Sports stats



MLS Atlanta United FC

Atlanta United Re-Signs eSports Athlete Paulo Neto, Adds Vini Leiva for 2022

November 17, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Atlanta United FC News Release


ATLANTA - Atlanta United announced today it has re-signed top Brazilian esports athlete Paulo Neto to represent the club in the 2022 eMLS Season. Neto will be joined by fellow Brazilian esports athlete Vini Leiva to form the club's first esports team for the upcoming year. The duo will compete in EA SPORTS™ Global Series 2v2 events and the FIFAe Club Series while also taking part in individual FIFA Global Series events on PlayStation and Xbox.

"We are excited to bring Paulo back for his third season with Atlanta United," said Atlanta United's Vice President of Business Operations Georgia O'Donoghue. "Paulo had a successful 2021 year despite all the Covid-19 challenges, and we look forward to him being able to travel this year to compete in the eMLS Season. The addition of Vini to form our first Atlanta United esports team shows our club commitment to continuous innovation. The esports arena is a great platform for us to grow our brand on a global stage."

Neto will compete as Atlanta United in the 2022 eMLS League Series 1, League Series 2 and eMLS Cup competitions (dates TBD) and in other FIFA Global Series events throughout 2022. He's coming off another successful year, including winning a FIFA 21 Global Series South American Qualifier in April. The following week, Neto came in first in the FIFAe Nations Cup South American Qualifier representing his native Brazil in the event. Later in the summer, Neto finished in third place in the FIFA 21 Global Series South American Playoffs on PlayStation. The Brazilian also placed fourth in the FIFA 21 CONMEBOL eLibertadores event.

Leiva joins Atlanta United after a couple of successful FIFA seasons. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native finished last year ranked 11th in the FIFA 21 Global Series rankings. The year before, Leiva was ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings. He opened 2021 with a fifth-place finish in the South American Global Series qualifier on Xbox. Leiva followed that up with a second-place finish in the FIFA eClub World Cup. He posted another top-10 finish in the CONMEBOL eLibertadores event and qualified for the eNations Cup representing Brazil on Xbox.

Atlanta United Fans will be able to watch and follow both Paulo Neto and Vini Leiva throughout 2022 on the club's official Twitch channel at Twitch.tv/ATLUTD.

Check out the Atlanta United FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from November 17, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central