- Ruud Gullit has taken his first step into esports by launching a FIFA academy
- He says his sons introduced him to FIFA and were why he attended the FIWC
- The academy have already signed three young and talented FIFA 18 players
Former Holland and Barcelona forward Ruud Gullit has announced the launch of ‘Team Gullit’ – an esports academy for budding FIFA players.
This is the former Ballon d’Or winner’s first venture into esports and it hasn’t taken him long to attract some FIFA prodigies.
Three young players have already signed up for the Team Gullit academy – Floris Jorna, 18, Julian van den Berg, 17, and 16-year-old Dani Visser.
Ruud Gullit has taken his first step into esports with his own academy for FIFA esports players
The organisation will support the players through training and coaching, as well as developing software tools to analyse and improve the gameplay on both a strategic and tactical level.
And it won’t only be the player’s gaming ability that will be worked on. Team Gullit will have staff members helping to assist players with social media and developing their own personal brand.
Gullit previously showed his interest in FIFA and esports when he attended the FIFA Interactive World Cup in London last year.
Gullit was present at the FIFA Interactive World Cup to hand the trophy to champion Gorilla
The Dutchman revealed that his kids played a big part in him starting this new project, saying: ‘I ended up in the world of FIFA because of my two sons. One of them plays professional football and my other son enjoys playing FIFA more than playing football in real life.
‘When I visited the FIFA World Championships last year, I realised that there is such an enormous world behind the video game. The strategy and the choices that the FIFA players make have a strong resemblance to the real-life sport’.
The ultimate goal for any FIFA player is to win the FIFA eWorld Cup, previously known as the FIFA Interactive World Cup. Last year, England’s Spencer ‘Gorilla’ Ealing was crowned champion and took home a $200,000 (£156k) cheque after winning the grand finals in London.
Gullit already features in FIFA 18 as one of the highly sought-after Icon cards, it remains to be seen whether he can successfully transition his decorated football career into the esports universe.