How esports is proof that Manchester City are one step ahead of rivals

Manchester City is the epitome of an organization moving in the right direction. When the soccer club announced the formation of their Manchester City Esports team in 2016, plenty were skeptical. But what Manchester City seems to be doing better than nearly every other sporting organization on the planet is seeing the bigger picture. They are simply one step ahead of their rivals. Maybe more!

City ahead on the sports field

Let’s look at Manchester City and PSG. Both clubs are similar, with wealthy owners who can afford any player in the world. But City’s achievements on the pitch are world renowned and are way ahead of their Parisian rivals.

Look of love 😍#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/pVbdQQmtxf

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 20, 2023

City are the Champions League holders. PSG haven’t managed this yet. And due to their achievements on the pitch, the bookmakers have made City +200 to win the Champions League again this season. Contrast that with PSG, who are +1200, and Manchester City are miles ahead. In terms of betting on sports, the gap between +200 and +1200 is huge. This gulf in odds can be confirmed by a betting calculator, where the difference in the odds can be clearly seen.

Off the field

Now let’s look at City off the field. They set up their esports team in 2016. Seven years ago. A lot of their rivals have only just started investing in this area over the past couple of years.

Manchester City was quick to recognize the benefits of branching out into growing marketplaces. They recognized that the average gamer might not be interested in soccer, so they instead took their brand to gamers. And how obvious was it in hindsight?

Happy Birthday, @edersonmoraes93 🎉

Here's our FC24 stat prediction for our Brazilian shot stopper! 👇 pic.twitter.com/DUIK9rOkjP

— Man City Esports (@mancityesports) August 17, 2023

FIFA is one of the biggest online games in the world, and as a result, there are FIFA esports competitions. Where better for a soccer team to try and get a foothold?

City know how to market themselves

Manchester City have an esports clothing brand, and they even use their Premier League stars to promote the clothing range, to try and sell it to their soccer fans, as well as esports fans.

The soccer club is taking advantage of just about every market available to them. They are promoting their brand to esports fans and gamers, and in doing so, they are potentially creating generations of new soccer fans for future years. And they are also promoting their esports brand to millions of soccer fans around the world. And this could be their shrewdest move yet.

Could esports overtake soccer in popularity?

What if esports overtakes conventional sports, or even soccer, in popularity one day? That might sound silly at the moment. But look at the growth in esports. Would it surprise anybody if that were to happen? Maybe.

But if it does happen, Manchester City already have a huge start on their rivals. And the other thing we can be sure of is that someone within the Manchester City organization has probably already thought of that possibility.