THE CONNECTED CLUB CUP RETURNS, INTRODUCING WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT FOR FIRST TIME
17th May 2023: Back by popular demand, The Home Nations and EE are proud to once again join forces for The Connected Club Cup 2023 with the introduction of the first women’s tournament. The Esports FIFA competition will see grassroots gamers go head-to-head with Home Nations footballers and Esports pros at a live final held at Wembley Stadium, and connected by EE Full Fibre.
Open to anyone over the age of 16[1] from 17th May, gamers will battle it out to be crowned the winner and play against Home Nations football players and EXCEL esports pro gamers at the home of England Football - Wembley Stadium connected by EE - on 26th July 2023. Streamed live on the FA Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/england), esports fans will be able to watch players trick, flick and spin it out to be awarded the Connected Club Cup trophy – and a host of incredible prizes including tickets to an International Football match, and a signed merchandise.
Pete Jeavons, Director of Marketing Communications at EE, adds: “Together with The Home Nations, we are delighted to see the return of the Connected Club Cup, powered by EE’s Full Fibre Broadband, and continue to help transform grassroots clubs across the country into community hubs. We are committed to making both football and gaming as inclusive as possible, which is why we have introduced a women’s tournament this year.
As part of our mission to become the UK’s no.1 destination for gaming, we are proud to be offering this opportunity for grassroot gamers to show off their talent and compete against the pros to be crowned the Connected Club Cup 2023 champion.”
Stephen Hutchinson, Head of Partnerships at the FA, said: “Launching the first women’s tournament in the Connected Club Cup is an exciting time for both The FA and EE, and in particular women esports fans across England - as we aim to bring together football communities and esports.
It has been great to watch our 2022 winner and finalists’ journeys in esports grow over the past year, and we are looking forward to giving the opportunity to many more football fans and gamers in 2023.”
As lead partner of the Home Nations Football Associations, EE is focused on improving the lives of millions of players, coaches, and fans across the UK. With grassroots clubs, the focus is to create closer football communities and opportunities through new digital and football skills initiatives. Connected Clubs is just one of those initiatives, with an ambition to connect over 200 grassroots community football clubs across the Home Nations with a package of EE products and services, including wi-fi, EE Full Fibre Broadband and landline.
Notes to Editors:
Entry and qualifiers
The Connected Club Cup online national qualifiers, hosted by Battlefy, an esports tournament provider, will take place online, running over four weeks in May and June. To enter, visit: battlefy.com/connectedclubcup between 17th May until 2nd June 08:00 GMT. Players will enter the men’s or women’s tournament and will then be placed into qualifiers for their respective location (via post code validation).
4 of the best men and 4 of the best women from each nations qualifiers will move onto the national finals.
National Finals
The national final tournaments will be hosted at one of EE’s Connected Clubs – grassroots football clubhouses that have been turned into gaming hubs using EE Full Fibre. Chasetown FC, Barry Town United AFC, Pollok United FC and Ballymacash Rangers FC will host four players from each qualifier on 18th June.
Proving EE Full Fibre can handle anything, gamers will compete in a two-leg round-robin (all-play-all) tournament, with each leg played on a different console. The best male and female player from each national final will then win a place at the live exhibition final.
The Connected Club Cup Exhibition Final
The live exhibition final, hosted in The FA Club Box at Wembley Stadium on 26th July, will welcome two grassroots gamers from each national final. Following the same round-robin format as the national finals, the eight finalists can also test their skills against Home Nations football players and EXCEL esports gamers. The live exhibition final, powered by EE Full Fibre broadband, will also be streamed on the FA Twitch channel.
- ENDS -
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[1] Open to anyone over the age of 16 living in England