Virgin Media Ireland will host a special ‘A-Game’ event at Cork City’s Turner’s Cross ground. The event will see Irish football stars Stephanie Roche and David Meyler take on Ireland’s top FIFA players, WYLDE’s Ciaran Walsh and Tyrone Ryan in an ESports battle. The FIFA match-up at Turner’s Cross on 29 November 2022 represents a first for League of Ireland.
Read More: Virgin Media Partners with eSports Giant WYLDE for Gaming Academy
As part of Virgin Media’s ‘Gamers are Athletes’ campaign, David Meyler, Stephanie Roche, Tyrone Ryan and Ciaran Walsh will compete live on Twitch from 5pm on 29 November. The A-Game event will be hosted live on Virgin Media Ireland’s official Twitch channel.
The ‘A-Game’ event is powered by Virgin Media, sponsor of Usain Bolt’s esports organisation and Ireland’s premier esports team WYLDE.
Irish Football Stars
David Meyler began his career with Cork City before making the move to England and establishing himself as a dynamic midfielder. Meyler also picked up 26 caps for the Boys in Green. Since retiring, Meyler has gathered over 130,000 followers streaming FIFA, CoD Warzone and other games on Twitch.
Stephanie Roche is one of the Republic of Ireland’s greatest players. Roche’s wonderstrike for Peamount United against Wexford Youth’s against 2014 netted her a silver at the 2014 Puskas awards. That goal also put her in the shop window for a career that would play in top leagues across Europe. Roche is now back at Peamount United.
Read More: Warzone 2.0 launch creates record data traffic spike in UK
Virgin Media Sport pundit and another Cork City graduate Damien Delaney will provide live commentary and analysis. Delaney will share the mic with esports caster and football commentator, Darren Gibson.
Virgin Media Ireland’s ESports Vision
Speaking at the launch of the big game, Virgin Media Ireland Marketing Manager, Clare Quinlan said: “Ireland’s gamers are the next generation of esports athletes and professional players.
“With this unique Irish football match-up, Virgin Media is keen to turn the spotlight from Qatar to Cork and recognise the huge talent that gamers in Ireland represent. Irish esports players and gamers at home compete internationally every day.”
Irish Football Stars Rate the Competition
David Meyler has streamed FIFA content on Twitch since his retirement and reckons he’ll be a match for the Pros: “After retiring from professional football, I started gaming online. And since then, I’ve become a keen content streamer on Twitch. I am delighted to be part of this campaign, especially as it takes place on my home turf.
Meyler considers this a home match, since he traipsed the hallowed turf a Turner’s Cross manys a time before: “I began my career playing for Cork City. Although I’ve played many a soccer game in Turner’s Cross, this will be my first-time gaming on a pitch. I am thrilled to be competing with WYLDE esports players, Tyrone and Ciaran, as I understand the level of skill and dedication that gaming at this level takes. They are both seriously impressive.”
Stephanie Roche has a passion for digital soccer but admits she might fall short of WYLDE’s esports’ pros: “I love playing FIFA, but I am not a patch on Ciaran and Tyrone on the FIFA pitch!”
Roche knows the dedication it takes to get to the top and respects the WYLDE lads’ talents.
“As an athlete, routine is a major part of my life, from diet to hours of training and competing. Ciaran and Tyrone’s commitment to perfecting their craft is incredible. This experience has been totally eye-opening, and the WYLDE players are a testament to the fact that gaming is serious business, and they truly are athletes.”
