Today EA and FIFA came together to announce the FIFA 18 Global Series and the new FIFA eWorld Cup 2018. The competition begins on November 3 with the start of ‘The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup.’

Competitors in the FIFA Global Series will “qualify based on FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Weekend League online performance and at blockbuster live qualifying events throughout the year.” Official dates and details for most of the live qualifying events have yet to be revealed, but we do know that there’ll be two ‘FIFA Ultimate Team Champions Cups’ that players will be able to qualify for via the FUT Champions online mode. The two Cup events will be held in January and April. 

Throughout the year, FIFA and EA will be working to identify the world’s top 128 FIFA players with the 64 best PS4 and 64 best Xbox One competitors moving on to the Global Series Playoff. All of this leads up to the eWorld Cup Grand Final which is slotted to take place in August of next year.

EA and FIFA have tried to push their way into the world of esports before, but their efforts have only mustered a marginal success to this point. According to Todd Sitrin, SVP and GM of the Competitive Gaming Division at EA, the goal of this years tournament is to accelerate the growth of FIFA’s competitive gaming scene by “producing more competition, attracting more competitors and connecting with more fans than ever before.”

Though FIFA’s American sales have always been second to Madden, globally it’s one of the most popular games in the world. That’s why it makes sense for FIFA and EA to be pushing the eWorld Cup so hard. Esports are an international affair. Just look at the viewership numbers for the largest LoL or Dota matches. The vast majority of viewers come from outside of the US. 

With the eWorld Cup, FIFA and EA are aiming to capture a global audience.

Plus, the actual World Cup will take place next year as well and the US men’s national team has already been eliminated, so it’s probably best that there focus isn’t an American audience.