Coronavirus leaves Cairns football players to log on to kick off
Boots and shin pads have been swapped for consoles, controllers and plenty of banter as Far North football players get their fix of the World Game.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Pride players could take field despite scrapped season
- Cricket club goes in to bat for international students
- The status of the Cairns racing carnival
- Coronavirus: Cairns secures new gloves, sanitisers for outreach services
BOOTS and shin pads have been swapped for consoles, controllers and plenty of banter as Far North football players get their fix of the World Game.
The suspension of all football activities until at least July 1 due to the coronavirus forced the sport to think outside the box to serve their thousands of participants.
Just weeks after football seasons were suspended, the Football Queensland E-Series has emerged.
Now two games in, the series is open to players from across the state who face off online in popular video game FIFA 20.
Played with junior and senior competitions on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, 37 FNQ Football players are among hundreds from across the state chasing digital glory – and bragging rights.
It didn’t take much convincing for Leichhardt goalkeeper and regular FIFA 20 player Myles Howard to enter the statewide tournament.
“I wasn’t going to initially but then thought I wouldn’t be doing too much otherwise,” he said. “I’m all right (at FIFA) but my mates reckon I’m rubbish.”
A comprehensive 5-0 rout and a 3-0 forfeit win has Howard, who plays as Spanish giants Barcelona, off to a good start in the first stage of a competition which will culminate in a state final.
HOW FNQ FOOTBALL SEASON COULD LOOK IN 2020
Some games will be streamed live via Football Queensland’s Facebook page or through Twitch.
FNQ representatives in FQ’s FIFA 20 E-Series
Players are spread across regional pools in the first stage, which will eventually lead to a knockout bracket in the latter stages.
Usernames are listed.
PlayStation 4 Juniors
Wadd07 (Edge Hill)
McBiji (Redlynch Cyclones)
AccessibleRay (Edge Hill)
Jace2006 (Edge Hill)
abijibi (Redlynch Cyclones)
LucaJM08 (Edge Hill)
Sldny (Leichhardt)
Kai2007 (Edge Hill)
NoVaElectric (Edge Hill)
Triplow_FC (Redlynch Cyclones)
cjpcodcart10 (Edge Hill)
chpcartcod12 (Edge Hill)
PlayStation 4 Seniors
karlosgough (Marlin Coast)
Matteobuso (Marlin Coast)
Jjs1994 (Marlin Coast)
Savage_Camel96 (Mareeba United)
Goncalves_2020 (Southside)
RAGING_BULL_876 (Innisfail)
Cr7willsGb11 (Innisfail)
Neymarnator (Innisfail)
Moloney7117 (Southside)
Xbox One Juniors
xdsnickers2650 (Gordonvale Souths)
Latif1664 (Mareeba)
Mcdonnell123 (Edge Hill)
vFallze (Mareeba)
LeporatiA (Stratford)
StarlitWeb15223 (Edge Hill)
Rentalsword6089 (Edge Hill)
BreezeyRage (TAS)
vStokez (Mareeba)
comonbro86 (Leichhardt)
NumberCandle969 (Leichhardt)
ConicalLeaf9320 (Edge Hill)
Xbox One Seniors
PrettyCalf14898 (Mareeba)
SafeTripod824 (Gordonvale Souths)
Moistty010 (Stratford)
Ramu10 (Southside)
Originally published as Coronavirus leaves Cairns football players to log on to kick off