Starting from August 19, Chinese Super League (CSL) began to see a counterpart online as the Chinese E-sports Football League (CEFL) was unveiled, aiming to win more support for a sport that has upset many.

The first CEFL included e-sports teams from eight Chinese soccer clubs, including Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG, Shandong Luneng Taishan, Jiangsu Suning, and Chongqing Lifan. Every weekend, the FIFA Online 3 game will be on, following the CSL schedule. E-sports players, consisting of professional soccer players, soccer fans, and professional e-sports players, pick players from their own clubs to play in the game, reported sport news site Ecosports.cn.

Hosted by China Athletic E-Sports League (CAEL) and Tencent Games, CEFL was first introduced in June. Over a dozen Chinese soccer clubs have set up their own e-sports teams so far.

The decision to make CSL an e-sport reportedly followed similar moves made by international soccer leagues. Germany's Bundesliga, for example, saw e-sports players join traditional clubs as early as in 2015, when VfL Wolfsburg signed FIFA player SalzOr.

It is believed that by introducing e-sports, the traditional ball-kicking sport can gain audience by allowing more people to participate in the game, according to Ecosports.cn.