The Overwatch League is looking at European football clubs for potential team expansion... exclusive interview with commissioner Nate Nanzer

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There are currently 12 teams in the Overwatch League. Nine of them are from North America, while only two are from Asia, and just one is from Europe. 

The OWL has always been labelled as a global esports league, but there's certainly a focus on one particular region right now, especially as all the games are all being played in Los Angeles for the time being.

They're looking to balance things out for next season, so Mail Esports spoke to Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer about their plans for new teams around the world. 

Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer spoke to Mail Esports about OWL expansion

'We've kicked off expansion sales, and we're really looking at Europe as a key market,' said Nanzer.

Within the past few weeks, Activision Blizzard has been travelling around Europe, and speaking to teams who could potentially buy in to the league next season. 

There are a great deal of large endemic esports organisations in the region with a long history of success. Blizzard has been speaking to them, but they've also put a particular focus on real life sports brands.

'We were in Rome, and our CEO Bobby Kotick gave a speech on esports at the European Club Association General Assembly. It's where all the European football clubs come together. The chairperson is Andrea Agnelli, the chairman of Juventus.

 Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick (centre) met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino (right)

'We've had a lot of conversations with different clubs across the continent. Football clubs in Europe, many of them are among the most forward thinking and innovative in all of sports. Obviously, esports is a way they can reach new audiences.'

Nanzer says they're particularly focused on adding teams in markets like France, Germany, Spain, the Nordic region, Benelux, and Italy. 

'We have London,' he said. 'We want teams in the big great cities across Europe like Paris, Berlin... those are the kinds of places we're focused on.'

Of course, it's not just Europe that the Overwatch League is looking towards. Next up on their world tour is Asia. 

'We're based in North America so we're always talking to people there, but we'll be heading to Asia in about two weeks to have some more conversations. We have a huge player base in Asia, and we want to bring more OWL teams there. Beijing, Guangzhou, Bangkok... we want to make sure we're in big, global cities.

'That's not to say we won't add more North American teams. We will. But the focus for us is expansion in Europe and Asia.'

They're not limiting their search to these regions though.

There will be more North American teams, but the focus is on Europe and Asia for Season 2

'Brazil's a market that's particularly interesting to us, we have a huge fan base down there. We have Contenders going on in Brazil which is going really well. Then we have Asia Pacific, like New Zealand and Australia. I spent some time in Sydney last summer.

'There's been lots of activity in Australia with AFL teams getting involved with esports, so there could be something interesting there.'

Activision Blizzard is even looking at the Middle East for expansion. 'Gaming is huge in countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia,' said Nanzer. 'It hasn't traditionally been a hotbed of competitive gaming, but as the audience continues to grow, over time it could be an interesting market as well.'

There will definitely be new teams in the Overwatch League for Season 2. Blizzard doesn't have a specific number in mind, but Nanzer said there will be 'several' more teams involved when it kicks off in 2019.

Nanzer says the league will remain global, even with a critical mass of teams in each territory

They haven't revealed how much the buy-in cost will be for new teams just yet. The 12 existing teams had to pay $20 million. Nanzer was cagey over exact details, but the way he was talking suggests it may be more for Season 2.

'The process for new teams will be a little different this year. We have a lot of people coming to us and showing interest versus us coming to them. I've got nothing to share right now on the buy-in cost other than now we have a really successful global product, versus something that was more conceptual when we did this last year.'

Blizzard also hasn't revealed when the teams will be moving to their local regions, rather than playing all the Overwatch League games at the Blizzard Arena in LA. However, it will be happening some time within the next couple of years. 

'The biggest strategic priority for us as a league is getting the teams ready to host home games,' said Nanzer. 'We haven't made the decision yet, but we want it as soon as possible. If it doesn't happen in Season 2, it'll happen very quickly after that.'

Of course, with new teams in the league, we'll have to see a change in scheduling. Nanzer confirmed the playoffs will contain more teams, but said the length of the season won't really change.

'What we're going to focus on in Season 2 is making sure we're taking steps to schedule matches, regardless of where they happen, so that they're at a time that's better for Europe and Asia. The broadcast times have not been great for European fans this year. We're looking to rectify that to the best of our ability in Season 2.'

Seoul Dynasty is just one of two Asian teams right now but Blizzard is looking to other big cities

No matter how many teams are added to the Overwatch League, Blizzard is insistent on keeping it global.

'You can imagine a world in the future where we have 24-28 teams, or a critical mass of teams in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. There would certainly be significant play within each region, but we will always have global play in the regular season.

'That's one of the compelling things about the Overwatch League. It's global, and London and Shanghai will play in the regular season. That will always be the way it works.'