FC Dallas has resigned Alan “AlanAvi” Avila as the club’s eMLS representative in 2021.
Former FC Dallas youth player, Avila, moved across Frisco to The Star a year ago to join the Jerry Jones-owned Complexity Gaming as a FIFA pro and content creator, but has returned to FCD and will represent both organizations simultaneously with a first of its kind contract.
Avila will compete in eMLS, a series of live events where players represent Major League Soccer in FIFA 21’s Ultimate Team mode, while also serving as a content creator for Complexity.
“There are a lot of ways of becoming professional, but I feel like a lot of people in North America want to be a part of the eMLS because it makes it official that you are a pro player competing,” Avila told the Dallas Morning News. “It guarantees you live events and the opportunity to compete in a global series.”
With FC Dallas, AlanAvi recorded a fourth place finish at the 2019 eMLS Cup, and made the quarterfinals of the eMLS Champions League.
The 24-year-old’s strong presence on camera, and 30,000+ followings on both YouTube and Twitch will be an attractive proposition for FC Dallas’ digital media team.
The club had made a concerted effort to build its own Twitch following at the height of the COVID-19 enforced shutdown with former Social Media coordinator Michael Ramirez hosting regular Twitch streams with 2020 eMLS pro Ihab “i9ibbs” Abualneel.
After AlanAvi’s initial departure, longtime fan Abualneel was approached to take on the role in December 2019. We welcomed 19ibbs on the 3rd Degree podcast earlier in 2020 to discuss his FC Dallas fandom, adapting to playing at live events, and teaming with Fafa Picault in the eMLS Tournament Special on FS1.