EA FC<\/em> comes to replicating real football, which got me thinking.<\/p>\nFor more than a decade, communities around the world have built organized leagues around Pro Clubs. Thousands of players compete every season. Transfers happen. Teams scout opponents. Broadcasts are produced. Trophies are won. Rivalries have formed. Entire organizations have been built around a mode that has never been officially recognized as an esport by EA.<\/p>\n
So, after all these years, is Pro Clubs any closer to becoming one?<\/p>\n
To answer that question, I spoke with Aaron \u201cGringo\u201d Baker, founder of the Virtual Football League (VFL), and Timothy Oswald, former Vice President of Operations for the Pro Clubs Network (PCN). While their experiences came from opposite sides of the Atlantic, both have spent years helping build competitive Clubs communities from the ground up.<\/p>\n
How VFL Was Built<\/h2>\n When Baker and his friends first started VFL in 2012, there wasn\u2019t much of a competitive Clubs scene in the UK.<\/p>\n
They hadn\u2019t spent years developing a business plan, raising money, or waiting for support from EA. They had simply reached Division One, exhausted what the mode had to offer, and started wondering what they were supposed to do next.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got to Division One or whatever it was back then and kind of just said, \u2018OK, now what?\u2019 We\u2019ve completed it, but we still wanted to play,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n
One of his friends had experience playing in an American Clubs league and suggested Baker try creating something similar for European players. He was 17 at the time and initially saw it as little more than a summer project.<\/p>\n
The original VFL website was made through Weebly. Baker described it as \u201cabsolutely horrendous,\u201d but the presentation didn\u2019t matter much. There was nothing else like it in the UK, and players were interested.<\/p>\n
Getting the word out required far more effort.<\/p>\n
Baker and several friends spent hours entering Xbox drop-in matches and messaging players 30 at a time. They would tell them about the league, send them to the website, and encourage them to sign up. It was a painfully manual process, although it worked.<\/p>\n
Season one was a success. After briefly pausing so Baker could focus on school exams, VFL returned and began growing rapidly. Season two was bigger. Season three was bigger again. By season five, the league was expanding, and by season 10, VFL was branching into additional countries and international competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe success of VFL\u2026 was pretty much purely a luck and timing-based situation\u2026 There was literally nothing really in the UK,\u201d Baker said of VFL\u2019s rapid growth.<\/p>\n
What began as a boredom project eventually became one of the most important organizations in the history of competitive Clubs.<\/p>\nVFL\u2019s website, as of July 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI think definitely UK-wise, it was the first one that was properly set up,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIt gave a lot of people ideas to make their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
VFL also made an early decision that helped separate it from a standard online tournament.<\/p>\n
The league used real clubs and attempted to bring some of Career Mode\u2019s appeal into Clubs. Players could begin at a lower-division team, perform well, earn a transfer, and eventually land at one of Europe\u2019s biggest sides.<\/p>\n
Baker described it as creating a career path where someone could move from a smaller club to a bigger one (Crew Alexandra to Bayern Munich was the example he provided). It gave players more than a weekly schedule of matches. Their individual careers developed over multiple seasons, with reputations growing alongside the clubs they represented.<\/p>\n
That format became especially useful for content creators. Baker pointed to YouTubers who built series around their VFL careers, such as Bruce L33t and JCC, allowing viewers to follow them from smaller clubs to teams like Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
VFL had effectively created a long-term progression system around Clubs before EA itself had shown much interest in doing so.<\/p>\n
The Growth Of Competitive Clubs<\/h2>\n VFL\u2019s success eventually encouraged other leagues to enter the scene.<\/p>\n
Some positioned themselves around different schedules. Others operated on separate consoles or introduced cash prizes. Over time, competitive Clubs developed into a crowded ecosystem where each organization needed its own reason for players to choose it.<\/p>\n
Baker believes VFL\u2019s continued appeal comes down to organization and reliability. Players know their matches will take place, forfeits are rare, and the league\u2019s structure has been refined across dozens of seasons.<\/p>\n
Other leagues have leaned further into cash competitions, asking players or teams to pay an entry fee in exchange for the chance to win a larger prize.<\/p>\n
Across the pond, in North America, organized Clubs leagues were growing as well.<\/p>\n
Timothy Oswald (known to most as simply Oswald) first became involved with PCN in 2019 after he and his friends began looking for something more challenging than the standard Clubs divisions. He quickly became an administrator and worked his way through several positions before eventually becoming PCN\u2019s Vice President of Operations.<\/p>\n
His timing was significant.<\/p>\n
PCN had already emerged as one of North America\u2019s major Clubs leagues, but its growth accelerated around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. With more people at home and searching for online competition, the league expanded to around 60 teams.<\/p>\n
That growth created a substantial workload behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Oswald worked from home and was often available throughout the day, which meant players and other administrators regularly came to him when something needed to be handled. He moved from a lower-level administrative role to running divisions and eventually helping oversee the league\u2019s broader operation.<\/p>\n
The experience also exposed how fragile a community-run competition can become.<\/p>\n
When one of PCN\u2019s founders abruptly stepped away, much of the knowledge required to operate the league left with him. Oswald said administrators spent several seasons figuring out processes that had previously been handled by one person.<\/p>\n
Leadership changes and internal disagreements eventually led Oswald to leave PCN and help launch VESA, which later took over the organization.<\/p>\n
PCN\u2019s rise and eventual disappearance provides a useful contrast with VFL. Both became important parts of their respective regions, but longevity at that scale requires far more than finding enough players to fill teams.<\/p>\n
A league needs administrators, consistent rulings, dependable schedules, functioning technology, community trust, and people willing to give up a considerable amount of their free time.<\/p>\n
According to Oswald, that last part becomes difficult to sustain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaking from personal experience, it is a thankless job,\u201d he said. \u201cYou do a ton of work, and not a whole lot of people appreciate it. You have 10 loud negatives and 100 silent positives, but the only thing you really hear is the negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The negative voices are usually the ones administrators hear. Over time, that begins to wear people down. League owners and staff members often balance competition with jobs, families, and other responsibilities, all while receiving little or no compensation.<\/p>\n
The competitive Clubs scene has survived because enough people continue volunteering for those jobs. That model can support a community league. But expanding beyond that level becomes much harder.<\/p>\n
The Shift Toward Money<\/h2>\n Baker and Oswald both identified money as one of the biggest changes in competitive Clubs.<\/p>\n
During VFL\u2019s early years, Baker said players were excited simply to have an organized competition. They wanted to win leagues, reach Champions League finals, and experience the camaraderie that came with playing alongside the same group every weekend.<\/p>\n
Oswald noticed something similar when he entered PCN. Players were motivated by titles, personal awards, and their reputations within the community. Cash prizes existed, but most leagues were free to enter and awarded no such monetary compensation.<\/p>\nImage: Operation Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat has changed considerably, particularly in North America. Buy-ins have become more common, prize pools have grown, and some teams even pay players small amounts to join their rosters or give them a share of the prize money.<\/p>\n
Oswald sees benefits to that system. A team that pays to enter a competition has more incentive to finish the season. Players may take matches more seriously when money is involved, reducing the number of clubs that fold after a poor run of results.<\/p>\n
It also places more pressure on the league itself.<\/p>\n
Once people pay for access, administrative mistakes become harder to dismiss. Players expect consistent rulings and a professional standard of operation. If they feel another league offers a better experience for the same fee, they can leave.<\/p>\n
Oswald described the overall effect as a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n
He still prefers free-to-play leagues because they preserve more of the reason many people started playing Clubs in the first place. The mode was supposed to be an enjoyable way to play football with friends. Once money becomes the main motivation, the joy can easily be lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like I\u2019m doing this as a second job,\u201d Oswald said. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t having as much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker also preferred the earlier culture, describing it as more community-driven. At the same time, he acknowledged that younger players have grown up watching teams compete for money. Naturally, many now want the same opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always going to say it was better in the past because I felt like it was more pure,\u201d Baker said. \u201cI felt like you had a much bigger feeling of community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those players have more leagues to choose from, more tournaments offering prizes, and more sponsorship opportunities than the scene offered in 2012. Their idea of competitive Clubs was shaped by a different era.<\/p>\n
There is room for both models. VFL can continue offering a free, organized weekend competition while other leagues sell players on the chance to win cash.<\/p>\n
Still, relying too heavily on entry fees creates another problem.<\/p>\n
Competitive Clubs has always been attractive because almost anyone with the game and a group of teammates could participate. Increasing the cost of entry risks pricing out younger players who don\u2019t have income or adults who simply don\u2019t want to pay more to compete in a game they already purchased.<\/p>\n
A healthy competitive scene needs somewhere for inexperienced and younger players to begin. If every credible competition eventually requires a buy-in, that entry point becomes narrower.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean prize leagues need to disappear. They can provide a higher-stakes environment for established teams. They just shouldn\u2019t become the only serious path available.<\/p>\n
Could Clubs Work As An Esport?<\/h2>\n When asked directly whether Clubs could become an esport, Baker believed it was possible. His answer came with a major condition: EA would eventually need to take a leading role.<\/p>\n
For Baker, an official structure would begin with EA publicly recognizing competitive Clubs and creating a sanctioned league or tournament. From there, the publisher could work with people who have already proven they know how to run these communities.<\/p>\n
VFL, VPG, PCN, and similar organizations have years of experience handling player registrations, match scheduling, disputes, transfers, and league formats. EA wouldn\u2019t need to invent the entire structure on its own. It could hire or partner with administrators who have already spent years learning what works.<\/p>\n
That support would also give the scene access to EA\u2019s marketing reach, development resources, and funding.<\/p>\n
Without it, Baker believes community organizers will continue running into the same limitations.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to have EA eventually come to the table and take control of everything,\u201d he told us. \u201cYou need EA to come out and say, \u2018We\u2019re doing a Pro Clubs league,\u2019 then bring in people who\u2019ve already proven they can run these communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Online tournaments are possible. Smaller LAN events have also started appearing, particularly in Europe. Turning those events into a sustainable esport creates a much larger logistical problem, not to mention reducing the chances of turning a profit.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to rent out 22 consoles, 22 monitors, pay for the venue\u2026 What are you really left over with?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there are the players themselves.<\/p>\n
A fighting game competitor can travel alone. A Clubs team needs to transport an entire roster. Organizers and teams must account for hotels, food, transportation, and potentially international travel for at least 11 players per side.<\/p>\n
Prize money is also split across larger teams.<\/p>\n
Baker used the example of a $6,000 prize pool. Divided between 11 winning players, each receives less than $600 before accounting for travel, accommodation, and food. A player might leave the event with a profit of only $100 or $200.<\/p>\n
That is enough to create a memorable weekend. It isn\u2019t enough to support professional players or justify the costs required to stage major events regularly.<\/p>\n
Oswald raised many of the same concerns. Compared to esports such as Apex Legends, a Pro Clubs LAN would require significantly more equipment and a much larger venue footprint.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t rule out the possibility, especially if online technology continues improving, but the logistics make a traditional LAN circuit difficult to imagine under the scene\u2019s current conditions.<\/p>\n
Baker believes Clubs could slowly grow into something larger without EA. It may take another five, 10, or even 20 years. Direct involvement from the publisher could accelerate that process considerably.<\/p>\n
EA wouldn\u2019t necessarily need to begin with a huge prize pool.<\/p>\n
Baker argued that even an officially sanctioned tournament offering $5,000 or $10,000 could generate substantial interest. The important part would be EA promoting it, creating a qualification structure, and giving players something official to work toward.<\/p>\n
Compared to established esports, the prize money would be little. Compared to what community-run Clubs tournaments currently offer, it would represent a major step.<\/p>\n
Baker also made one of the most interesting points from either interview: EA has spent years benefiting from the competitive Clubs community without needing to invest heavily in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were buying copies of FIFA because they wanted to play VFL [and] VPG,\u201d Baker said. \u201cEA were spending zero dollars on marketing for Clubs, but they had huge communities effectively doing the advertising for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some players purchased FIFA specifically because they wanted to participate in those competitions. League organizers created schedules, narratives, transfer drama, rivalries, and content around a mode that EA otherwise did very little to promote.<\/p>\n
In that sense, the communities provided free marketing.<\/p>\n
As long as independent organizations kept players engaged, EA had little reason to spend money building an official competitive structure. The mode continued to sell copies of the game and retain players without requiring the publisher to assume the financial risk.<\/p>\n
That arrangement has worked for EA. Whether it has been good for Clubs is a different matter.<\/p>\n
Community leagues have demonstrated that demand exists, but their success may have also allowed EA to remain passive. The better those organizations became at filling the gaps, the less pressure there was for the publisher to do it.<\/p>\n
An official esport would require EA to take on expenses and responsibilities that community members currently handle themselves. From a player\u2019s perspective, the opportunity is obvious. From a business perspective, EA would need to be convinced that the potential audience and revenue justify the investment.<\/p>\n
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