Vodafone has announced that it has just become a premium partner of esports company and events organiser ESL, which means they will also sponsor the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), ESL One, and ESL Pro League events.
What's more is that the pair will also work together on a number of initiatives that "promote diversity and female participation in historically male-dominated esports activities," as revealed by the announcement, including Vodafone being a Premium Partner of the female esports challenge at IEM Sydney next month. They'll also be working with female esports personalities to highlight the opportunities for women to take part in esports.
Serpil Timuray, Chief Operations & Strategy Officer at the Vodafone Group, said: "We are delighted to launch this partnership with ESL and create one of the biggest international networks for esports at a time when audiences are growing rapidly and new technologies are poised to deliver better experiences. I look forward to joining our customers across 25 countries in viewing ESL's exciting esports tournaments, both at home and on their mobile devices."
Vodafone will also be a partner for ESL One Birmingham and ESL One Cologne in the next few months, with more events being announced soon as well. A new live broadcast segment called 'The Vodafone View' will be coming as part of these, as well as advertising and content distribution; branding; and activation at these events.
Is this deal beneficial to both parties?