BMW has signalled a major shift towards esports with a sponsorship announcement covering five of the biggest teams in the world.

The brand has been involved in esports since 2017 when it became a partner of the European League of Legends Series.

BMW’s deal is with Fnatic in Britain, Cloud9 in the United States, G2 Esports in Germany, FunPlus Phoenix in China and T1 in South Korea.

These are the teams at the top of the game and would be the equivalent of investing in Liverpool in football, Red Bull in Formula 1 and the Golden State Warriors in Basketball.

FunPlus and G2 competed in the final of the 2019 World Championship of League of Legends in front of a live streaming audience of more than 100 million around the world.

The partnership covers the team’s participation in a range of games, including League of Legends, FIFA and Fortnite but specifically excludes and games classified in the ‘shooter’ category.

“In the long-term esports will be our biggest footprint,” says Stefan Ponikva, head of BMW Brand Experience Shows & Events.

“The younger generation, being born digital-first, doesn’t really care about TV or traditional advertising. Esports is our tool to reach them.”

Sport for Business will dive into the world of esports again next Tuesday when it is the focus of our next Live Webinar. We will be discussing the future of the sport with Jonny Madill one of the leading experts in the field, as well as getting an Irish perspective from Trev Keane representing the newly formed Ireland esports, and Enda Lynch from Munster Rugby who has just entered the sphere via a partnership with one of Ireland’s top teams, Phelan Gaming.

Next week we will also have an exclusive interview with the four leading lights in Ireland esports and bring you news of an exciting collaboration for charity between some of our leading sports stars and one of the top gaming companies based in Dublin.

Check out our Live Webinar series Events coming up on Sport for Business