Pokémon Go: Manchester City and Benfica invite fans to play in areas near their stadium

Manchester City FC (Premier League) and SL Benfica (Liga NOS) invited their fans, via twitter, to come and play the augmented reality game Pokémon Go in virtual arenas around their stadiums on 14 and 15/07/2016.

"Come to the Etihad Stadium to battle the gym leader and claim your rule over City!" said Manchester City in a tweet posted on 14/07/2016, to encourage supporters to come down to an area near the Etihad Stadium (60,000 capacity). "You want to catch them all? Come to the Luz Stadium (65,647 capacity), the best and most beautiful PokéStop in the world," tweeted SL Benfica on 15/07/2016. The two clubs are the first in Europe to mention Pokémon Go since the launch of the application.

Launched in Australia and New Zealand on 07/05/2016 and the United States on 07/06/2016, Pokémon Go quickly became a social phenomenon. Launched progressively in Europe from 13/07/2016, the application is not yet officially available in France, although many players have already used it.

• The release of Pokémon Go was postponed France "as a sign of respect for the French people in this period of…