It was about time a major football club is dipping its toes into the e-sports scene.
Confirmed! City sign eSports rising star @_KezBrown ⚽️
READ ➡️ https://t.co/q6vGlCJEnz #mcfc pic.twitter.com/yf6LoBFV9M
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 6, 2016
While West Ham was indeed the first in the BPL to have FIFA player signed on as part of a football club, Manchester City, a major club that is known to have lavish budgets and consistently performing in the league has follow suit with the signing of 18-year old Kieran “Kez” Brown. (Or his online handle kezbrown)
Kez is notable for his streams over on Twitch and also a YouTuber. Aside from representing Man City in FIFA tournaments, he will aid in providing content for the club’s YouTube channel as well.
While Kez may not be a top player just yet, according to SVP of Media and Information for City Football Marketing Diego Gigilani, Kez’s familiarity with YouTube and Twitch did influence why he was a good pick for Man City.
“When we set out to find an eSports player, we decided we wanted someone who was a fantastic, young, talent, but also with a hunger and a desire to grow. We strongly believe we have found that in Kieran. He is full of potential. Not only is he a great player, but we also believe he will engage and interact brilliantly with our fans all around the world.”
-Diego Gigilani, SVP of Media and Information for City Football Marketing
It’s interesting to see how the new signings for e-sports made by football clubs will influence the scene. With more opportunities opening up by the day, this would help the development of e-sports by encouraging top talents to keep honing their craft that is by playing videogames.