MLS expansion club Nashville SC has signed professional FIFA esports player Cormac Dooley to represent the club in the 2020 eMLS season. Nashville SC will begin play in MLS next year.
Dooley, better known as Doolsta, is a 19-year-old from Ireland who won all three eMLS tournaments played last season while representing the Philadelphia Union’s eMLS team. By transferring to Nashville SC, Doolsta will be the club’s first esports athlete. He is currently a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia and will have his college expenses covered by Nashville SC as part of his new contract.
“I’m grateful for the team giving me a platform where I can attend college and earn a degree, while continuing to compete at the highest level,” Doolsta said in a press release. He is pursuing a degree in sports management while playing on the school’s club soccer team.
Fellow expansion clubs Austin FC and Los Angeles FC are also joining eMLS in 2020, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 25. New York Red Bulls eMLS player Mike LaBelle discussed his journey climbing through the ranks of competitive FIFA in an interview with Joe Lemire.
Another professional FIFA player, 19-year-old Mosaad Al-Dossary from Saudi Arabia, recently became the first esports athlete signed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation talent agency.
