Real Madrid footballer Thibaut Courtois has launched a new esports organisation called TC Esports.
According to a release, the organisation will initially enter the sim racing scene. Details surrounding rosters and what competitions the new organisation will compete in have not been disclosed.
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The announcement of the esports team follows the 2023 launch of TC Racing, a real-life racing team created by the Belgian which currently competes in the F4 Spanish Championship. TC Racing also competes in the Prodigy Racing League, an ‘e2Real’ motorsport competition that combines simulation and real-life racing.
Courtois has previously participated in several simulation racing events, notably making appearances in Virtual F1; an online competition organised by Formula 1 during the COVID-19 pandemic that featured F1 drivers and celebrity guests.
The two-time Champions League winner will be joined in his new esports venture by Javier Guerra as TC Racing’s Director of Marketing & Gaming. Guerra had previously led Williams Racing’s esports arm Williams Esports from 2018 until his departure earlier this year.
Discussing the creation of TC Esports, Courtois said: “I have two simulators at home that I use regularly when football allows me to. After participating in several sim racing competitions and events, esports began to attract even more attention. That is why I have always wanted to have my own esports team, since sim racing can also open doors in the world of motorsports and it is something that we also want to bet on at TC Racing.”
Interestingly this is not the first time that Courtois has ventured into the esports sector. The footballer is also an investor in Spanish esports organisation DUX Gaming, first joining as a shareholder in 2020 and then playing a part in a €3m (~£2.6m) funding round in 2022.
In launching TC Esports, Courtois joins a host of footballers who have created their own esports organisations. Other big-name examples include Gerard Pique, who co-founded KOI with Spanish streamer Ibai, Sergio Aguero’s Argentina-based KRÜ Esports, and Casemiro’s organisation Case Esports.
