FIFA stars to compete for the club in the E-Scottish Football Cup
Abertay University and Dundee United FC have launched a new esports collaboration for the upcoming E-Scottish Football Cup.
The tournament, taking place on 21st May, will be contested by a host of Scottish clubs, with professional FIFA players Mitchell Hayward and Josh Blunden representing United.
United’s youngest-ever first team player, Rory MacLeod, visited the University to learn more about its world-leading teaching and research in video games and the games design courses on offer in its School of Design and Informatics.
Professor Gregor White of Abertay University’s School of Design and Informatics said:
As close city partners, this new collaboration between Abertay and Dundee United FC makes perfect sense and it’s excellent to be supporting the club as they embark on their first steps into the rapidly-growing Esports sector. With the video games and Esports industries continuing to go from strength to strength, events like the E-Scottish Football Cup represent a chance for sports organisations like United to attract a different type of fan who’ll value their team’s digital performance every bit as much as their efforts on the pitch.
Dundee United’s Head of Commercial, Elliot Shaw, said:
We are delighted to be taking our first steps as a club into the world of e-sports through the E-Scottish Football Cup. The Esports sector is growing significantly, and we are excited to have Josh and Mitch representing the club in the inaugural national competition. Dundee has a rich history in video games with titles such as Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto hailing from the city. At the centre of this success is Abertay University, who are the UK’s leading university in video games. We are thrilled that Abertay have agreed to come on board as sponsors as we get set for our maiden voyage in Esports.
Abertay University is the top-ranked institution in the UK for undergraduate video games education and in the global top 10 at postgraduate level.
The University launched the world’s first video games degree in 1997 and is a National Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education, with a number of specialist facilities including one of Europe’s largest PlayStation 5 labs, an Emergent Technology Centre and a Visual Production Research Environment (ViPRE).
