Watch top FIFA 18 eSports stars battle for European glory

Goal will be showcasing a FIFA 18 eSports league from January 11 with live highlights shows every Thursday night.

The eFootball League is an invite-only tournament, featuring some of the best FIFA eSports players from across Europe, who will be competing for a share of the $10,000 prize pool. The highlights will be broadcast across Goal's social media platforms - Facebook , Twitter , YouTube and Twitch.

The tournament will involve teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Northern Ireland facing off against each other on FIFA 18 in an Ultimate Team format on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The league matches the best gamers from across Europe - many of whom play for professional football clubs and organisations - in a Champions League-style tournament.

The top two teams from each group will then progress to the finals which will be hosted and broadcast live from a top football stadium in April this year.

The eFootball League will air on Thursday evenings at 20:00 UK time (15:00 US East Coast), and will last 45 minutes, in a format akin to the BBC's flagship football show Match of the Day.

Stel Stylianou, the host of the popular Shoot the Defense podcast, will commentate on the action.

The group stage draw for the Xbox One division is listed below:

	Group A
1	Ajax	@DaniHagebeuk
2	Futwiz	@FUTWIZDubzje
3	The Team Reborn	@Redinho10x
4	Linfield	@JordanGearyy

	Group B
1	FC Twente	@Emrebenli_7
2	Lighting Panda	@DragonFIFA
3	West Ham	@WHU_Jamboo
4	Northampton	@NTFC_REAPERZz

	Group C
1	Feyenoord	@jaeydaalhuisen
2	Millenium	@M_Herozia
3	Dundalk	@Rannerz_
4	Wolves	@JakeR1401

	Group D
1	Ado Den Haag	@MitchelDecibel
2	Epilson	@Epsilon_Guigsey
3	Shamrock Rovers	@Mckieee_x
4	Bochum	@MegaBit98

	Group E
1	Groningen	@nickdenhamer
2	exceL	@XL_Painter
3	Hibs	@JACKB20_
4	Stuggart	@Marlut96

	Group F
1	VVV Venlo	Nick Cooiman
2	Goal	@GrayzaGoal
3	Crusaders	@Moorso_619
4	AS Roma	@Poacherrrr

	Group G
1	Excelsior Rotterdam	@LevyFrederique
2	Defuse Kids	@DKBryanOfficial
3	TNS	@ChappersFIFA
4	Terrassa FC	@Espi___

	Group H
1	Influencer Athlete	@proownezyt
2	ForF1faSake	@LewisH90
3	Hamilton	@LH06__
4	Standard Liege	@_JulianOfficial

FIFA 18, the world's most popular football video game, is available to buy now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch.