The soccer simulation Fifa has managed to establish itself within the structures of the traditional soccer world.
The German Football Association (DFB) provides a FIFA national team, the German Football League (DFL) organizes a Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) with 26 clubs from the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga, in which the club's own FIFA teams compete against each other.
At the international level there is even a Fifa eWorld Cup, which is organized by the world football association and manufacturer EA Sports, and on which a Fifa world champion is played every year.
This is currently still the German professional Mohammed "MoAuba" Harkous.
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The Fifa series has a huge following, from adolescent fans to seasoned football professionals, who, to a not inconsiderable extent, regularly pick up the controller themselves - or tease each other in Instagram videos with their fellow players for the player ratings of their digital images.
But while Fifa is one of the best-selling video games every year and has a large player base, audience interest in live esports competitions, even in world championships, is still manageable.
In the streaming area, for example on the Twitch platform, the numbers do not come close to the big esports titles such as League of Legends, Dota 2 or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
And when it comes to the prize money at tournaments, Fifa cannot even come close to keeping up with the competition.
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Konni Winkler moderates and comments on esports competitions
Photo: SPORT1 / eSPORTS1
Why doesn't Fifa manage to advance into the top tier of esports titles with the popularity of football behind them?
We spoke about this with Fifa commentator and esports expert Konni Winkler.
He tells us about the omissions of the manufacturer EA Sports in the viewer experience, financial hurdles for ambitious players and the biggest problem of Fifa as esport: the real football.
Curious?
Scroll to the podcast player at the beginning of the article and listen to the second episode of our new SPIEGEL miniseries "Game Changer".
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