German soccer team Hertha Berlin has announced that it will launch its eSport Academy to find and develop the next generation of talent.
It will become the first Bundesliga team to create its own academy and will focus on finding players for the FIFA video game franchise. Meanwhile, Matthias “Stylo” Hietsch, who ended 2017 as one of the top esports players in Germany has been appointed as the head of the academy to develop the young athletes.
With esports revenues expected to hit $346 million in 2018 in Europe this year, many top tier soccer clubs on the continent have set up teams in the burgeoning sport in the last few years, including AS Roma, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.