VfL Bochum 1848, the German football team currently residing in the Bundesliga 2, has announced the signing of two FIFA players marking its move into esports.
It becomes the first club from the second tier of German football to make a move into the burgeoning esports space. There’s now a fair few German clubs involved, and we would expect further activity across the FIFA space as a whole with rumours suggesting that every top tier football club across Europe may be required to have a FIFA player on their books.
The two players signed by VfL Bochum 1848 esports come from STARK, arguably the leading agency for clubs looking to enter esports through the FIFA medium. The club will gain strategic and operational guidance from STARK, and STARK players Michael “MgaBit” Bittner and Daniel “DaniFink” Fink will represent the club.
Michael “MegaBit” Bittner finished in the top eight at FIWC 2016, FIFA’s most prestiguous esports tournament. His other achievements include coming in the top four of the Virtuelle Bundesliga 2017 and runner-up in the FIWC Regional Finals against CodyDerFinisher (who became vice world champion on XBOX).
Daniel “Dani Fink” Fink played for VfL Wolfsburg back in 2015, becoming one of the first players to represent a traditional sports club. He finished in the top six of the Virtuelle Bundesliga this year, and top three the year before. He also competed in the FIWC Regional Finals this year but failed to make a mark.
Esports Insider says: It really wouldn’t be too surprising if we see more and more clubs enter the space now. As we mentioned, there’s murmurs of it becoming compulsory for top tier clubs to have FIFA players. Bochum aren’t in the top tier but have already made their move with two impressive signings. Congratulations to the players, STARK and Bochum.