Successful visit: Esports Cup Japan
Sixteen League of Legends teams throughout Japan took part in preliminary rounds in December 2023 to determine the four sides involved in the Japan Esports Cup at the Shibuya eSports Highschool e-Stadium on 6 January, with the winners taking on Eintracht Frankfurt’s League of Legends team in the grand final. Eintracht Frankfurt’s team managed to get the better of their Japanese opponents in the showpiece.
The eSports Highschool in Shibuya is the first educational establishment anywhere in the world to have Esports as an integral part of its teaching plan, with the aim of using Esports and gaming to reintegrate students who, for various reasons, have struggled in the traditional education system. Launched as a pilot project in Tokyo, Japan now boasts several Esports high schools.
Frankfurt’s Esports squad not only used the trip to take part in the Esports Cup Japan: several cultural activities in and around Tokyo were also on the agenda, with the innovative teamLab Planets, the historic Senso-ji temple and the famous Shibuya district all leaving a lasting impression and introducing the young players to a different way of life.
Japan and Eintracht – a long-standing tradition
Japan has long been an important target market for Eintracht Frankfurt. Several Eintracht players – including Uwe Bein – have moved to the Far East since the 1990s, while five Japanese players have also ended up plying their trade on the banks of the River Main. Naohiro Takahara became the first to join the club in 2006. Makoto Hasebe, one of the greatest Japanese footballers of all time, is part of the current Eintracht squad, and Samurai Blue international Daichi Kamada left in 2023 after six years with the Eagles. A Japanese international also joined Frankfurt’s women’s team in January, with Remina Chiba bolstering the ranks of the Champions League participants.
With this in mind, the Eintracht Frankfurt Esports squad’s trip was a good opportunity to strengthen existing political and business relationships. Eintracht’s football team had previously played two friendly matches in Tokyo and Osaka in November 2022, while Hasebe announced a contract extension at a press conference in Japan in the spring of 2023. The Eintracht Frankfurt Academy Japan was established just over a year ago to help continue this fruitful relationship. The U15 team were recently crowned champions of their league following an outstanding campaign, securing promotion in the process.
Esports is a key part of our digital strategy at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Timm Jäger, CEO of EintrachtTech
Timm Jäger, CEO of EintrachtTech: “Esports is a key part of our digital strategy at Eintracht Frankfurt. Seeing how Esports and gaming brings players together from different cultures across all borders vindicates our approach. Esports can serve as an inclusive social tool in which physical impairments play just as little a role as social background. Digital issues are also more appealing to a younger audience, which is important at a time when skilled workers are in short supply in Germany. Organising an Esports tournament in this context says a lot about the innovative thinking of the German embassy in Japan.”
Dr. Söhnke Grothusen, head of the cultural department at the German embassy in Tokyo: “Gaming is a serious opportunity for exchange for young people across international borders and offers them the chance to talk to one another. In doing so, they are taking a stand for togetherness and against isolation. Sporting values such as fairness, respect and team play are upheld by esportsmen and women and a great deal of common ground is established in the areas of culture, society and in future careers. Through the ‘Diplomacy meets Esports’ project, we also wanted to portray Germany as a digitally savvy nation with an innovative Esports club culture to young Japanese people, while potentially recruiting skilled workers for the digital economy.”
Maximilian Brömel, head of Esports at Eintracht Frankfurt: “Our first intercontinental trip as an Esports team could not have been more successful in sporting terms. The trip was not only an informative one for our team in that regard. Our multicultural squad – with five players from five nations – was able to gain cultural and social impressions of Japan, which certainly helped our players in their personal development. We’d therefore like to express our sincere thanks to the German embassy in Japan for the invitation.”
About Eintracht Frankfurt Esports:
Eintracht Frankfurt have been active in Esports since 2018 via EIntrachtTech. The journey began with virtual football at grassroots level, with an Esports version of club membership being introduced in 2019. The club’s comprehensive commitment to Esports was expanded in 2020 with entry into the League of Legends (LoL). Since 2021, Eintracht Frankfurt’s League of Legends team has been playing in the highest German-speaking category – the 1st Division of the Strauss Prime League. In virtual football, the team has gone on to establish itself in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) as well as in international competitions. Since early 2024, Eintracht Frankfurt has also been involved in Valorant – another popular Esports title.
Alongside the club’s commitments to the professional teams, Eintracht Frankfurt also set great store by their grassroots Esports offer and run their own academy, where more than 130 members already come to train in the two different games. The sporting aspect is complemented by health-focused education, traditional sporting activities and information events for interested parents.
About League of Legends:
League of Legends is a team-based strategy game developed by Riot Games, in which two groups of five players each face off against one another, trying to destroy the other team’s base. Over 100 million gamers play League of Legends every month, making it one of the most popular games worldwide.