In the absence of live sport, gaming has become a unique avenue for athletes to connect with their audiences and show off their skills. The AFL has become the latest sport to throw its hat into the livestreaming ring with the AFL Gamers Network set for launch this week. Players from a number of teams including Collingwood and St. Kilda will show off their skills in games including Fortnite, Call of Duty and FIFA.
The AFL Gamers Network will stream live on YouTube from April 23 and feature competitions between a number of AFL stars. More than 50 have already signed up for the show. So far announced for the Network are Collingwood’s Jamie Elliott, Melbourne’s Jack Viney and St. Kilda recruit Zak Jones. They’ll kick off the first broadcast this week.
“I’ve been a fan of gaming since I was about six years old playing Super Nintendo… it’s a bit of a release for me,” Elliott said in a press release provided to Kotaku Australia. “I’m excited to join the AFL Gamers Network because it’s an opportunity to play games with other players and start some rivalries.”
In the absence of football, Jones said gaming was a great way to start some epic battles off the field. “We’re pretty competitive people and it’ll be exciting to see how much we rage and how competitive we really get,” he said.
The AFL Gamers Network was created to keep fans engaged and excited about sports while the coronavirus epidemic continues. When it’s safe for sport to finally resume, we can all look forward to seeing the rivalries that play out on the Network reach our football stadiums.
To check out the AFL Gamers Network, head to its YouTube channel. The first session begins at 6pm AEST on Thursday April 23.
Update 23/4 12:10pm: An earlier version of this article identified Twitch as the platform of choice for the AFL Gamers Network. This has now been changed to YouTube. For all the action, head to the AFL Gamers Network YouTube hub.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/08/and-heres-afl-players-doing-fortnite-dances/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/08/fortnite-afl-dance-410×231.gif” title=”And Here’s AFL Players Doing Fortnite Dances” excerpt=”Perhaps the best part of this video is how little apparent instruction the players needed. It’s not uncommon for footballers and professional athletes to get into games on their time off. Mark Hunt’s a massive Counter-Strike fan; Gordon Hayward loves his League of Legends. And of late, Fortnite has been the game of choice. “]
Leave a Reply