German FIFA Champion Raseck First European Signed to eMLS Contract
St. Louis CITY SC signed German FIFA champion Niklas Raseck as its second-ever eMLS player ahead of the 2023 season. Raseck is the first European FIFA player signed to an MLS club.
Raseck, known also as NRaseck7 and NR7, is one of the most consistent FIFA players in the world. He reached the semi-finals of the German Championships at age 14, going on to win the VBL Championship and qualify for the finals or semi-finals an additional three times in his career. In 2019 Raseck won the FUT 20 Champions Cup and is a 3-time qualifier for the FIFA eWorld Cup and most recently represented Guild eSports in the FIFA Global Series and Team Cups in 2022.
“For the 2023 season, we were looking for three main things in our eMLS player: experience, consistency, and a record of winning at the highest level. We feel we have all three of those in Niklas and look forward to him showing what he can do for St. Louis CITY SC in the coming season,” said Matt Sebek, Chief Experience Officer for St. Louis CITY SC.
CITY SC invested in its esports platform from the beginning, signing its first player in 2020 and the team is building an esports gaming lounge for local competitions in its team headquarters, scheduled to open in 2023.
“eMLS is a new challenge for me,” said Raseck. “I know I have the ability to win, and I look forward to hopefully bringing home a trophy for St. Louis.”
Launched in January 2018, eMLS is Major League Soccer’s competitive EA SPORTS™ FIFA League and has been a groundbreaking platform sitting at the intersection of gaming and soccer culture. FIFA, one of the most popular sports simulation franchises in the world, has crossed more than 325 million in total sales since its launch. FIFA 23 attracted over 10.3 million players in its first seven days of availability, compared to 9.1 million players who joined FIFA 22 in the 10 days following its release.
The complete eMLS 2023 schedule will be shared as the season draws closer.
