Buzz
Recently, KONAMI has astounded everyone with an unexpected maneuver.
Recently, the renowned Japanese game publisher, KONAMI, announced the Coppa eFootball Italia tournament. It's an esports competition featuring seven prestigious Italian football clubs under KONAMI's licensing umbrella, standing strong against fierce FIFA competition.
In recent years, EA's FIFA has nearly monopolized the licensing rights of major football names globally. KONAMI now holds rights to only a few teams, including seven Italian clubs: AC Milan, AC Monza, AS Roma, Atalanta BC, FC Internazionale Milano, SS Lazio, and SSC Napoli.
The tournament's structure will witness the convergence of partner club players, their young talents, professional esports players, and fan representatives. Each club will be represented by three different players: a selected youth team player, an esports expert, and fans chosen from a special qualifying tournament named KONAMICI.
Coppa eFootball Italia will conclude with an offline Grand Final at the end of April 2023, hosted at Napoli COMICON during the last weekend of April. The winning club will secure a significant prize, including a specialized eFootball gaming and multimedia center to be installed at the club's youth training complex. The tournament will also be documented through a series of episodes on eFootball's YouTube channel, focusing on analysis, highlights, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.
In 2021, KONAMI rebranded its soccer simulation game PES to eFootball, transitioning from annual releases to a regularly updated, free-to-play title across all platforms. Throughout 2022, the company secured agreements with numerous renowned football clubs, including Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan, among others.
