Two South Africans vie for the top prize at the eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup, LaLiga’s most international eLaLiga tournament ever
An all-new international tournament program using EA SPORTS FIFA21 by LaLiga and EA Sports
16 countries, 31 online tournaments, 4 regional finals and 1 grand final
Johannesburg.- eLaLiga Santander, the official tournament of FIFA21 in Spain organized by LaLiga and Electronic Arts, becomes more global than ever. This year, for the first time, it will bring an amateur competition to millions of fans around the world under the name of eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup, and South Africans will be able to participate in this eSports tournament.
Thanks to this support, title sponsor Banco Santander, alongside their sponsorship of the national competition and Verizon, a current sponsor of LaLiga in North America, have signed on to be partners of the global tournament, demonstrating their interest in the business of eSports.
While eLaLiga Santander looks for the best professional players in the country for the fourth consecutive year in a row, eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup will bring the competition to amateur players around the world that simply enjoy playing EA SPORTS FIFA21, and will provide them an all new competitive experience to help test their skills.
In South Africa, LaLiga will hold two online FIFA21 tournaments to find two nationals who will participate in the regional tournament finals, thereafter they will fight for a spot in eLaLiga Fan Cup Grand finals
During November and December, a series of online tournaments will be played in each region in order to finally select a total of 24 players. Through the first months of 2021, the finalists from each region will compete in three regional finals in order to fight for a spot at the eLaLiga Fan Cup Grand Final, that will be celebrated on May 8th in Madrid.
South African players – who will be paired in a ‘rest of the world’ group that includes, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt – will battle for the top 2 spots between the 20th – 21st February 2021.
eSports being more than just a game in South Africa
Showcasing the influence of eGaming, in early June LaLiga teamed up with Orlando Pirates in organising a friendly FIFA 20 challenge between the South African football club and the LaLiga Santander side, Real Sociedad. This friendly charity tournament was used to encourage South Africans to donate to the Solidarity Fund – a government fund to help combat the pandemic.
Such like how this eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup has the power to change one lucky fans life, this FIFA20 Challenge served to not only entertain fans across both spectrums but also most importantly raise funds in the fight against COVID-19 in South Africa.
The competition format of eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup
The 16 different countries chosen for the first ever eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup are China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, and Spain.
All interested fans can find more details about the tournament format and register through the official website, fancup.elaliga.gg
Become the next star
Thanks to eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup, the best players among all the fans of EA SPORTS FIFA21 around the world will get the chance to test their competitive abilities and, who knows, trigger the start of a meteoric career.
In the grand final in Madrid of May 8, players will compete for a prize pool of 10.000€ (Over 190.000ZAR). They will have the opportunity the experience to compete in a professional environment and be treated like true professionals with a VIP eLaLiga Experience during the entire event. Within the same event venue in Madrid, the Grand Final of the national eLaLiga Santander will take place hours later, and competitors will get the chance to absorb the atmosphere and see the best professional players in Spain battle it out after the eLaLiga Fan Cup concludes.
About LaLiga
LaLiga is a global, innovative and socially responsible organisation which is a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 public limited sports companies (SADs) and clubs of LaLiga Santander and the 22 of LaLiga SmartBank, and is responsible for organising professional football competitions in Spain. In the 2018/19 season, LaLiga reached more than 2.7 billion people globally. With its headquarters in Madrid (Spain), it is present in 55 countries through eleven offices and 46 delegates. The organisation carries out its social work through its foundation and was the world’s first professional football league to establish a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.
