Essendon FC, an Australian rules football club, is bringing an esports franchise into the fold.
Team Abyss, which competes in League of Legends, the Oceanic Pro League, and the Oceanic Challenger League, will become part of Essendon next year, it was announced Thursday. Essendon FC gained the licensing rights to Team Abyss through a partnership with Executive Sports and Entertainment, a Sydney-based agency.
The deal means that Team Abyss will move to Melbourne and be completely rebranded as a division of the football club.
“As a Club, we are looking at ways to diversify our business, invest in growth and create new opportunities to drive incremental consumer and commercial revenues,” Essendon chief marketing officer Justin Rodski said in a statement.