The defending Indian Super League champions, Mumbai City FC has announced the launch of the club’s official Esports team. With the growing industry of Esports in Indian and global reach of the same, Mumbai City FC has become the first-ever Indian football club to launch an Esports team for the FIFA Global Series.
The Islanders have signed Saksham ‘Sakky’ Rattan and Siddh ‘Jenasidfc’ Chandaran, who will be representing Mumbai City FC in the upcoming FIFA 22 events, nationally and internationally, which includes FIFA Global Series. Both of them will be participating in 1v1 and 2v2 competitions.
Saksham has ranked third, while Siddh ranked fifth in India, as they participated and won various tournaments at the international stage while representing the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Kandarp Chandra, CEO of Mumbai City FC said: “Gaming and Esports have brought another dimension to sport and we recognize the potential it has and the impact it can have on the football landscape in India. Through the power of Esports, we intend to increase our presence not just in India but globally and harness it to give our fans a holistic experience of supporting their favourite club, both on and off the pitch.
“We are delighted to launch our Esports team and I welcome Saksham and Siddh to the Mumbai City family. Being the first football club in India to field a team in the prestigious FIFA Global Series, we are confident that we have acquired the services of two incredibly talented FIFA players who will help this club achieve greatly on an international stage and lay a strong foundation for Mumbai City to grow their Esports efforts in the future.”
Adding to it, Saksham Rattan, said: “It’s a huge honor for me to be representing the best club in India and I am excited by the huge opportunity that is presented to me. Mumbai City have ambitions to be at the very top, and that can be seen through the success the Club has achieved not only on the pitch but also off it in recent times. Seeing the direction the club are in is an inspiration to me and I am ready to do my best for Mumbai City along with my good friend Siddh.”
Lastly, Siddh Chandarana, added: “Being a Mumbai boy and a Mumbai City fan, it was impossible for me to turn down the opportunity to represent my home club. I know what it means to be a Mumbaikar, to live and feel that spirit of the city. Naturally, I want to do what I love the most with the team and the city I love the most and I am confident that this is where I am supposed to be. Saksham and I have played together and against each other plenty of times and we’re prepared to take this challenge head on, do our absolute best and compete well.”
Speaking of Esports, ISL has also been featured in the global hit football video game series FIFA22, which is developed by EA Sports. While the Indian top-flight football league has seen its first eISL tournament this year, which is organized by NODWIN Gaming in partnership with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDI). While the eISL also has a huge prize pool of 78 lakhs, which is quite a big statement as India grows in Esports.
Apart from these, Mumbai City FC has roped in EA Sports as its official club partner starting this season.
Mumbai City FC has picked up from where they left last season, as they secured a comfortable 3-0 victory against FC Goa in their opening ISL 2021/22 fixture. While the Islanders will now be facing Hyderabad FC on November, 27.