Game on! The FEI jumps into equestrian sport fantasy

The FEI and Feeling Sports^© have joined forces to jump into the esports revolution with the launch today of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Fantasy Game. For everyone with a love of horses and equestrian sport, wherever you are in the world, this is a game changer!

The Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Fantasy Game season will kick off with the first of the Europe Division 1 qualifiers, which takes place at La Baule (FRA) on 17 May 2019, and promises to be a thriller as the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2019 season continues. The Fantasy Game season will conclude with the showdown for top honours at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2019 Final in Barcelona (ESP) in October.

Presented in three languages - English, French and German - the FEI’s first multilingual and multi-regional Fantasy Game is available on web browser for desktop, smartphones and tablets*. Registration is free and anyone can sign up at any time during the season. Log in through your My FEI account and access the game at https://fantasy.fei.org.

Tailored to the unique nature of the sport, equestrians all over the world can showcase their skills, competing in public or private leagues with friends and family. Participants must select their fantasy team from the player list. They can predict the number of clear rounds, the best athlete and horse combination on the team, and then watch the live competition broadcast on FEI TV in real time. Points are earned for the correct predictions made in each of four categories: best performing nations, fantasy team, number of clear rounds and best athlete

“We've seen that fantasy sports play an enormous role in driving deeper connection between sports fans and real-life sports”, FEI Commercial Director Ralph Straus said.

“Feeling Sports are the specialists in fantasy online games and we are excited about this collaboration and believe the launch of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup fantasy game will be a fresh, unique way for fans to interact throughout the season, not only with their favourite athletes and teams, but also engaging with other avid equestrian fans all over the world.”

“We are delighted and very proud to work alongside the FEI on this ambitious digital project” Feeling Sports Founder and CEO François Grenet said.

“Our goal is to back its fan engagement strategy through our Fantasy platform. As well as being a world-class organisation, the FEI is also a digital pioneer in equestrian sport and this demonstrates its leadership in innovation. We wanted to provide the FEI with a friendly and easy to use game while giving a more intense experience to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup for fans.”

The overall winner will be announced at the end of the season and will receive an exclusive VIP trip for two persons to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2020, including return flights (with worldwide validity), accommodation and the chance to go behind the scenes, meet the athletes and enjoy the Final’s experience in VIP style.

For more information on how-to-play, watch the video here and become a part of the action and thrills of super-funky equestrian sport fantasy!

Notes to Editors

A fantasy game is an online game in which players are rewarded with points for correctly forecasting the performance of real athletes and their horses. In the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Fantasy Game, participants are invited to predict the best performing nations, assemble the team they envisage as the winner, guess the number of clear rounds and designate the best athlete in the team. The Fantasy Game terms and conditions, can be viewed here

* Dedicated apps for iOS and Android devices will follow in the coming weeks.

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org

The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.

The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para-Equestrian Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para-Equestrian Dressage and Para-Driving. 

About Feeling Sports www.feelingsports.com

Started by a trio of passionate sports fans with a vision to create entertainment around real-life sport's' events through innovative and easily adaptable games. Feeling Sports began creating fantasy and prediction games in 2008.

Since then, their aim has been to bring a slightly unconventional touch to game design and features for their numerous clients in the sports industry (Le Tour de France, Six Nations Rugby, Roland-Garros, L’Equipe…).