Round one at the Saxon Football Association (SFV) e-football tournament, which involves a ticket for the DFB-E-Cup, was concluded on Sunday. A player from the Central Saxony Regional Football Association did not make it into the second round – which is, however, due to the fact that this time there were no participants from the region. The chances of taking part in e-football tournaments should also exist in the future, and not just online.
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The ongoing qualification for the virtual DFB Cup was originally planned as a face-to-face event. “We actually want to offer such events in parallel to major sporting events and do the whole thing in a cooperative way,” explains Chris Rohde, who is the E-Football coordinator at SFV. Due to the corona pandemic, the tournament, which was held in a similar form in spring 2020, must currently take place online. “But that is not the basic idea. It is currently difficult to plan, but we hope that we can still host face-to-face tournaments this year,” says the 38-year-old.
For the time being, the tournaments will only focus on the game “Fifa”. Other soccer simulations such as “Pro Evolution Soccer” or the Autoball game “Rocket League” are not offered, according to Rohde. Electronic football is rarely found in Saxon sports clubs. In central Saxony, only the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has had an esports team so far. According to the SFV coordinator, this is less concerned with sport simulations. Rohde also wants to serve as a point of contact for the clubs. That is why the SFV is offering online training courses on January 19 and 21 to provide information on the subject of e-football. “We want to show how much potential there is in a football comparison on the console and how it can enhance club life”, explains Rohde. “In doing so, we point out the risks, but also show how clubs can benefit from e-football and that the topic does not have to be seen as competition to traditional sport,” says the functionary, who is also responsible for and for popular sport Is responsible for looking after the DFB mobile at the SFV.
In perspective, the topic of e-sports could also find its way into small clubs, thinks Andreas Schramm, President of the Central Saxony Regional Football Association. “But then certainly not as broad as physical football,” said the 40-year-old official. “The real issue for us is physical exercise, but because of Corona, e-sports are of course becoming more and more popular.” Regional initiators are needed to drive development, said the district association chief. “It was similar in futsal until VfL Hohenstein-Ernstthal discovered it for themselves and made it into the Champions League.”
Some Middle Saxon footballers had already looked for a comparison on the console last year. Christian Kuhl from SV Germania Mittweida made it to the fourth round in a nationwide tournament run by a German soccer magazine. At the Finish-It-Cup of the Saxon Association, the Lichtenberg player Kevin Budach, who was still on the ball for SV Mulda at the time, only failed in the quarter-finals. (erba / rosd)
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