TRIALS will give Oxford United fans the opportunity to represent their city on the football pitch - but the pitch will be a virtual one. 

The club has partnered up with Virtual Pro Gaming, the leading virtual football website, to set up the club’s first ever virtual team.

Now for the first time ever Oxford fans will be able to take part in trials to be part of the official United team and compete in leagues and cup competitions against other virtual teams on Fifa 2018 for the Playstation 4.

Oxford Mail:

Spokesman Chris Williams said: “It’s a really exciting project for Oxford United to be involved in.

"Virtual sports are growing all the time and millions of people are involved.

“Teaming up with VPG, one of the biggest names in eSport, allows us to hold trials and have team selection for an online OUFC team.

“VPG have been trying it out already and are half way through their current season; the feedback in excellent and we look forward to featuring news and updates on our social media pages and on the official Youtube channel.”

More than 30,000 people play VPG leagues from over 80 countries and the official Oxford United team will kick off on the 12th May, at 4pm UK time.

This will be on Playstation 4 and there will be open trials sessions allowing many Oxford United fans to trial throughout the day and evening.

Chief executive of VPG Arron Dellosa said: “The eSports Industry is growing massively, and we hope this will benefit Oxford massively as well, creating content for their social media accounts, and getting many fans involved.“