The rise esports is this month’s focus on Digital Sport.

Every week there seems to be a significant new development in the space, with more and more sports teams, publishers and even athletes getting involved in the burgeoning field, especially around simulation games such as FIFA 18, NBA 2k and Madden NFL.

This week, yet another step has been taken, this time by FC Barcelona and their parent league, Spain’s La Liga.

The league have announced that they will be launching a series of esports competitions, but will primarily be focused on football as they extend their ‘It’s not football, it’s La Liga’ campaign. The league’s app already features content beyond Spain’s men’s top division, showcasing their women’s leagues as well as other sports, too: so a move into esports seems like a logical step for them.

The leaders of La Liga, Barcelona, however have announced that they too will enter into the world of esports, giving yet another boost to the sector given the name recognition and the social media prowess of the Catalan club.

Interestingly though, owing to the club’s commercial ties to Konami, a competitor to EA Sports, Barcelona won’t be participating in the FIFA series, and instead will be fielding participants in Pro Evolution Soccer’s (PES) competitions, organised by creator Konami and eFootball.Pro – the esports company founded by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. It will be a boost to PES in its pursuit of FIFA to be the number one esports football game around.

It’s no surprise that more and more clubs and leagues are getting involved. Football sims are clearly relevant to their businesses, whilst it’s clear that many of their fans – especially younger ones – can be reached on such games. That’s why we’ve seen moves like those of some Adidas sponsored clubs recently, who launched digital fourth kits, exclusive to FIFA 18.

ICYMI: Four huge clubs, four exclusive digital fourth kits. Only available in #FUT. https://t.co/rC5nflAcGH #FIFA18 @adidasfootball @ManUtd @RealMadrid @JuventusFC @FCBayern pic.twitter.com/Eyt2q85AYA

— Electronic Arts (@EA) December 21, 2017

For Barcelona to go a different route to some other clubs and compete in PES could be a significant departure, however. Such a big name will bring a considerable following to the FIFA competitor, but it remains to be seen how much their rivalry with other big European clubs will be missed if most go down the EA Sports route. Fragmentation is inevitable and often good for competition, but in the early stages of leagues being formed and interest being generated, it feels like fans may be faced with a choice.