Juventus Football Club chairman suggests that esports is a threat for football

The chairman of one of the most popular football clubs in the world, Andreas Agnelli, chairman of Juventus F.C. has just stated that Fortnite is the biggest threat to football over the next two decades.

Agnelli, who is also the head of the European Clubs Association, states: 

“When you look at supporters now, the bulk of fans are Generation X, millennials, or those in Generation Z, who are turning adult now. So you have to look at Generation Z and think that competitors of the game are eSports and Fortnite. They will be competitors going forward.”

This echoes the sentiments of Liverpool F.C. Chief Executive, Peter Moore who also suggested that Fortnite represented a big challenge for Football in the coming years. He stated 

“Ninety minutes is a long time for a millennial male to sit down on a couch. When I look at viewing and attendance figures of millennial males, I'm concerned as a chief executive of a football club that relies on the next generation of fans coming through. If we don't build technological prowess as a club, we will lose them. There's so much pressure on time now and only 24 hours in a day... there are only so many hours to play Fortnite."

With football stars like Harry Kane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mesut Ozil also turning to the esports realm with Fortnite, it is not hard to imagine why these concerns have emerged for the top brass of European football.