Football grounds were built for one thing: ninety minutes on a Saturday afternoon. Today many of them are busy six or seven days a week, hosting concerts, conferences, museum tours and, increasingly, gaming events. Some of the world’s most famous stadiums have already filled their stands for video game finals, and clubs from the Premier League to the Bundesliga run esports teams of their own. As coverage on eSportnow shows, the line between real and virtual football has never been thinner. For fans who plan trips around grounds, that shift is changing what a stadium visit can look like.
When World Cup stadiums filled up for gamers
The idea of an esports crowd in a football stadium sounds modern, but it has been happening for more than a decade.
In 2014, the final of the League of Legends World Championship was played at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Tens of thousands of fans watched two teams battle on a stage set up on the pitch. The 2014 World Championship is still remembered as the moment esports proved it could fill a venue of that size.
Other landmark grounds followed:
| Stadium | Football connection | Esports event |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul World Cup Stadium | 2002 World Cup venue | League of Legends Worlds final, 2014 |
| Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt | 2006 World Cup venue, home of Eintracht Frankfurt | ESL One Frankfurt (Dota 2), mid-2010s |
| Beijing National Stadium | 2008 Olympics, hosts major football matches | League of Legends Worlds final, 2017 |
| Incheon Munhak Stadium | 2002 World Cup venue | League of Legends Worlds final, 2018 |
ESL even billed its Frankfurt event as the world’s largest Dota 2 festival when it returned to the stadium, a sign of how much organisers valued the setting.
Clubs that built their own esports teams
The other side of the story is clubs going digital themselves. Over the past decade, many football clubs have signed players to compete in football video games, and some have gone much further.
Schalke 04 was one of the boldest examples. The Bundesliga club ran a League of Legends team in Europe’s top league for several years before selling its spot in 2021. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also run esports operations, mostly built around football titles.
Leagues have followed. The ePremier League, launched in 2019, lets players represent Premier League clubs in EA Sports FC competition. At the top of the global calendar, the FC Pro World Championship is now part of the Esports World Cup, putting virtual football alongside some of the biggest titles in gaming.
What it looks like inside the ground
For clubs, esports isn’t just a branding exercise. It’s a way to keep the stadium busy when there’s no match on. Across Europe, grounds have experimented with several formats:
- Gaming tournaments in hospitality suites and lounges, often for fans and local schools.
- Gaming zones inside club museums, where visitors can play as their team.
- Esports finals shown on big screens, sometimes inside the stadium bowl.
- Community events that bring younger supporters to the ground for the first time.
These events tend to use the same spaces that host conferences and corporate days. They need strong connectivity, big screens and good seating, all things modern stadiums already have.
Why clubs care
There are a few clear reasons football clubs are leaning in:
- Reaching younger fans. Many children discover football through video games before they ever attend a match.
- Using the stadium more often. A ground that hosts events on non-match days earns more and stays part of the community.
- Global reach. A club’s esports player can build fans in countries the first team rarely visits.
- Sponsorship opportunities. Tech and gaming brands want to reach the same audiences as football.
There are also limits. Esports crowds for football titles are much smaller than for games like League of Legends, and not every supporter welcomes gaming in a traditional ground. Clubs that do it well usually treat esports as an extra, not a replacement for what happens on the pitch.
What it means for groundhoppers and visitors
If you travel to grounds, esports is quietly changing what’s on offer:
- Stadium tours may now include interactive or gaming areas.
- Non-match day events can be a cheaper way to see inside a ground.
- Family visits can combine a tour with a gaming session for younger fans.
- Big esports finals can fill hotels and transport in host cities, so it’s worth checking event calendars before booking.
A quick check of a club’s events page before you travel can reveal more than just fixtures.
The challenges ahead
Bringing esports into football grounds isn’t simple. Big events need high-capacity internet, broadcast facilities and staging that can be set up and taken down without damaging the pitch. Large outdoor stadiums can also struggle with weather and lighting for screen-based events, which is why many esports finals still prefer indoor arenas.
There’s also the question of the pitch itself. Groundsmen are understandably protective of the playing surface, and staging a large event on it in the middle of a season is rarely an option. That’s why most club-run gaming events stay in lounges, concourses and conference rooms rather than the bowl.
Even so, the trend is clear. As stadiums become year-round venues, gaming is one of the most natural ways to fill them.
A new kind of matchday
The terraces aren’t going anywhere. But the idea of a stadium as a place used only on matchdays is fading. From World Cup grounds hosting gaming finals to clubs fielding esports players in their colours, football has started to treat the digital game as part of its own story. For fans, that means the next visit to a famous ground might not involve a ball at all.