FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When it was announced that João “Jafonso” Vasconcelos would be joining the New England Revolution as their eMLS competitor for 2024, few could have anticipated just how successful his coming season would be. Now, the world has seen the quality of the Portugal native – and he has no plans on stopping any time soon.
Jafonso, 20, also competes under Liverpool FC star Diogo Jota’s eSports organization Luna Galaxy. For the Revs, he started strongly in eMLS, finishing top in Series Two of league play before steamrolling to championship glory in eMLS Cup. That title qualified him for the FC Pro 24 World Championship, where he narrowly fell at the semi-final stage. Lastly, at the Esports World Cup 2024 last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jafonso went from earning a spot in the last-chance qualifier to hoisting the champion’s shield on the biggest stage, cementing his name as one of the legends of EA Sports FC.
“It was a great season,” Jafonso told revolutionsoccer.net last week. “Winning MLS – winning two titles in MLS! I also made the semi-finals in the World Championship of EA, and then becoming World Champion at the Esports World Cup – I just have to be proud of what I did. So yeah, I’m really happy with the season.”
It is clear that Jafonso brought the fight with him to Riyadh, scrapping his way from a last-chance play-in all the way to the grand final. And, as steep of a mountain that he had to climb coming from that position, he was able to look back and say that he would not have had it any other way.
“It was a really tough qualifier,” he said. “But what I can say is I think that also helped me, qualifying the week before the tournament. But it was also really difficult, because I couldn’t prepare myself in a better way, like the other players that were already qualified. But I think at the end of the day that was important for me to winning, to qualify in that last-chance.”
It was clear for everyone to see just how much that world title win meant to Jafonso. As the virtual full-time whistle blew, the young champion could hardly do anything but pull off his headphones, push back his chair, and hold his face in his hands as he became overcome with the emotion of the moment. As his name went up in lights and the crowd cheered, he shared an embrace with his manager, Armando Vale, before going to collect his trophy.
“I think, in my head, I still can’t believe it,” Jafonso reflected. “In that moment I was just thinking that I reached a dream and a goal. I was really happy because I knew that was a work; it took me many years to become world champion. So, in that moment I got a little bit emotional because it was like a dream come true.”
Of course, no competitor, whether on a physical pitch or in cyberspace, reaches the highest of heights alone, and Jafonso is no exception. With the Revolution and Luna Galaxy both behind him, he said that the confidence of others drove him on to achieve glory.
“I really felt a lot of support from my team, in this case Armando and Diogo,” Jafonso said. “And also the club have always been incredible to me. I think that’s really important [in order] for a person to reach a result in that circumstance in his career. I think that’s one of the most important things for an athlete, is to know and to have support for him to reach his goals.”
And, for better or worse, when someone achieves a high level of success, there will always be detractors. Jafonso took the liberty of thanking those who doubted him on the social media platform X after his win, and reiterated last week that he draws motivation from those who decide to be haters.
“I know some people, I won’t say ‘disrespected’ me,” he said. “But a few people talked about eMLS, about the quality of the league, and [said] I only won because I went there. So, yeah, that was a good motivation for me to show those people that they were wrong.”
Now, with the 2024 campaign behind him, Jafonso’s sights are already set on the coming 2025 EA Sports FC season. The champion said his goals would be the same this time around as they always were.
“Of course, my goal is to win all the competitions that I will participate in,” he said. “Yeah, fight to be world champion again.”
Easier said than done for most. But for Jafonso, the sky truly is the limit.
