The new VBL Club Championship kicks-off today, January 16, with some high-profile fixtures getting this brand-new competition off to a thrilling start.
SUMMARY
- 21 matchday competition will see inaugural VBL Club champion crowned
- New channels launched for eFootball fans
- VBL Club Championship latest addition to unique TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga portfolio
11 matches are scheduled for each matchday, with SV Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig, taking place on Thursday in the VBL Club Championship TV studio in München, the highlight of the opening round.
As the latest edition to the TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga (VBL), now in its seventh season, the VBL Club Championship features 22 clubs from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, who will play to become the inaugural German club champion in eFootball (VBL Club Champion).
The teams, 13 from the Bundesliga and nine from the Bundesliga 2, will all be aiming to reach the VBL Playoffs in March 2019 and the VBL Grand Final in May 2019, with a total of 21 matchdays scheduled over the coming weeks.
One selected top match per week will be broadcast to German sports fans by Pro7 Maxx throughout the season, however the majority of matches will be played between clubs online.
The teams will broadcast these matches on their own and their players’ social media channels, whilst some will also activate at Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 fixtures by hosting games at stadiums on matchdays.
To mark the start of the VBL Club Championship, the Bundesliga has launched a new virtual.bundesliga.com website which will be the central hub for clubs and fans and incorporate footage from all online matches, plus a dedicated (German) Twitter channel to keep followers up to date with all the action.
In addition, a new Virtual Bundesliga YouTube channel has been launched, showing video highlights and additional content from the VBL each week.
Speaking about the this, Bundesliga International CEO, Robert Klein, said: “Bundesliga stands for innovation, constantly embracing new technologies, platforms and formats. We were the first football league in the world to introduce its own eFootball competition with the TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga. The VBL Club Championship will see eFootball players from 22 clubs going head to head – it’s a great spectacle that will reach a much wider diversity of fans, which we are happy to deliver with our partners TAG Heuer and EA Sports.”
