LALIGA FC Pro Cup will be held in the city of San Sebastian for the first time

The city of San Sebastian will host the LALIGA FC Pro Cup for the first time in the competition's history. The tournament will take place at the Kursaal Conference Centre and Auditorium over two days - April 6th and 7th - as part of an illustrious event that will see the northern city dressed in the competition's colours.

San Sebastian will be home of the LALIGA FC Pro Cup for the next two years thanks to an agreement reached with Fomento San Sebastian, the economic development agency based in the capital of Gipuzkoa, which is committed to attracting these types of major events to the city that encourage the use of technology and place young people at the centre of the action. 

It also provides an opportunity to bring the city closer to the world of esports, and comes to San Sebastian thanks to the shared work and commitment of Fomento San Sebastian, LALIGA, Real Sociedad and the Kursaal Palace, which will is ready to host this event of great social and media impact.

The presentation of the event was made by the Councillor for Local Economy and Employment, Ane Oyarbide; Managing Director of Fomento de San Sebastián, Iñigo Olaizola; and LALIGA's Director of Digital Strategy, Alfredo Bermejo.

The Councillor for Local Economy and Employment, Ane Oyarbide, highlighted the importance of San Sebastian hosting an event as significant as the LALIGA FC Pro Cup, which will turn the city into the capital of electronic sports, which has an ever-increasing number of followers and generates a significant industry around it. Esports, and particularly football, is experiencing tremendous growth, with more and more professional competitions attracting a young audience, and where women also have an important presence, representing 36% of the audience in Spain. She also stressed the important economic and employment dimension that the video game industry and its sporting competitions have. It's a very dynamic economic sector that’s consistent with San Sebastian's positioning as a city of innovation and technology, and generates a significant volume of employment around it, with 9,000 jobs in Spain, making it an industry with a great future. Oyarbide encouraged all gamers to come to the Kursaal on April 6th and 7th to watch and cheer on Real Sociedad, who will be taking part in the tournament.

Furthermore, LALIGA's Director of Digital Strategy, Alfredo Bermejo, pointed out the great opportunity that holding the LALIGA FC Pro Cup in San Sebastian represents, both for the city and for LALIGA, as it provides a great way to get closer to the competition's fan community and to create more opportunities for the youngest members of the population. Plus, LALIGA working together with the local institutions of San Sebastian and Real Sociedad is undoubtedly a guarantee of success.

The LALIGA FC Pro Cup will be held over two days, combining both competitive matches and various activities which are open to the public. The event, which is free to attend, will offer the public the chance to experience the grandeur of the biggest national EA SPORTS FC 24 competition first hand, with 24 LALIGA FC Pro clubs battling it out for the biggest prize pool in the Cup's history. A total of €100,000 in prize money will be awarded, doubling last year's prize pool, with €25,000 going to the winning club.

The clubs that reach the round of 16 of the LALIGA FC Pro Cup will also secure direct entry to the grand final at the end of April.

The clubs competing in the LALIGA FC Pro Cup and the tournament format

The format for this new season has seen a return to 1v1 matches, where a win is worth 3 points and a draw is worth 1. During the LALIGA FC Pro Cup, in the event of a draw, extra time will be played, followed by a penalty shoot-out.

Next stop after LALIGA FC Pro Cup

The 16 clubs that emerge from the Cup will have taken a step closer to glory by reaching the LALIGA FC Pro Finals at the end of the month. In line with previous years in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and PortAventura World in Tarragona, these on-site events with the public will visit new cities, once again bringing the excitement closer to the community.

The biggest prize pool in history

The prize pool exceeds €350,000. In the SuperCup, the first title of the season held in November, €7,000 was handed out. During the Cup in April, €100,000 will be won, the highest amount for this title in the history of the competition, with €25,000 for the winner; €10,000 for the runner-up; €7,500 for third and fourth place; with all teams up to 24th place receiving prize money. As if that wasn't enough, the final will see €250,000 up for grabs, with €60,000 going to the club that wins the championship title; €40,000 to the runner-up; €20,000 to the third and fourth place finishers; and prize money distributed up to 16th place.

Additionally, the champion and runner-up will qualify for a place in the FC Pro World Championship, while the four semi-finalists will have a place in the eChampions League.

LALIGA FC PRO always there for the community

LALIGA FC PRO will keep expanding its presence with new and innovative content across its social media channels on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Twitch and YouTube, continuing to offer the most interesting and entertaining content from the competition and EA SPORTS FC PRO 24.