What’s Fuelling the Resurgence in Football Esports?

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Esports are a growing enterprise built on the backs of several competitive games spanning genres, generations in software and global audiences. So, why has there been a resurgence in sports simulation now?

The FIFAe World Cup 2025 ft. eFootball begins its console and mobile qualifiers on the 18th of September this year, leading up to the main soccer Esports events in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this December, with an unannounced prize pool.

The FIFAe World Cup 2024 ft. eFootball had a prize pool of nearly AUD $375,000, along with a peak in streaming viewership of under 415,000 between Twitch and YouTube, making it the most popular sport simulation event of the year.

Using statistics from the previous year’s prize pool and peak viewership, as well as this year’s Esports World Cup (EWC), which saw both Rocket League and EA Esports FC break peak viewership records (accumulating around 340,000 eyes), the upcoming tournament could see a higher audience count and possibly a boost in overall revenue.

To be fair, these are rookie numbers compared to the larger esports tournaments with Tier 1 viewership (League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2), which record millions of viewers and reward every major event. FIFA, Rocket League and EA Esports FC all rank in Tier 3 but are still able to be reasonably profitable.

Only a few years ago, online discourse and the investment capital of major esports teams (known as organisations), like FaZe, crashing on the stock market fuelled claims that the sub-genre sporting enterprise had died or was dying. Now, there seems to be a boost to the sport.

I believe it is due to Saudi Arabian influence in the sport and how FIFA and EA harness major revenue streams, both active and passive.

The Influence of Saudi Arabia and FIFA/EA

Esports organisations, like all sporting clubs, generate revenue from sponsorships, merchandise, licensing, etc. Depending on the popularity of the sport and them in each region will affect how much money is spent on houses (the esports form of clubs), sponsorships/partnerships, and so on. Fan engagement and stakeholders in the sport are just as important to the Socceroos as they are to the Chiefs.

Where it differs from conventional fan engagement is the monetary barrier of entry through broadcasting.

If a particular fan cannot make it to a live match, they watch it on television. If the game is played outside of their country, it’s usually going to be broadcasted on paid television, unless free-to-air channels can secure deals which cost millions of dollars for a multi-year licence.

Esports are practically free for viewers to watch through streaming services like Kick and Twitch, whose individual channels are owned by venue organisers and esports governing bodies who gain revenue from advertising, with kickbacks to the streaming service. And since the majority of esports fans are Gen Z, they are less likely to have disposable funds to pay to watch tournaments.

Saudi Arabian stakeholders in the Saudi Esports Federation, and partnerships FIFAe (the esports branch of FIFA) and EA among others, control the streaming rights and venue of the World Cups to present Saudi Arabia as the hub of esports.

The country’s governing body also gains ticket sales from tourists and attendees, funnelling revenue into the sport and increasing prize pools each year. The kingdom has also invested over AUD57 billion into the sport, which is estimated to create over 39,000 esports-related jobs by 2030, though the Asian and United States markets are much larger in overall fanbase.

However, the sport cannot run properly without every few years a new or updated title to release alongside events. The new soccer game, EA SPORTS FC 26 is set to release soon and though it won’t be played in the tournament, EA are set to see a spike in purchases before, during and after the World Cup finishes.

Electronic Arts had a hands-off approach in the early days of esports, letting competitions use licensed titles as the developer/publisher saw a correlation between the esports events and upticks in microtransaction purchases. In recent years, they have heavily promoted FIFA players to buy ‘packs’ with playable footballers from across the game to add to your roster.

Though FIFA and EA ended their esports partnership in 2023, they still have a working relationship via licencing rights ranging from player’s likeness to simulated leagues from around the world, as well as recreations of famous football grounds and kits.

FIFAe’s and EA’s steady stream of revenue from the tournaments derive from fans buying FIFA-related merchandise and electronic player packs for team builders in FIFA-licenced videogames.

The accumulated revenue will also see itself be put into organisations who are sponsored by either group, as well as the passive use of clubs in-game essentially being free advertising for the used football club.

Overall, the Saudi Esports Federation, FIFAe and EA have created a perfect storm which may bring the sport up to Tier 2 in the next few years.

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Japan, Redemption and a World Cup Shot: Why Tom Glover Is Betting on Himself

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When Tom Glover, the former Melbourne City goalkeeper, jets to Japan in mid-January and lines up for Japanese J-League 2 club RB Omiya Ardija, firmly entrenched in his mind will be the prospect of selection in the Socceroo squad for the World Cup Finals during the North American summer of 2026.

Little would he have known when first asked to don a pair of gloves in a U/10 futsal final all those years ago that he could be part of the Greatest Show on Earth.

“Until this time, I played as a striker, but my progress to U/11s and U/12s representing Sutherland Sharks was rapid, which vindicated my change to goalkeeping,” says Glover.

Glover’s pathway as a goalkeeper was clearly mapped out at this early stage, as he participated in the Project 22 program at Football NSW on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and on Tuesday and Thursday with former Canberra NSL custodian Ron Tilsed at Sutherland Sharks.

“Tilsed fast-tracked my career when he had me training with the first team at the age of thirteen, and well-known coach John Haynes threw me in at the deep end in the U/20s when I was only fourteen,” added Glover.

The dream of a lifetime occurred when Tom Glover went to Tottenham Hotspur for a six-week period at the tender age of fourteen.

In the following year, Glover received a call from Spurs to return so they could have another look at him. After the three-month viewing, he was offered a scholarship.

Tom Glover pursuing his World Cup dream ahead of the 2026 tournament
Tom Glover pursuing his World Cup dream ahead of the 2026 tournament

Glover remained at Spurs for seven years before returning to Australia in August 2019 to sign with Melbourne City.

“I had offers from lower leagues in England, but my preference was to play at the highest level in men’s football because my appearances for Spurs had been confined to the U/21s.

“Therefore, the plan was to play in the A-League and eventually return overseas.”

“On reflection, the experience at Spurs was incredible, especially when I was involved in shooting training with the likes of Harry Kane, who I learned so much from.

“In the goalkeeping department, I was exposed to the legendary Northern Ireland keeper Pat Jennings, former USA and Spurs keeper Brad Friedel, and I also worked with Hugo Lloris, the former French number one.

“Also, to be on the same training ground as superstars Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembélé and Jan Vertonghen was something, as a young player, you would never think possible.”

Glover’s signing at Melbourne City wasn’t an immediate success because he had to wait from August until December 2019 to claim a first-team place from Dean Bouzanis.

Once that transpired, he never looked back.

In total, Glover made 107 first-team appearances for City before leaving for Middlesbrough in July 2023.

“I really matured as a keeper at Melbourne City and still have many great memories and close friends at the club.

“Nevertheless, the time had arrived when the overseas opportunity came beckoning again.”

Middlesbrough is a club with a proud tradition of Aussie players who have worn its colours proudly, including the immortal Craig Johnston, Mark Schwarzer, Paul Okon, Mark Viduka, Scott McDonald, Luke Wilkshire, Brad Jones, Tony Vidmar, Rhys Williams, and most recently Riley McGree and Sam Silvera.

“Mark Schwarzer even has a pasta named after him which is served in the club canteen, and there is still a photo of him at the training ground.”

At Middlesbrough, Glover didn’t play as much as he would’ve liked but was part of a strong Carabao Cup run when the club reached the semi-finals in January 2024 before being defeated heavily in the second leg by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“Previously, we had beaten Leicester City 1–0 at the King Power Stadium and gained a 1–0 home win in the first leg against Chelsea.

“However, in the return leg, the Chelsea scoring machine progressed into top gear and put six goals past us, with Cole Palmer scoring two and Enzo Fernández and Morgan Rogers scoring one each.

“There was a touch of irony because I had been a Chelsea supporter since childhood, and playing at Stamford Bridge was a highlight of my career and one I’ll never forget, despite the 6–1 scoreline.”

This was a challenging time for Glover, as he only played 29 matches for the club from July 2023 until September 2025, when he was given a free transfer.

Yet he has no regrets about being at the club, despite his limited game time.

“It was hard to dislodge the first-choice keeper, Sol Brynn, who was a local product and popular with the Middlesbrough supporters.

“Both Michael Carrick, the former manager, and Rob Edwards, the recently departed manager, were always fair with me, and I left the club knowing I had always played to the best of my ability when selected.”

Now Glover has an exciting opportunity with RB Omiya Ardija, which all begins on February 6 when he is scheduled to play 18 matches up to the start of the World Cup Finals commencing on 11 June.

He could’ve gone to Queens Park Rangers but wasn’t guaranteed regular first-team football.

There were also offers from the MLS and the Saudi League.

“I just saw more potential playing in Japan, where football is booming.”

It’s now an exciting prospect for Glover to play every week so he can prove to the Socceroo coaching staff, particularly goalkeeping coach Frank Juric, that he should be selected for the North American colossus.

“Although the club is currently in J-League 2, it has just been bought by the Red Bull Corporation, so there is a great vibe for the future to gain promotion to the J-League.

“The stadium is boutique, holding 15,000, but it feels like 20,000 due to the marvellous atmosphere which the fans create.

“There are five foreigners in the squad, including myself.”

Tom Glover has made thirteen appearances for the Olyroos, being the number-one choice at the Tokyo Olympics, and has attended ten senior Socceroo camps between June 2023 and September 2025.

However, he has not been capped for the Socceroos, but now that he will be playing regularly, he has every chance to make the final squad for North America.

“I can only control from my end by playing every week and putting in good performances to give the selectors a headache in considering me being number one in the squad.”

Certainly, he has stern competition for a place, with Mat Ryan returning to form in Spain, Paul Izzo playing consistently in Denmark, and Patrick Beach experiencing his first taste of international football against Venezuela.

One thing there is no doubt: Tom Glover will do everything in his power to make that World Cup dream come true.

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The A-League’s Mover and Shaker: Can Steve Rosich Kickstart Football’s Next Chapter?

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Could Steve Rosich be the mover and shaker Australian football has been waiting for? From leading the Melbourne Cup to transforming elite sporting clubs, Rosich now takes the reins of the A-Leagues with a powerhouse network of sponsors, a Chartered Accountant’s discipline, and a proven record of turning sports into commercial gold. Is this finally the game-changer football needs to kickstart its next chapter?
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When the Australian Professional Leagues confirmed Steve Rosich as the new CEO of the A-Leagues, the football community couldn’t help but ask: Is this the mover and shaker who can finally kickstart the next chapter of our game? Curiosity, cautious optimism, and genuine hope are natural reactions. But after examining his résumé, leadership pedigree, and proven ability to transform sporting organisations into commercial powerhouses, one thing is clear: Steve Rosich has the potential to be exactly what Australian football needs right now.

If we are honest with ourselves, the A-Leagues are not short of passion. They are short of penetration. Football has the numbers, the multicultural breadth, the participation base and the long-term demographic wind behind it. What it has lacked is commercial conviction. This role requires a central figure who can mobilise investment, convince networks, and turn football from the ‘nearly product’ into a genuine entertainment powerhouse.

That is why Rosich’s appointment matters.

A Leader Forged in High Pressure Environments

Rosich does not arrive at the A-Leagues as an experimental project. His leadership record is built across three different elite sporting sectors, each requiring different forms of authority and strategic thinking.

At the Fremantle Dockers, he spent 11 years steering cultural shifts, long-term commercial planning, and stakeholder management in one of the most pressured environments in Australian sport, the AFL. You do not last a decade in that seat unless you can manage ego, media, board tensions, and commercial growth simultaneously.

Then came the Victoria Racing Club, custodian of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, The Race That Stops a Nation. That event is not a sporting fixture. It is a cultural institution. Rosich guided that organisation through pandemic disruption, shrinking tourism, shifting public sentiment, and operational uncertainty. Yet the Melbourne Cup retained its brand, its commercial partners and its relevance. That alone suggests a steady hand and a strategic head.

People forget he also stepped briefly into the medical technology sector with BrainEye, an unusual move but one that shows intellectual range, not a narrow sporting silo. Now he returns to football as CEO of the APL, stepping into the role officially in January 2026.

None of this is theory. It is hard-earned leadership.

The Commercial Rolodex That Matters

Elite sport grows on broadcast relevance, corporate investment, and scalable storytelling. It requires deal-making, not hope.

Rosich brings a corporate phonebook that can activate capital quickly. His longstanding relationships with brands such as Lexus (Toyota Australia), Crown, Kirin Beer, TCL and Howden are not superficial handshakes. They are built on years of commercial execution. If the A-Leagues are serious about revitalising sponsorship, broadcast engagement and experiential entertainment, then having a CEO capable of making the right calls to the right people is half the battle won.

Football does not just need ‘partners.’ It needs investors, activators and cultural amplifiers. Rosich has dealt with those brands before. He understands their expectations. He knows how to pitch ambition in commercial language, not sporting desperation.

If he can even convert a fraction of those relationships into aligned investment, the A-Leagues’ commercial landscape changes overnight.

Professional Discipline Not Just Passion

There is another aspect of Rosich’s appointment that deserves attention: his professional discipline. Rosich is a Chartered Accountant and at Soccerscene, we take that qualification seriously. We have been vocal in calling for Australian football administrators to adopt structured CPD frameworks, including professional standards and continuing education.

He is not a practising accountant, but he continues to uphold his membership by completing his CPD requirements and ongoing training. That signals accountability, standards, governance literacy and a commitment to continuous improvement.

We cannot demand a more professional football industry while accepting outdated administrative habits. Rosich represents the opposite, someone who keeps sharpening the tools rather than dining out on old achievements.

This is what modern sport requires.

The Strategic Assignment Waiting for Him

The football landscape Rosich inherits is not broken, but it is underleveraged.

The next two to three years must focus on:

• Commercial rebirth
• Fan-first narrative building
• Broadcast evolution
• International relevance
• Club alignment and industry unity

This requires a CEO who can think beyond short-term firefighting. Rosich has overseen environments where stakeholder diplomacy decides survival. He knows how to run a league as both an economic organism and a cultural asset.

And importantly, he understands that football cannot win hearts without winning the market.

A-League Football Needs a Catalyst Not a Caretaker

For too long, we have accepted incrementalism in football. Growth that is “good enough.” Strategic plans that tick boxes rather than punch holes through barriers.

The next chapter requires a catalyst, someone comfortable being a lightning rod for change.

Rosich does not need to pretend to be a lifelong football romantic. What he needs to be, and what his track record suggests he is, is a sports entertainment strategist. A deal-maker. A leader who knows how to change the expectation curve.

If he digs deep into his contact book, leverages his credibility and builds a unifying narrative around the game, then investment can return, broadcast value can lift, and the A-Leagues can finally behave like the entertainment product Australia keeps saying it wants.

A Final Assessment

Steve Rosich arrives with pressure on his shoulders. Great leaders need pressure.

He arrives with expectations. Football has waited long enough.

Most importantly, he arrives with the capacity to change the commercial gravity of the code.

If Australian football is serious about unlocking its next era, then we should back a leader who has already turned major sporting properties into economic brands.

In short, Rosich might be the right person at exactly the right time, and for a code that has spent decades asking for belief, that is a very encouraging starting point.

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