Leyton Orient launch 128-team Ultimate Quaranteam virtual tournament

Trying to get a live football fixture is near to impossible at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic but English League Two side Leyton Orient have provided fans with a virtual tournament.

Mirroring the launch of the first-ever extratime.ie eSports Cup in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, which will feature League of Ireland starts such as Jack Byrne and Dano Kelly, Ultimate Quaranteam will benefit struggling EFL clubs as well as the MIND charity.

Due to football coming to an abrupt standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak, several clubs’ social media accounts offered their own creative ways of filling in the void from the sport, including Connect Four games and Xs and Os .

On Sunday evening, Leyton Orient challenged 63 other teams from around the globe to join them in a knock-out FIFA 20 tournament - but such an immense response has led that to expand to a 128-club tournament called #UltimateQuaranTeam.

Each club will choose a representative - whether it be a first-team player or a club fan - for their team and will lead out their side on FIFA.

In total, 16 different countries are represented with the potential for an interesting cross-continent ‘Orlando’ clash between South African side Orlando Pirates and MLS team Orlando City.

League of Ireland sides are represented too such as Derry City, Cork City, Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers which are all used to big club competitions as they all have competed in Champions League and Europa League before.

The draw took place live on Wednesday evening, with Cork City drawn against Scotland’s Ross County and Shamrock Rovers with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.

Waterford face French side Angers while Sligo Rovers, Finn Harps, Derry City and Dundalk were drawn with Burton Albion, Oldham Athletic, QPR and Portsmouth of England.