Visa has partnered with Ukrainian esports organisation Natus Vincere (NAVI) to establish NAVI Visa Academy, a new esports academy aimed at young players.
The academy aims to offer young talents a gateway into Counter-Strike 2 esports, with the top performers advancing to NAVI’s Berlin boot camp, and the opportunity to join NAVI Youth.
The academy features three main stages. Initially, NAVI players and coaches will select the most talented candidates from all applications for a three-week online competition. The top 10 players from this stage will then participate in a two-week boot camp at NAVI’s Berlin office, receiving training from an experienced academy coach.
Finally, the top five players from the project will be invited to join NAVI Youth and become part of the club.
To apply, candidates must be between 14 and 17 years old, have at least a B1 level of English proficiency, be free of any existing contracts with other clubs, and hold an ELO rating of over 2600 on FACEIT, a measurement of a player’s skill level.
The company’s youth system has been praised globally for its excellence, having produced top players like Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov and Valerij ‘b1t’ Vakhovsjkyj, both of whom emerged from the NAVI academy.
NAVI and Visa will also share updates on the project’s progress through social media, including exclusive videos highlighting the players as the academy develops.
Visa has leveraged the esports industry to connect with younger audiences and expand into new regions in recent years. In 2020, the payment giant strengthened its footprint in Southeast Asia by partnering with EVOS Esports.
