Optus To Replace Live Premier League Games With Esports Streaming
Optus is set to broadcast live streams of the ePremier League Invitational FIFA 20 competition in place of English Premier League action, with the league still suspended due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
The competition will feature a star from all 20 Premier League teams battling it out to become the inaugural ePremier League Invitational PS4 Champion.
With Optus Sport holding the broadcast rights to air Premiership games in Australia, the organisation will use this virtual competition as a way to engage football fans while the season remains suspended.
Optus director of sport, Richard Bayliss, said in a statement this competition will be complementing their archive of classic matches, documentaries and shows during the season’s hiatus.
“There’s nothing quite like seeing your team compete live, and the beauty of the ePremier League Invitation is that it will be a chance for the best footballers to reignite their competitive juices with their club’s honour at stake,” Bayliss said.
“People are understandably missing the excitement that live football provides, so what better way to fill the void than through a virtual world where clubs and players are still competing?
“We’re excited to provide our Optus Sport subscribers with live coverage of the tournament throughout the week, complementing our enormous archive of classic matches, documentaries and shows,” he said.
The ePremier League Invitational FIFA 20 competition features players including Raheem Sterling, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Wilfried Zaha and Moussa Sissoko to name a few, with the finals set to begin Thursday on Optus Sport and wrap up at 1am Sunday.
The prize fund for the ePremier League Invitational tournament will be donated to the #PlayersTogether initiative, which was created by Premier League players as a collective way of generating funds for the National Health Service (NHS) and distributing them where they are needed most during the global crisis.
The competition sees Optus Sport join other broadcasters such as Fox Sports and ESPN in featuring esports competitions with professional athletes in the replacement of live competitions from major leagues around the world.
