League of Legends could have a brand new Celebrity sponsor.

Written by: Luke Williams

Sources close to the Portuguese sporting organization, most well-known for its soccer team, claim that later this month the club will announce it is funding a professional League team that will compete within the Liga Portugusa de League of Legends (LPLOL.)

The club is also reportedly considering creating a professional FIFA esports team and organizing events between teams across the Southern European country. They are just another name in a growing list of professional soccer clubs around the world investing in FIFA esports teams. Yesterday storied British franchise, Manchester City, announced that they are fielding an esports team. In a release Senior Vice President Media and Innovation, Diego Gigliani wrote the following:

“As eSports continues to gain momentum, it makes sense for our Club to be part of the action and get closer to our fans, who love playing EA SPORTS FIFA as Manchester City. We will be a bigger presence at gaming tournaments, we will have more content through our digital channels and we will activate even more with our fans at matches and Club events.”

League of Legends has experienced similar interest from traditional sporting organizations and stars. Internationally known stars like Rick Fox, Alex Rodrigues and Shaquille O'Neal, have poured money into LoL teams. While broadcasters like ESPN and The Score, have increased their coverage of LoL games and tournaments. Speaking of broadcasters, it is believed that Sporting Club de Portugal’s interest was sparked a couple months back when Portugal broadcaster, Radio e Televisao de Portugal, began a show about the LPLOL.

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