FFA’s e-League sparks huge interest among gamers

Football Federation Australia (FFA) today reveals the top 50 competitors who will be eligible for the first ever e-League draft.

The top 50 were drawn from a field of more than 670 people who registered their interest in becoming competitors for the 10 Hyundai A-League clubs in the new e-League which kicks off next month.

FFA’s Head of Commercial, Digital and Marketing, Luke Bould, said everyone involved had been delighted with the response.
“EA SPORTS FIFA18 is the most popular sports videogame in the world so we weren’t surprised by the response but it does validate our belief that an e-League will be popular and act as a bridge between the gaming world and the Hyundai A-League,” said Bould.

Competitors have been ranked in the list based on their performance in the FIFA Ultimate Team online competition run by EA Sports.

Each club will have two competitors, one playing FIFA 18 on Xbox and the other on PS4. One competitor can be contracted directly prior to the draft, but clubs must take at least one competitor at the draft.

Melbourne City FC, Brisbane Roar, and Sydney FC have already contracted players, while Central Coast Mariners are currently conducting a tournament to select their directly contracted player.

Clubs are in the process of finalising their draft submissions, with a formal draft to be run by the league next Thursday evening, February 1. Results of the draft will be released to clubs thereafter.

How the Draft Works

• Clubs have reviewed their draft picks including most recent rankings and achievements
• Clubs can also nominate to use the “home grown talent rule”, which gives them priority over an interstate team when signing a local competitor in smaller catchments
• Clubs can choose a draft pick at their discretion based on performance or organisational fit
• “Draft picks” are based on where Clubs finished on the ladder after Round 12 of the Hyundai A-League (see table)

Broadcast (Draft)

• The e-League Draft will be a ‘Facebook Live’ broadcast conducted through the Hyundai A-League Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aleague/
• The Draft will be held Live in Sydney on Thursday, 1 February commencing at 18:30 (6:30 pm) AEDT
• The first round of e-League will take place on 15 February. Broadcast arrangements for the draft and League and other details will be announced in the near future.

e-League – draft list

• The top 50 competitors as ranked by the e-League draft.