An official Celtic FC PES 2019 esports team is on the way, according to Konami. The developer of PES 2019 has announced that, in collaboration with eFootball.Pro, the defending Scottish champions will join the duo’s esports roster. Celtic’s addition means that four professional sides have now signed up to the esports league, with FC Schalke 04, FC Barcelona, and AS Monaco the other three teams already on board.
The announcement, detailed on Tuesday, was made on the official eFootball.Pro website. The company’s founder and president – Barcelona central defender Gerard Pique – revealed his delight at adding Celtic to the league’s roster, and stated that the club’s history made them an obvious choice for inclusion in the league.
“It is great news that Celtic joins our competition,” Pique revealed via a Konami press release. “I have faced them several times as a player and I know that they will show in eSports the same integrity they display on the pitch. Having a club with so much history will give us the necessary values to make our league a model in the sector.”
Celtic’s Head of Business Development, Gordon Kaye, also explained why it was key for the club to agree to participate in the competition. Esports have steadily grown in stature in the video game industry for some time, and Kaye wanted a Celtic PES esports team to be part of the growing trend.
“Following our partnership with Konami, creating a PES 2019 team to challenge for the inaugural eFootball.Pro title is an exciting first step into the evolving world of eSports and we look forward to competing against top international teams,” Haye said.
Celtic will now begin looking for professional PES 2019 players to form its eFootball.Pro team, ahead of the inaugural league kicking off in the future. Konami has also confirmed that more clubs will be announced in due course. PES 2019 is available to buy now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.