Football has become the latest code in New Zealand to embrace the rising popularity of online gaming.
Photo: 123rf
New Zealand Football (NZF) confirmed on Monday they would be forming a national eFootball team.
The team would be made up of the best players from across Aotearoa and would compete in the upcoming FIFAe Nations Series, run by the sport's global governing body.
Since its debut in 2019, the tournament had seen the best players of the EA Sports FIFA video game from around the world representing their respective countries in Fifa's official inter-nation competition.
"eFootball represents a significant opportunity for New Zealand Football to engage with new audiences across Aotearoa," NZF competitions manager Keegan McCauley said.
"The previous competitions we have run have shown the high level of talent we have in this country.
"With the formation of our eNational Team there is now an opportunity for our best players to regularly test themselves against the rest of the world whilst proudly wearing the fern."
To select the team, NZF would be holding a qualifying tournament, the NZF eTrophy 2021.
The tournament was set start on 20 March for Playstation and 21 March for Xbox, culminating in an offline final in Auckland on 9 April.
The best 2-5 players from the tournament will be selected to form the debut squad.
Any New Zealand passport holder, aged over 16, was eligible to represent the eNational Team, as long as they hadn't previously played for another country.
The eFootball team will be 10th NZF national team, with the national body asking the public for ideas for a nickname for the as yet unnamed team.