Traditional sports and esports continue to collide, and that means more than just getting to watch Street Fighter on ESPN. Manchester City and Faze Clan have announced a new partnership to bring “engaging content” and “exciting initiatives” to each other’s audiences – which is pretty much exactly as vague as it sounds.
Man City and Faze will produce some sort of content with their respective players, and host worldwide fan events under the partnership. The announcement says that the organisations will “will also bring their FIFA players together in a shared training facility and launch limited edition, co-branded retail products that fans can enjoy.”
That’s the extent of concrete details in all this, because it’s 2019 and you’ve got to wait before the brands will tell you what they’re up to. The two organisations have partnered in the past for a bit of YouTube content, and Man City has dabbled in some competitive gaming with a few FIFA-related esports initiatives.
“Esports is the world’s fastest growing spectator sport,” Man City’s chief marketing officer Nuria Tarre says, apparently unaware that esports is actually a collection of sports, “and this collaboration with FaZe Clan marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Manchester City’s esports journey.”
Faze CEO Lee Trink says the clan “will continue to push the boundaries of gaming and esports by engaging our fans with experiences that are meaningful, memorable, and surprising.” Just expect to wait a bit before learning what all this corporate enthusiasm actually means.