German football club Hertha BSC have announced that they are setting up their own esport academy with aims to discover and develop esports talent in the world of FIFA, working with insurance firm AOK Nordost and Stark Esports to do so.
The team becomes the first club in Germany's top flight to found its own academy for esports, and in the new year they'll hots tournaments and scouting events in Berlin, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommen to try and find the most talented players between the ages of 12 and 18. These qualification tournaments will see two to four talents selected for the academy, who will then be trained by head of the academy Matthias 'Stylo' Hietsch.
Paul Keuter, a member of the Hertha BSC board, said: "We have decided to take the decision and join the eSports industry and continue the tradition of going our own individual way about things. We want to boost our already successful footballing academy and take that success into the eSports and digital world. Our goal is to scout out a range of talents and develop a range of innovative and sustainable eSport professionals from Hertha BSC."
Do you think more football clubs should do the same?