As the 2020/2021 esports FIFA season kicks off, paysafecard and NEO are embarking on a new collaboration, with paysafecard becoming the team’s main partner. The deal with NEO, the esports team featuring the former FIFA world champion “Gorilla”, will see the paysafecard brand featured through an exclusive in-game integration, online and offline, as well as via joint social media, Twitch and YouTube activations. The partnership was initiated by sports marketing agency Weirather Wentzel & Partner (WWP Group).

paysafecard, a market leader in eCash payment solutions and part of the international specialised payment platform Paysafe, enables simple and secure online cash transactions and is available in over 650,000 points of sale across 50 countries. By using a 16-digit paysafecard PIN, customers do not need a bank account or credit card to pay online, keeping their confidential financial data secure and protected. paysafecard has been active in the gaming community since its creation in 2000 and is well known in esports circles and popular with gamers.

Meanwhile, after a successful premiere season with a place among the top 8 teams in the world at the FECWC 2020 (the team world championship of sports simulation FIFA) and a top 4 place in the eChampions League, NEO has set itself up for the new season in a very ambitious way, with strong newcomers. In addition to Gorilla, the team now also includes DFB eNational player “DullenMIKE,” the youngest FIFA major champion of all times, who is moving from VfL Wolfsburg to NEO. The line-up is completed by the young up-and-coming talents “Lenny” and “JuliusFGU,” one of Germany’s most popular FIFA content creators.

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ADDED VALUE FOR THE COMMUNITY THROUGH CREATIVE STORYTELLING

Konstantinos Maragkakis, paysafecard’s esports spokesperson, comments: “paysafecard’s connection to esports has been anchored in our DNA since our company was founded 20 years ago. Our mission is to provide gaming enthusiasts with an eCash payment solution that is as safe and easy to use as cash. Our partnership with NEO, such a young and ambitious team, is an essential part of our strategy and in this case the in-game brand placement will help us further connect with our customers and demonstrate our commitment to esports.”

NEO Manager Dan Woods is looking forward to the partnership: “It is a great pleasure to finally present our main partner at the beginning of the new season. The talks with those responsible at paysafecard were very target-oriented and straightforward right from the start. The cooperation will generate much excitement, especially in the digital space. paysafecard is experienced in esports, which makes all of the discussions about content, activations and so on extremely creative. From our side, we are focused on playing a very good sports season with the new line-up and feeding our community on social media with high-quality content. I’m sure that with such a team and such a partner the new season will bring a lot of good things for us!”

Bastian Kroll, Managing Director of WWP-Germany, added: “In our opinion, paysafecard and NEO are the perfect fit. The in-game placement of a brand, which enables simplified payment transactions for in-game purchases, is really powerful. In the past two years we have promoted and expanded the topic of esports in the entire WWP-Group with experts like Ramón Reber. The COVID-19 crisis shows the opportunities this new market offers for partnerships: flexibility and crisis resistance make esports the sport of the future.”

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