Promising to be “the ultimate festival of EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 across Australia”, the NIVEA Men E-League is back, with NIVEA Men the new sponsor.

With 2019 the FIFAe World Cup having seen more than 47million viewers across online platforms, it grew in 2020 with the FIFA21 Challenge becoming EA Sports’ “most watched esports event, with an average minute audience of more than 254,000 and a total watch time of more than 1 million hours.”

We’re told: “over two high-octane days in April, some of Australia’s best-known EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 competitors will vie to call their clubs champions across both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

“Newcomers Macarthur FC join for the first time, and two winners of the tournament will enter the EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 Oceania Regional Playoff which serves as a direct qualifier for the FIFAe World Cup.”

There’s also the promise of a high-profile commentary line-up featuring YouTube stars JarradHD and TheMasterBucks and esports analyst Nate Patrick and Treaders will bring viewers all the action on the free streaming platform Twitch.

Current NIVEA Men E-League competitors Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomesFIFA) and Mark Brijeski (Atlantide Marko) have both tested themselves at previous global FIFA eWorld Cups, while Negede Hunegnaw (ANezer) and Dylan Campbell (DW_Dylan) took out the FIFA 20 Summer Cup Oceania which ran as a regional competition due to COVID-19.

The eleven-round tournament over the two days will see competitors playing from their own homes for the first time because of COVID-19 restrictions and in line with EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series tournament guidelines.

We are BACK ?

The NIVEA Men #ELeague kicks off this Friday ? pic.twitter.com/DpqFJv8GEq

— NIVEA Men E-League (@ELeagueAus) April 20, 2021

“We are really excited to bring the NIVEA Men E-League back for our fans because we know they love football 24/7 and esports is a big part of that,” said APL chief commercial officer Ant Hearne.

“The new format is designed to be super-competitive, especially when we have some of Australia’s top players involved and more teams taking part.

“The numbers show that around the world esports is the fastest growing spectator sport - our fans connect with football in all different aspects of their lives, and we know that gaming is a key part of that.”

Here’s a video of the event’s best moments from the past:

The defending NIVEA Men E-League Premiers, Mark Brijeski (Atlantide Marko) and Jamie O’Doherty (FUTWIZ Jamodo) will return to represent Sydney FC.

Other big names in the tournament are Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomesFIFA) at Melbourne City FC, Ryan Naylor (Naylor) from the Newcastle Jets, Negede Hunegnaw (ANezer) from the Western Sydney Wanderers FC and last season’s breakout competitor Dylan Campbell (DW_Dylan) from Western United FC.

Key Points:

• E-League 2021 Season - Match Day 1: Friday, 23 April 2021
• E-League 2021 Season - Match Day 2: Saturday, 24 April 2021
• Watch live on Twitch
• Each of the 12 A-League Clubs will have two representative competitors (1 x PlayStation 4 and 1 x Xbox One
• Each club will play against every other club once over 11 Rounds (two event days)
• Points during the regular season will be calculated based on the aggregate results over the two console legs (PlayStation 4 + Xbox One) for the points table to determine the E-League 2021 Premiers.
• Individual console results will then be used to determine the console champions
• Each console champion will receive a place at the EA SPORTS FIFA21 Oceania Regional Playoff (PlayStation 4 only event).

You can follow the NIVEA Men E-League 2021 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.