Football club Manchester City teams up with Korean esports organisation Gen.G
22 June 2023
It looks like the world of esports in the UK has truly and well reached the city of Manchester as well. After the recent opening of the Manchester Esports Academy, one of the first dedicated academies for esports in the UK, local powerhouse football club Manchester City have announced a new collaboration with Korean esports organisation Gen.G. And all of that comes on top of the fact that the esports scene in Manchester was already gaining some serious buzz over the past few years.
“Working with Gen.G, a hugely successful name in the gaming industry, we hope to combine our unique global audiences, providing both organisations the chance to create exciting experiences for football and esports fans alike”, says Gavin Johnson, Media Director at City Football Group.
Focus on Asia
With the brand-new deal with Gen.G now inked, Manchester City is continuing its focus on the Asian market. Recently, the club also announced that they will be visiting Seoul, the capital of South Korea, as part of their 2023-24 preseason preparations, which will kick off in July. In that light, the collaboration with Gen.G makes even more sense. It will help the esports giant to gain more global exposure, while it will allow Manchester City to optimise its presence in Asia, and in the Korean market in particular.
“We've been on a search to learn from the sports world's best about what it takes to maintain a championship mindset even under the brightest lights of competition, and we are excited to work with the newly crowned champions, Manchester City under the banner of GEN CITY”, says Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G, in Man City’s official press release, “We are incredibly excited about this partnership both for our competitive and educational teams and hope to build upon this collaboration into the future”.
Focus on unique content
For those who are not yet aware of Gen.G, the Korean team is what is called a multi-gaming team that is owned by KSV eSports Korea. This means that the organisation has different teams competing in different esports titles, including League of Legends, PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) and Rocket League. In the past year or so, Gen.G won various big tournaments and events, including the LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) 2022 Summer, the LCK 2022 Summer Playoffs, and the LCK 2023 Spring Playoffs. In between, they also grabbed second place during the LCK 2023 Spring.
According to both parties, the main idea behind the new collaboration is to offer its audiences the opportunity to be part of unique experiences. This will include access to new cross-over content, tailor-made for both sets of fans, and in-person fan events in South Korea. Man City’s upcoming tour of the Korean capital fits those plans perfectly, for example, as the United Arab Emirates-owned club will look for further ways to increase fan engagement in collaboration with its new esports partner.