The world of FIFA Esports has been a constantly evolving scene ever since FUT took centre stage in the franchise. FIFA 22 is set to a have a much-improved FUT 22 game mode and as the Esports set up goes hand in hand, big things are to be expected. And that is exactly why, for the first time in FIFA’s history, we have now witnessed the start of an esports player market.

Fan-favourite Tom Leese of the beloved “people’s club” Hashtag United is all set to be the first ever esports player transfer in exchange of money in the industry. Player transfers are a common sight in the real world regardless of the sport but Esports in general sees fewer transfers. However, it’s not that rare with popular games like League of Legends and CSGO seeing regular player transfers between teams.

With 2020/21 entering its final weeks, that most revered time in football is upon us: it’s new kit season! Everyone’s new threads for 2021/22 are either being released or leaked and we’re.

As for Tom Leese, the FIFA pro has been making headlines regularly, most recently representing Watford in the ePremier League, as a Tottenham fan (interestingly). The 22-year-old is heavily dedicated to sharpening his skills on FIFA with upwards of 10 hours invested into the game per day. For the past month rumors have been going around that Hashtag United have received not just one but two transfer offers for Leese in the region of 50,000 to 100,000 GBP, not at all a small amount, by any means!

Today the transfer confirmation has arrived as Tom Leese announced he joined the leading British competitive gaming brand, EXCEL.

• Hastag United have some of the biggest personalities in competitive FIFA in their team and will be easy to notice in their home kit. Sadly the recently released purple away shirt is not in FIFA 20.
• Create your design using the settings panel on the left. When your design is ready, click the Download button on the bottom right. Download the generated.zip file, which will include all the required texture maps for FIFA 21. Import kits to FIFA 21 Get FIFA 21 Encryption Key. Use FIFA Editor Tool to insert the kits into FIFA 21.

Joined @EXCEL 😁 pic.twitter.com/UA4MP2ua8L

— XL Tom (@TomLeese) September 24, 2021

Esports on the Rise?

With the first-ever FIFA esports transfer fee set to go through one way or another, a big shift in the FIFA Esports gaming scene is to be expected. The competitive odds are definitely in the favour of bigger, stronger teams that are completely focussed on becoming a world dominator. In an interview to popular news house Sky Sports News, a source was quoted saying, “Organisations sign a player like this to grow their brand and attract sponsors. If they get the best player, they’d gain access to significantly better sponsorship opportunities.”

The truth is, in fact, right there. Companies and organisations in general are starting to see the value and importance of Esports as an industry and the players as the crucial assets in driving the sector. While shooter and strategy games have always held the spotlight when it came to teams and players, games like FIFA are entering mainstream media attention too and transfers like these are only bound to increase the market value of other players. It’s only a matter of time before players transfers start mimicking the ones of professional players.

The only barrier that can be a real problem would be the lack of cross-platform play that wouldn’t allow certain players to be transferred if playing platform is a crucial factor. But with cross play being integrated sooner or later, this might just be a short term issue.

🔥 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🔥

🇩🇪 @PredatorFIFA ➡️ @WerdereSPORTS

🇩🇪 @Eisvogel_7 ➡️ @SchanzerEsports

🇩🇪 @TimoX08 ➡️ @SchanzerEsports

🇸🇪 @xOpTolle ➡️ @mkersofficial

🇩🇰 @IamDonOli ➡️ @SAF_gg

🇩🇰 @EmilSkifter ➡️ @Astralisgg#FameYourGame

— FIFAe (@FIFAe) September 3, 2021

With the imminent transfer of Tom Leese just a matter of formalities, teams will now wake up and pay attention to their rosters. No player is untouchable if the right price is matched and this is bound to make the competitive scene tightly matched. Players like Ollelito and MSDossary know that they have will a multitude of options in terms of teams and groups to play for and this will also pave the way for player contracts, team endorsements and much more.

In general, the FIFA Esports ecosystem is set to reach some new heights and we are super excited to see the direction it takes in the coming months, especially with the FIFA 22 game cycle starting soon.

Bittersweet Moment for Hashtag United

Although they lost one of the best FIFA pro players in the world, Hashtag United will be happy with the fee they got offered for the transfer.

😢Goodbye @TomLeese

Today we say goodbye – with a thousand thank yous – to the 🐐after we agreed a deal to sell him…

Here’s the full story of how it came about and how he made history:https://t.co/JC85v4tpD6pic.twitter.com/BbBWh539GJ

— Hashtag United (@hashtagutd) September 24, 2021

Tom Leese will definitely prove to be the gamechanger for his new team and as a bonus, Hashtag United will definitely benefit from the move. The Isthmian League North club can invest the transfer fee received to upgrade their stadium/grounds and grow their Esports and real-life teams as well. In fact the club recently announced the signing of former Ellevens eSports player, Tom Stokes aka ‘StokesFIFA’.

🚨🎮WELCOME HASHTAG STOKES!

Today’s guest of honour: our new @HTUesports Pro @StokesFIFA 🔥

Tom joins the team for #FIFA22 and from Weds will be wearing OUR NEW ESPORTS SHIRT! 😮 pic.twitter.com/IQkDXaA5rV

— Hashtag United (@hashtagutd) September 18, 2021

We will be closely following the transfer activity of Tom Leese and other players to come as exciting times are set to begin come FIFA 22. Who do you think would be the next team/player to change the scenery?

Alright guys?

You may have heard recently that the Hashtag United home shirt is now available in FIFA 20, and was attainable by watching the FUT Champions Cup Stage 1 broadcast on Twitch at the time.

Hashtag United Kit Fifa 21 Download

If you missed out on that rare opportunity, then fear not – you now have another chance to get your hands on the home kit in FIFA 20!

Hashtag United Kit Fifa 21 Release

All you have to do this time – exactly the same as in Stage 1 – is watch the Twitch stream for the FUT Champions Cup Stage 2, which you can find here, while you must also link your account in order to get the kit:

Here’s how you can link your account: https://help.ea.com/en-gb/help/fifa/ea-sports-fifa-and-twitch/

Our very own Hashtag Harry is competing in Stage 2, having performed extremely well in Stage 1.

Harry finishes #FutChampionsCup1 in the top 16 in the world on PS!! 🙌

He’ll be back in action in 2 weeks time at FCC 2. Thanks to everyone for their support!! #️⃣#TeamSCUF#UpTheTagspic.twitter.com/B3xl3N3nz8

— Hashtag United esports (@HTUesports) November 9, 2019

Harry managed to finish in the top 16 in the world on PS4 last time out at the FUT Champions Cup, an incredible achievement to say the least – he also did so in style, wearing our gorgeous new purple shirt.

Once again, if you’re a Harry fan, for the first time you’ll be able to watch all of his games via either his own Twitch stream or the tournament stream, so be sure to keep an eye on them.

As always, don’t forget to Hashtag it!