Even if it is mandatory: Union Berlin is the only club in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga that does not want to compete in the VBL. And this despite the fact that the club already has a short history on the virtual pitch.
This season, the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship is celebrating a record number of participants for its league in EA Sports FC 24, formerly FIFA, with 35 teams. Only one club from the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga is missing: 1. FC Union Berlin.
In August, Union President Dirk Zingler justified the decision in a statement with a view to the club’s purpose: “As a non-profit sports club, we see it as our job to promote actual sport, not its digital simulation,” said Zingler.
Union Berlin and e-sports
Even almost four months later, the club from Berlin-Köpenick does not seem to have any e-sports ambitions. “We currently have nothing to add to our statement from the summer,” said Christian Arbeit, press spokesman for 1. FC Union Berlin, when asked by the German Press Agency.
The fans seem to be on your side: From the point of view of the Union fan club “FC Flying Suitcase”, waiving e-sports is absolutely right, says member Philipp Bohm of the dpa. Accordingly, e-sports is a completely different sport that has so far had no relevance in the club. Therefore, according to the fan club spokesman, there is simply no need to create a new department in the club.
Union 2020 at Bundesliga Home Challenge
E-sports are not entirely foreign to Berliners. When the football world came to a standstill in 2020 due to the corona pandemic, the Iron Men took part in the Bundesliga Home Challenge on the virtual pitch. Instead of e-athletes, the then Union players Keven Schlotterbeck and Julius Kade were active on the controller.
A return to the virtual pitch currently seems impossible. The focus is on “promoting sports instead of gaming,” as it says on the Eiserne website.
A decision with consequences: Participation in the Virtual Bundesliga has been mandatory for teams in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga since this season due to a change in the league statutes of the German Football League (DFL). Failure to show up is associated with an unknown penalty, which the Köpenickers accept.
Hertha is hoping for a city derby with Union
While Union is not interested in the VBL, people in the west of the capital – at Hertha BSC – would be more interested in another virtual Berlin duel.
“Of course we would be happy about a derby in the Virtual Bundesliga,” says Dennis Krüger, head of e-sports at Hertha, to the dpa. “We are excited to see when all 36 teams will take part.” According to Krüger, the current record number of participants of 35 teams is a clear sign for e-sports. One is proud to be involved in it.
(dpa)
2023-12-20 18:38:56
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