FC Barcelona Enters Valorant Esports, Joins VCL Spain in 2024
Definitely, 'More than a club'.
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One of the most legendary football clubs in the world, FC Barcelona, has entered Valorant esports and will be competing in Valorant Challengers 2024 Spain: Rising.
The team's official name is Barca eSports and it will be part of the regional circuit next year, bringing months of rumors, reports, and speculations to an end.
Spanish league's official website broke the news, handing a direct invite to two new Valorant teams, Barca eSports and FIVE Media Clan, who will be seen in action for the first time during VCL 2024 Spain: Rising Split 1.
FC Barcelona Steps Into Competitive Valorant With VCL 2024 Spain
The highest national Valorant competition that is organized by LVP (Liga de Videojuegos Profesional) is the VCL 2024 Spain: Rising and two new teams will be making their debut in the league next year.
FC Barcelona's team in Valorant is named Barca eSports and they will be seen in action for the first time on 15th January as part of the VCL 2024 Spain: Rising Split 1 which starts on the same date.
They will be taking on ZETA in the first match of the tournament which will make for a grand opening.
Notably, this is not the first time that Barca eSports will be competing in an esports title. It is already part of the League of Legends Super League which is also organized by LVP and before that Barça eSports operated a Rocket League team from 2019 to 2021.
Other teams in the VCL 2023 Spain: Rising against whom FC Barcelona's Valorant team will be competing against are as follows,
Barça eSports - Direct Invite
FIVE Media Clan - Direct invite
Case Esports - VCL Spain 2023 #1
UCAM Esports Club - VCL Spain 2023 #3
ZETA - VCL Spain 2023 #4
KPI Gaming - VCL Spain 2023 #5
Ramboot Club - VCL Spain 2023 #7
AYM Esports - VCL Spain 2023 #10
Unfortunately, not much is known about the Valorant roster of Barca eSports. However, the lineup should be announced soon, possibly after the holiday season in early 2024, considering that VCL 2024 Spain: Rising Split 1 is scheduled to start from 15th January 2024 onwards.
Speaking about this new step taken by the club, Juli Guiu - Vice president of FC Barcelona, said "With the participation of FC Barcelona in the Valorant competition of the LVP we add a new team that will represent the Club during this 2024. The Club continues to shape its commitment to esports and adds a team to the Valorant competition that, together with the one that competes in League of Legends, are framed in the will to explore new opportunities and reach new audiences.”
In total, the top national Spanish league in Valorant now has three esports organizations that are backed by a football club or player.
Case Esports was founded in 2020 by Casemiro. He is a defensive midfielder for Manchester United and captains the Brazil national team.
AYM Esports was founded in 2022 by Aymeric Laporte. He is a centre-back for Al Nassr and also plays for the Spain national team.
These are the two other Valorant teams in VCL 2024 Spain: Rising with a football background along with the latest entrant Barca eSports.
They will be attracting a lot of attention and eyeballs toward the regional league and things could get interesting if they field a roster strong enough to take on the best.
