Zaragoza will host, on April 8 and 9, the eLaLiga Santander Cup, an official competition that will bring together the eight best national teams of the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 video game, which has thousands of fans around the world. The event was presented today at the Zaragoza City Hall by Mayor Jorge Azcón, the Councilor for Sports, Cristina García, and LaLiga’s Director of Digital Strategy, Alfredo Bermejo.
The competition will visit the Aragonese capital for the first time with a great show in the Multipurpose Hall of the Auditorium, where you can watch the professional matches and also enjoy a program of activities for all audiences around the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 video game, all with free access until full capacity is reached.
The EA SPORTS FIFA teams of Real Zaragoza, Atlético de Madrid, Levante, RCD Espanyol, UD Ibiza, Deportivo Alavés, Granada CF and Cádiz CF are the eight teams that will compete for the title. It will take place on Saturday, April 9, between 14.00 and 22.00 hours, on the main stage that will be set up in the Multipurpose Hall. The competition system will be direct elimination, with a double round-robin game, and a distribution of 50,000 euros in prizes. During both days, there will be the dynamization of some prominent influencers such as DJ Mariio, Spursito and Toniemcee.
The municipal company Zaragoza Deporte is going to formalize the agreement with LaLiga, which is part of the Zaragoza City Council’s commitment to attract sporting, social and cultural events of national and international projection. In this case, for the first time, it does so to celebrate an official eSports competition that has grown exponentially in recent years, thanks to LaLiga Santander, LaLiga SmartBank and the soccer clubs that have formed their professional teams of this popular video game.
Parallel activities for all audiences
The program of activities will begin on Friday, April 8 with a round table on the «Evolution of traditional organizations in esports», from 12 to 2 p.m. in the Luis Galve room of the Auditorium. The entities involved in the event will take the floor to offer their point of view and experience on the entry of traditional companies in this new digital entertainment format.
On Friday, April 8, between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., any eSports fan will be able to test their skills against one of the professional players of LaLiga Santader. For this initiative, called ‘Challenge the Pro’, a small stage will be set up, with live narration.
In addition, both Friday afternoon (between 15:00 and 21:00) and Saturday morning (10:00 to 14:00) tournaments will be held with open registration for all attendees and prizes for the winners. Specifically, five tournaments will be organized with 16 participants each. They will be played in playoff format from the round of 16 and will last approximately 2 hours. The last tournament will end just before the start of the professional competition.
The so-called Freeplay Areas will also be set up, i.e. eight consoles will be available for any attendee to play the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 video game.
