided fans.” There are those who critique the idea, saying that they “do not want their game to become a circus,” while others would “love to see a new event.” At the moment, no information has been released by the LFP “concerning what form the game might take.” In France, the format has “already been adopted by basketball and recently by handball.” A Ligue 1 All Star Game would “obviously be another commercial asset to market to sponsors,” and could serve to validate the “Ligue 1 product” (SPORTBUZZ BUSINESS, 7/13).
