Will FIFA become bigger as an eSport as a result of the FIFA World Cup?

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has not been without controversy, and some fans threatened to boycott the tournament because of the host country's human rights history. Yet, despite that, football itself has been breaking records and hearts worldwide.
 
The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest events in the world's sporting fixtures. It is estimated that it attracts more than $1.7 billion in sponsorship money with the average sponsorship package costing $63.26 million over a four-year cycle, it is hard to think of a bigger sporting event on the planet.
 
With staggering numbers watching from home and fans traveling across the globe to support their team, it applies to other markets, such as selling jerseys, gambling, and more. According to Bloomberg, a total of $35 billion was to be spent wagering on the finals. It makes clear that football, which has always been massive in Europe and South America, is getting more globalized with each World Cup. Asian and African teams had real success in the earlier stages, and the opportunities for Australian online betting when the Socceroos made it through to the round of 16 were also immense.
 
Just as football is a global game, so too is EA's football simulation FIFA. Given the popularity of both grassroots and professional football around the world, it is pretty surprising that the extremely popular gaming version is not even more popular in the eSports format. It is not that FIFA is not a staple in the eSports calendar; it is just that it is never up there with the massive names like CS: GO, League of Legends, Dota and Fortnite.
 
So, what is holding FIFA back from being one of the biggest eSports titles? In 2018, Jimmy Conrad, FIFA Championship Broadcaster, predicted that FUT would be the eSports everyone wanted to compete in and watch. Way back in the earliest days of video games, the marketing team at Sega dreamed of virtual football tournaments. They even took Sega roadshows around the UK on a fleet of double-decker buses, with staff keeping a record of who could score highest on various games. However, the Sega football game was too glitchy, and Sonic the Hedgehog became the more popular bus tournament game in the early 90s. EA's FIFA launched in late 1993, but the game came too late to be popular on the buses.
 
Now at the end of 2022, FIFA is established as a popular eSports event. However, there are still several hurdles that are holding it back. It is not to do with the popularity of football globally but with the FIFA game itself. Ironically, some of the features that make it so popular to play amongst friends can be frustrating for teams playing eSports professionally.
 
EA's FIFA game relies on artificial intelligence to control the other ten players on the pitch. The developers at EA have players emulating the random factors that can happen in an actual football match. However, this can make gameplay unbalanced and out of control. Some in eSports argue that to make the game successful on a grand scale, it would need to be played at an eleven v eleven level. This is not an option within the game at present. It would also be a huge logistical challenge. However, it would be great fun to watch.
 
The other drawback is that players need an Ultimate Team Squad to compete. This means that eSports teams often have to shell out for their athletes to open packs to ensure they have all the advantages they need. This makes it an expensive eSport to get involved in.
 
It will be interesting to see how things develop as FIFA and EA announced earlier this year that they had ended their collaboration. From next year, EA's football game will be called EA Sports FC. EA claimed licensing fees were the reason not to continue the franchise, and FIFA has said that it will make its own video game. Whether either of these will be better for eSports teams remains to be seen. FIFA certainly has the money, and the World Cup in Qatar has shown that they are prepared to go against conventional wisdom.