Brazilian football club SC Internacional launches esports project

Brazilian football club SC Internacional has partnered with sports marketing company Hunter to launch a new esports project.

The ‘Gigante por Gerações’ (Giant for Generations) project, which was announced at a closed event at the Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre, aims to establish an esports division in the club.

Alongside SC Internacional, Hunter manages the T-Rex Sports Academy, an American football team in Brazil that holds an esports division with CS:GO, League of Legends and Free Fire rosters. The initial plan is to merge the T-Rex’s project into Internacional, adding VALORANT and Konami eFootball (former Pro Evolution Soccer) rosters afterwards.

Through the project, Internacional seeks to connect with a new generation of supporters, as the ‘Gigante por Gerações’ name suggests. “We are betting on this segment since we need to reach more and more, and in every way, Inter fans not only inside Beira-Rio,” commented SC Internacional’s Vice President of Marketing, Jorge Avancini, in the press release.

The invite-only launch event was aimed at gathering potential sponsors for the project. Notable names in Brazil, such as Cynthya Rodrigues and Luiz Gustavo Pacete, were guest speakers to introduce esports to the attendees. Meanwhile, Hunter’s Product Director, Bruno Takahashi. and Internacional’s President, Alessandro Barcellos, presented details and plans for the club’s esports division.

Communications group NSC is also supporting International and Hunter in the project.

Internacional’s move brings attention to esports in the Rio Grande do Sul state. Internacional also joins other major football clubs in Latin America that hold esports teams, such as Boca Juniors, River Plate and Corinthians.

However, a prominent Brazilian football club also hit the news recently for leaving the scene. Simplicity Esports sold its Brazilian branch to Los Grandes, meaning that Flamengo Esports will fade away in 2023 due to the brand licensing contract with Flamengo not being renewed.