Berlin-based esports organization G2 Esports announced Wednesday that it is officially one of only a handful of European esports organizations to join the world of football by launching a team for the Kings League. This new team, G2 FC, will make its debut when it competes in Kings World Cup Qualifiers in Germany later this month.
The company said in a release that this step into the realm of real-world sports is part of its mission to redefine what modern entertainment is by merging “traditional sports, esports, and digital experiences to captivate multigenerational audiences…” Typically football clubs align with esports teams or launch their own teams to compete, but they do not typically—as G2 has done—launch football clubs.
G2 FC will be led by Berlin footballers Ron Stublla, who will serve as team manager, and Malik Hadziavdic, who will serve as its coach. Stublla has a background in sports management and, in the past, played in the Youth Bundesliga. Hadziavdic is a current member of the German National Futsal team and a player for FC Liria Berlin in the Futsal Bundesliga.
“When G2 was created 10 years ago, the dream was to build the ‘Real Madrid of esports’,” Alban Dechelotte, CEO of G2, said in a release. “We wanted to be known as a disruptive brand that’s not only competitively successful, but also has a great personality that knows how to entertain and captivate our fans through storytelling and community building. Now, 10 years later, we are the ‘Real Madrid of esports’, so it’s time for us to go one step further and become the ‘G2 of sports.’ Esports has a unique way of connecting with and engaging our passionate fanbase and now it’s our opportunity to show traditional sports how we do things, the G2 way.”
G2 also announced that it has partnered with German influencers Reeze and Rumathra to co-stream all G2 FC games on Twitch. On April 12, G2 FC will take part in Kings League Germany’s qualification series for the Kings World Cup, which takes place in June.