(ATR) The International Esports Federation opened bidding for its 11th world championship to be held in 2019.
According to the federation cities have until September 30 to bid for the event, which has only been held outside of Asia once. The first IeSF World Championships was held in 2009 in South Korea, which has hosted six of the 10 championships so far.
Esports have grown in profile in recent years, and the federation has expressed interest in joining the Olympic program as soon as it can. The IOC will receive stakeholders from the esport industry for a one day summit in July as the two groups court each other.
The PyeongChang Olympics featured an esport showcase, put on by TOP Sponsor Intel. Esports will be a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games before becoming a full medal sport at the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, China. The IeSF has said previously the federation would like to be included in the Paris 2024 program.
After a 2017 Olympic Summit the IOC has maintained that esports are a competitive activity, but the games played must adhere to Olympic values before joining the Games program.
Three game titles will be contested at the 2018 IeSF World Championships. None of the three titles would likely be considered in line with the IOC’s vision for competitive esports, given the violent nature of each.
Currently the IeSF has only 47 member federations worldwide, which would need to be increased before Olympic inclusion would be feasible.
In a recent session of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian Minister of Sport Pavel Kolobkov discussed the growth of esports in the first event panel the sport received at the event. Kolobkov reportedly mentioned the IOC’s desire to integrate esports with traditional sports, according to Esports Insider. He mentioned at the panel that the government was willing to work with the esports industry to help with standardization of regulations to help the sport’s development.
Written by Aaron Bauer
For general comments or questions, click here .
25 Years at # 1: Your best source for news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com , for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
