With soccer leagues around the globe suspending matches in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Spanish soccer league La Liga has come up with an inventive way to keep competing: playing a FIFA 20 tournament. Over the weekend, Sevilla and Real Betis took their cancelled match online in FIFA 20, with Sergio Reguilon playing for Sevilla and Borja Iglesias representing Real Betis. The match attracted more than 60,000 online viewers. This comes at a time when many other soccer clubs throughout Europe have joined another FIFA 20 tournament known as the Ultimate QuaranTeam.
With the coronavirus inspiring countries around the world to recommend their citizens practice social distancing or even shelter in place at their homes for several weeks, many businesses have been affected. This includes sports, and soccer has effectively stopped for the foreseeable future. The initial idea was to play soccer games behind closed doors, meaning no audience would be present, but given the latest measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, many soccer leagues, including Spain's La Liga, have suspended all games for a time. For La Liga, this means pausing the action during a fierce competition between two of its most popular teams, with FC Barcelona leading the league over Real Madrid by only two points.
Fortunately, La Liga fans have something else to look forward to now. The success of the FIFA 20 Sevilla vs Real Betis online match has inspired the entirety of La Liga to join in the virtual action, as reported by AS (thanks, Kotaku). Spanish esports announcer Ibai Llanos is the man behind the idea, calling for one player from each of La Liga's teams to come forward and represent his respective team. Fans on Twitter responded to this idea with enthusiasm. Some supporters of other leagues, such as the popular English Premiere League and the German Bundesliga, commented that they wish their leagues would participate in an online tournament too. Here is the original Tweet which sparked the conversation:
Now committed to the FIFA 20 tournament, La Liga teams have decided on their representatives. Famous soccer players like Barcelona's Sergi Roberto and Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente will pick up their controllers to participate in the tournament in the coming weeks. It's hard to say what the matches will look like, as not every footballer actually plays any video games at all, let alone FIFA 20 specifically. Still, some clubs are taking the competition seriously. For example, Real Madrid had online play-off matches to see who was the most skilled, with Marco Asensio winning the right to represent the team in the end.
Fans can prepare for some intense competition. Ibai will host the tournament on his Twitch account, and any money generated from the stream will be donated. Because the FIFA 20 tournament match-ups will take place based on current real-world standings, matches may get heated between the teams that were experiencing the biggest rivalries in the league. Before, these clubs battled it out in the pitch to gain points and move up in the league's rankings. Now, their pitch will be digital and the competition just for fun, but fans can still look forward to exciting matches. During these times of isolation, bringing back some of these cancelled soccer matches can bring players and fans together online, helping them stay connected to their favorite sport despite the coronavirus.