AS ROMA LAUNCHES ESPORTS TEAM AND FNATIC PARTNERSHIP
AS Roma Launches eSports Team With Fnatic (Photo: AS Roma)
TNL Take: The Pro Sports and eSports investment continues with one of Italy's top Serie A teams AS Roma joining the party and the 11th partnership in 2017 so far.
2017 Pro Sports and eSports Investment (Infographic: The Next Level)
AS Roma entering eSports is slightly different than previous pro teams however:
- Instead of launching an internal eSports division (like Paris St-Germain) or working with an agency (like VFL Wolfsburg), AS Roma partnered with top UK based team Fnatic to launch their team
- AS Roma's first 3 FIFA Athletes are also unique as they're not just based in Italy but the US and UK as well
- Fnatic is probably the leader in eSports merchandise with their own hardware line and even launching a London pop-up store last year. Look to the AS Roma partnership to help drive jersey sales
AS Roma's 1st 3 International FIFA Athlete's (Photo: AS Roma)
One thing that many media sites missed is that this is the 2nd Boston Celtics's involvement after Jonas Jerebko bought eSports team Renegades last year (AS Roma is owned by Celtic's Co-Owner Jim Pallotta).
Jim Pallotta's Raptor Group's Investments (Photo: Raptor)
AS Roma has already been promoting their new eSports squad with a Facebook Live stream generating almost a half million views and 50k on YouTube.