Projects /
Sport
Bringing brands into the FIFAe World Cup
How FIFA’s esports competitions were packaged for sponsors, as the FIFA eWorld Cup final reached 47 million online views and its season passed 140 million.
Client
FIFA
Sector
Sport
Services
Sponsorship sales, packaging and pricing
Delivered
Esports sponsor packages, broadcast and streaming rights, local partner rights
The outcome
75+
territories priced in
Packages were priced on the real audience: 21 broadcasters and streams in six languages.
47m
online views, 2019 final
The eWorld Cup 2019 Grand Final drew 47m online views for partners.
Local
rights for host brands
National supporter rights let local brands such as EPOS back the 2022 finals in Copenhagen.
The Challenge
Esports gave FIFA a direct line to younger, digital-first fans, but it was easy to treat as an add-on. The game itself belonged to a licence partner, EA SPORTS, which reportedly paid FIFA about USD 150m a year. FIFA needed its competitions to stand on their own commercially, with packages built for brands that wanted gamers, not only football fans.
WHY IT MATTERS: INDUSTRY DATA
>$
100
m
Licensing revenue
FIFAe × EA SPORTS
47
m
Online views
eWorld Cup 2019 Grand Final
>
140
m
Season views
EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series
What we did
1
Packaged the competitions
We built sponsor packages around the FIFA eWorld Cup and eNations Cup, covering broadcast, streaming, venue and digital rights.
2
Priced on where fans watched
Packages reflected the real audience: streams in six languages and 21 broadcasters across more than 75 territories, not just the crowd in the arena.
3
Opened local rights
National supporter rights let local brands back the finals in the host market, such as audio brand EPOS at the 2022 finals in Copenhagen.
What happened next
FIFA and EA parted ways in 2022. FIFAe moved to several titles, including Konami’s eFootball and Rocket League and from 2024 its finals have been held in Riyadh with the Saudi Esports Federation. A record 90+ nations entered FIFAe in 2025.
