The Belgian Pro League and Belgian pay-television and telecommunications company Proximus, are organising a Fifa 20 esports competition to make up for the lack of matches during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Proximus Pro League e-Cup will invite fans to register to represent their favourite Pro League team in online friendlies across the course of the week in EA Sport’s Fifa 20 game.
Competing players will be granted points and prizes to incentivise them to play more matches. The organisers have designated Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays as ‘Hotzones” when players will qualify for double rewards.
Proximus shares non-exclusive live domestic rights to the Pro League with Telenet and Voo from 2017-18 to 2019-20, supplemented by highlights and near-live clip rights.
In May 2018, the broadcaster unveiled a major three-pronged commitment to esports in Belgium incorporating media rights, the creation of new competitions and sponsorship.
The initiative revolved around strategic partnerships with esports organisation ESL and the Belgian Pro League. Under the deal, Proximus also became an official partner of the Belgian eDevils outfit, the official team of the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA/KBVB).
This is the final year of the broadcaster’s deal with the Pro League. In February, the league voted in favour of a five-year contract with Eleven Sports, covering domestic and international rights to the top two Belgian divisions worth €103m ($110.5m) per season from 2020-21 to 2024-25.