We review the increased use of virtual competition in various disciplines to entertain and raise funds in the fight against COVID-19. All in one.
In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, FIFA 20 has become a kind of balm for those who want to disconnect from the storm of news about the virus. The soccer planet ceases its activity in moments as delicate as this. From the large agglomerations we come to experience their intensity from another prism that has always remained there, observing, living silently with real life. We are not only talking about an exclusive environment for those skilled with sticks, but that the faces of the highest spheres of football are measured in a duel that does not miss a single detail.
We review the main activities around FIFA 20, a title that managed to place the virtual competition on the covers of general media and which is available to buy digitally and at a 60% offer on the PS Store. With the quarantine, why not make the leap to the world of virtual football while we wait for the return of the weekend and the nights of Champions.
The platoon is targeted at the roller
Virtual cycling is a little-known discipline in the world of two wheels. Usually used as a training method in simulators, what was previously a complement has become the only way for professionals in the sector to carry out their work. At least for the organizers who want to do so. It is not a substitute, but a way to keep up while looking for gaps in the calendar.
We are talking, for example, of the legendary Tour of Flanders, which brought together several of the squad's leaders to run the classic among the classic ones on the calendar. Thomas De Gendt, Tim Wellens, Nicholas Roche, Michael Matthews and Alberto Bettiol, among others, were the main participants in an atypical multi-colored snake.
Victory would eventually be won by Greg Van Avermaet, the CCC Reno rider and former BMC member. The Belgian finally knows what it is to succeed on this route, after having garnered a second and third place in previous editions in real life.
The Flanders Tour is one of those that have given way to an atypical environment. The Milan-San Remo gathered more than 4,000 cyclists, including Vincenzo Nibali, first sword of the Trek-Segafredo. The Giro d'Italia will do the same with cycling legends in the spirit of raising funds to help the Italian Red Cross.
The Mutua Madrid Open is played from home
Tennis also does not go unnoticed by the wave of proposals with a technological nature. Due to the postponement of the activity of the professional circuits until next July 13, events such as the Mutua Madrid Open this year have been affected. Instead of throwing in the towel, what better way than to organize a virtual tournament.
It will be held between April 27 and 30 through the Tennis World Tour, the Breakpoint Studios game and one of the most recent transfers of the racket to the video game world. But the best are solidary ends. The tournament will have a donation of € 150,000 in both tables, both ATP and WTA. According to the official statement, the winners "will be able to decide the amount they give to the tennis players with the most financial problems." In addition, € 50,000 will go entirely to "reduce the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."
There will be two tournaments: in one, 16 professional participants from both organizations will participate in a group format with four groups. In the other, the main content creators of the video game will face various professional tennis players for charitable purposes. The names have not yet transpired in full, except for those already confirmed: Andy Murray, Carla Suárez, Lucas Pouille and Angelique Kerber.
The horse riding also gallops on the virtual lawn
The Grand National is for horse riding what the Champions League final is for the football planet. The largest and most famous horse event has only suffered three cancellations since it began in 1839: on the occasion of World War I, World War II and the pandemic we suffered in 2020.
For the less common ones, the participants must make two laps of a circuit of almost four kilometers, all full of obstacles, to make matters worse. Thanks to the simulated environment, an average of 4.3 million viewers followed the show through social networks and major broadcast networks.
2.6 million pounds, which in exchange is close to 3 million euros, were the final amount raised to alleviate the COVID-19 crisis in British lands. The winner, Potters Corner, was the least of it. The final triumph was won by solidarity.
The passion of a derby, now from the sofa
The start of the state of alarm deprived us of an exciting day in Spanish football. We stayed at the gates of living the Sevillian duel in the heart of Nervión. The tension was still palpable between the two hobbies; For this reason, Sergio Reguilón and Borja Iglesias were summoned to FIFA 20 to resolve the dispute in a very special way.
With Ibai Llanos in the narration, on March 15 the digital version of a derby was disputed that offered us laughter, epic moments and emotion until the end. The 5-5 painted at the end of regulation time gave way to an extension that was decided with a golden goal. So much so that he fell on the green side after a small technical error. The party between the two friends peaked at 60,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch. Numbers that highlight the relevance of organizing this type of shows.
From that moment, clubs of all kinds followed suit. Another of our soccer classics, the Asturian derby, pushed two players from each team to resolve their differences with the command: Yoel Bárcenas and Carlos Hernández, for Real Oviedo; Álvaro Vázquez and Nacho Méndez, for Sporting de Gijon. The confrontation between the two greats of Asturias is one of the main attractions of LaLiga Smartbank.
Although the least was football. The important thing about the two meetings that took place was the speaker for the action carried out by the Red Cross against the coronavirus. All the donations made during the broadcast were transferred directly to alleviate the consequences of this disaster we are experiencing. The first duel of this solidarity derby was taken by the Carbayón team 0-3; Nacho Méndez won 2-1 in the second. The tables in the overall result were decided to a third match in which Yoel broke the red and white network with a forceful 0-4. There were no winners or losers: the only thing that won was the solidarity of those who made a donation to the collection.
The Carranza Trophy is played in the spring
If we talk about the Carranza Trophy, the infinite blue of the beaches of Cádiz comes to mind. The famous summer tournament moves to spring in a very special way. Around the console, the main LaLiga Smartbank clubs face each other in FIFA 20 to win this virtual cup.
The objective, solidarity like the others, aims to raise as much money as possible until the end date, next Friday, April 4. The gofundme platform collects all the donations from those who want to contribute their grain of sand in this fight that touches us very closely as a society.
What we do know is that the precious glass will stay in Andalusia. Cádiz and Málaga will face each other in the final. In other words, Rafael Giménez Jarque “Fali” and Iván Jaime will defend their shield (respectively) after a disparate semis. Fali beat Real Oviedo in a tight 3 to 2, while Iván destroyed Rayo Vallecano's goal with a humiliating 9 to 1.
Ibai Tournament: more than 140,000 reasons to join LaLiga Santander
The tournament hosted by famous eSports commentator Ibai Llanos started as a simple question thrown into the air. “Would you like a FIFA tournament among the top 20 teams? (…) I could also call soccer narrators to comment on it. And we donate everything generated in streaming ”. With that comment the seed was already planted.
Several first division players took the first step on their own, such as Sergio Reguilón, Borja Iglesias, Marcos Asensio or Courtois himself. Other ex of our league, like Achraf Hakimi (current side of Borussia Dortmund), asked that the initiative also be transferred to the national championship in which he participates, in this case the Bundesliga.
The proposal, launched on March 16, materialized in a matter of hours. "Not even 24 hours have passed since I posted the tweet and we already have the 20 first-rate teams confirmed," Ibai narrated on his personal Twitter account. And not only that, but several of the most prestigious professionals in sports narration joined the tournament. “Rubén Martín, Miguel Ángel Román, Antoni Daimiel and Manolo Lama come to comment. It is going to be a lot of trouble, "he concluded. At the end, Daimiel fell off the list; José Sanchís, Ander Cortés and Danae Boronat entered. Youtuber DJ Mario didn't miss a chance either. The FIFA 20 tournament was held on PS4 online with the PS Plus subscription service.
As for the footballers, there would be no less: Gorka Guruzeta (Athletic Club de Bilbao); Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelona); Adrián Embarba (RCD Espanyol); Marcos Asensio (Real Madrid); Marcos Llorente (Atlético de Madrid); Sergio Reguilón (Sevilla FC); Borja Iglesias (Real Betis); Januzaj (Real Sociedad); Carlos Clerc (Levante UD); Alejandro Pozo (RCD Mallorca); Carlos Soler (Valencia CF); Rubén García (CA Osasuna); Lucas Pérez (Deportivo Alavés); Morlanes (Villareal CF); Kevin Vázquez (Real Club Celta de Vigo); Pedro Porro (Real Valladolid); Aitor Ruibal (CD Leganés); Antonio Martínez (Granada CF); Edu Expósito (SD Eibar) and Jason (Getafe CF).
Apart from the controversy in which Sergi Roberto and Konami were involved, the closure of the tournament left success numbers. More than € 140,000 was raised in favor of the fight against COVID-19. Even the Spanish soccer body itself sponsored the event. All the air that the tournament breathed had an official character. In addition to rebroadcasting on Twitch, it had a not-so-small gap in MoviStar's offering during the days it was held.
Marcos Asensio demonstrated his skill in FIFA 20 by sweeping everyone in front. His rival in the final, the far right of Leganés, Aitor Ruibal, hardly had any chance, and it is that the 1-4 of the global was too short for what was seen on the field of play. Laughing, Ibai published the trophy room for Real Madrid. “Yesterday Marco Asensio won the FIFA tournament. The trophy was a pot from our house. Madrid have put the pot in their windows with the European cups. Very nice gesture. The nets, as you can imagine, burst with laughter.
His victory did not go unnoticed by the EA Sports team. Shortly after its completion, he was awarded a special “Player Moments” card in recognition of his merits with FIFA 20. These backs are being the game's tonic now that all international competitions are paused. The description of the letter details that it is in celebration "for his victory in the LaLiga Santander Challenge Cup." Yes, real life events do fully affect you, even throughout your live service.
FIFA Ultimate Quaran-Team, to the rescue of the humblest
The success of this type of tournaments have given rise to other fans making the leap to organizing similar events. We are talking about FIFA Ultimate Quaran-Team, a mega-competition in which 128 teams of all nationalities are involved. The tournament rules are that each team must be managed by a professional player from that club or an amateur who shows a love for their colors. Squads like Crystal Palace, Brighton or Norwich City will play with their real footballers: Andros Townsend, Neal Maupay and Todd Cantwell, respectively.
At the moment they are carrying out qualifiers to a single match to clear the table of so many teams. Myths like Fiorentina, Aston Villa and Ajax have already fallen in the first rounds. Others like Istanbul Basaksehir and Standard Liège have sounded the bell as they sneak into the semifinals.
Along the way were Manchester City, Feyenoord, Wolverhampton and many others. The only Spanish representation came thanks to the Galicians from Celta de Vigo, who fell in the round of 32 by a concise 2 to 1 against Lokomotiv in Moscow. The real reason for the realization of this tournament is due to the fundraising for the survival of the lower British clubs, which at the moment cannot make their only way to survive.
The idea came from Leyton Orient, an English club that plays in the EFL League Two, which would become the fourth division of English football. As they report on their website, they wanted "to unite teams from around the world in a time when unprecedented situations surround us." In the same link you can contribute your donation in case you want to support the collection.
Virtual Football Organization, at the foot of the canyon
Many will be unaware of the existence of the Virtual Football Organization (VFO from now on). It is the first virtual soccer competition based on FIFA in its Pro 11 against 11 Clubs modality in our country. Official football, e-sports and amateur football teams compete for the whole as if it were a parallel league.
The page divides tournaments based on equipment and platform demand. PS4, Xbox One, and PC all have their own box, although Sony's console version is the most popular. The official seventh season left Colossus Soccer the total winner, followed by x6tence and Cádiz CF eSports. In the second division, the El Chiringuito program team claimed the promotion with a seven-point advantage over their rival, Eleven Gods.
At this time, VFO is in the "winter market" until April 5. If everything goes according to plan, the eighth season will begin on Monday, April 20. The last day would be played on June 18. The confirmation of the sets and what conditions will form their alignments are still missing.
Germany vs. Spain: from Wanda Metropolitano to FIFA 20
How would have been the friendly that would face Germany and Spain on March 26? It is an unknown that we will never know. What we do know is that in FIFA 20 our representatives are the best.
The federation of both countries agreed to transfer the experience to the courts of the EA Sports game. The rules were simple: four candidates from each sporting area (men's and women's absolute team, under-21 and eFootball) were chosen to face each other in four games. The result would be the total points obtained in each match.
Those chosen to represent their country were the following: Marco Asensio and Bernd Leno, from the men's absolute team; Sheila García and Banessa Fudalla, of the women's absolute team; JRA10 and Moauba, from the eFootball area, and Abel Ruíz and Nico Schlotterbeck, from the U21 team. The playoffs were so exciting that everything was decided in the last match.
Sheila and Vanessa would tie 4 goals, while JRA10 made the Germans suffer their first defeat by a forceful 3 to 1. In the youth squad, Abel practically did not attend: Nico scored six goals for 1 from the Spanish. To finish that tie at 4 points, Marco Asensio and Bernd Leno gave us the best game so far. As happened days ago in the tournament in Ibai, the Mallorcan left the flag very high with a fast-paced 3-2.
The follow-up to the match was such that networks such as Teledeporte showed uninterrupted live the more than three hours that the whole picture lasted. Almost nothing.
Let's connect the world
As if it were a cascade of dominoes, the situation of COVID-19 shakes the entire planet. Other organizations have wanted to join this chain of favors. Help and entertain, the world unites with the hashtag #YoMeQuedoEnCasa. Federations like the Peruvian have already started to organize their own tournaments around FIFA 20.
Argentina joined in late March with a global celebration between various modalities and titles, including eFootball PES 2020 in the equation. More than 2000 registered in a matter of hours reinforce the reasons to continue betting on this way of enjoying this “home football”.
Not to mention other disciplines. Basketball has something to say through NBA 2k20. Players like Kevin Durant will meet from April 3 in a global event that will be broadcast by giants like ESPN. It will run until April 11, when the expected final takes place. The winner will receive a check for $ 100,000 that will go to efforts against the virus.
Everyone, now more than ever, must stay together and FIFA 20 has contributed its grain of sand. Its Champions Edition and Ultimate Edition versions are also on sale these days of confinement on the PS Store. Of course, PS Plus is required to play it online.
