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eAlianza Cup Offers Another Pathway To Success For Latinx Players In The U.S.

As a program that’s helped launch the careers of players like Newcastle United’s Santiago Muñoz, Necaxa’s Jonathan González and Holstein Kiel’s Nico Carrera, the Alianza de Futbol tour acts as the biggest showcase and scouting program for Latinx soccer players in the United States.

This year, a partnership between For Soccer Ventures (FSV) and EA SPORTS launched a new national gaming tournament — the EA SPORTS eAlianza Cup — with registration open exclusively to players participating in Alianza tryouts.

The tournament will be played virtually throughout the 2021 Alianza de Futbol tour and is free for all registered players. The winners and runners-up of each of the four qualifying stops will earn a place in the National Finals in February 2022. There, they’ll each receive a PlayStation 5 while competing over a prize pool of $5,000. 

“We are absolutely thrilled to host a brand-new national competitive gaming tournament for Alianza de Futbol players,” said Heath Pearce, Chief Creative Officer of FSV, which owns Alianza de Futbol. “EA SPORTS FIFA is a global phenomenon and this partnership with EA SPORTS will start a new tradition of creating pathways for Hispanic youth to find success through their passions.”

Newcastle’s Muñoz — who excelled at a 2017 Alianza tryout in El Paso before getting invited to the national showcase in Los Angeles — is now a spokesperson for the program and excited about this new opportunity for Alianza participants (although he’d like to speak with EA SPORTS about his 67 rating in FIFA 22).    

“I really like to play FIFA with my brother,” Muñoz said from his place in Newcastle. “Right now I play FIFA in the afternoons. I connect and play with some friends, with my brother and we play together. I think that’s very important for me so I keep in contact with my people over there. I love FIFA, so I’m very happy. It’s something that from when I was little I wanted to be in FIFA.

"It’s a lot of pride for me to be there, and also for all the kids, for all the people that have that as a dream — it can be a reality. It’s a pride for me, for all the players, for all the Latinos in the United States and Mexico. It’s very important for me and a big motivation for me.”

Alianza tryout participants can now begin pre-registering

eAlianza Cup Qualifying Tournaments:

  • Qualifier One: Oct. 23
  • Qualifier Two: Nov. 6
  • Qualifier Three: Dec. 18
  • Qualifier Four: Jan. 8

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