Breaking down barriers with eSports: The unique story of Niklas Luginsland
- eSports player despite brittle bone disease
- Joined the VfB Stuttgart eSport squad in 2018
- The unique story of Niklas Luginsland
eSports can break down barriers like few other activities and give people the opportunity to live out their passion for competitive football on the virtual field.
Niklas Luginsland is a pioneer in this respect when it comes to FIFA eSports. The 24-year-old German represents VfB Stuttgart on the virtual pitch and is a unique figure on the FIFA scene since he has been confined to a wheelchair from an early age due to suffering from the rare congenital condition of osteogenesis imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle bone disease.
His positive outlook has made him a central figure of the Stuttgart eSports team, while his mental fortitude is a shining example for his fellow squad members. eSports has enabled Luginsland to live the dream and represent his favourite club, of which he has been a member for some 15 years.
He now gets to turn out for the team in the south of Germany on the virtual pitch with four other eSports players, and helped them to 11th spot in the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship this season, which was brought to a close at the end of February 2020.
Luginsland has been playing for his home club since 2018 and since last July, he has also been the first person on the VfB master’s course that is under the aegis of the VfB Stuttgart Academy, studying Leadership and Sports Management.
It is not just his friends and team-mates in Stuttgart who are inspired by his unique and positive outlook on life – Luginsland now has around 13,000 followers on Instagram who are excited to read about his career in eSport and his role at the Stuttgart club.
