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The National Olympic Committees also need to include local esports industry stakeholders in their respective countries and tap into their expertise. For a start they should start with including their national esports federations in their membership now that the sport is adopted by the IOC.
Last week was a momentous occasion for the global esports fraternity and the historic Olympic Games as the world gathered in Singapore for the first ever Olympic Esports Week.
It was the culmination of years of technical planning that began in 2018 when the IOC formed the Esports and Gaming Liaison Group chaired by David Lappartient.
The pomp and colour at the event was top notch, demonstrating IOC’s seriousness in adopting digital sports.
The inclusivity however, left huge concerns and question marks, especially for us in the African continent. Africa was barely present at this showpiece.
Of the 110 gamers who took part in the official competition across the 10 selected game titles, only one was from Africa. That is Bassem Amin, the virtual chess player from Egypt. Furthermore in the Olympic Esports Forum that preceded the games, only one of the 36 panelists was from Africa, Tommy Shithole.
It begs the question, is there an inadequacy of esports talent in Africa? Or if we are to ignore the competitive side of it and focus on the forum, are there no African stories or plans centered on esports that we cannot be included in the forum as panelists?
It also calls into question the qualification format adopted for this competition.
Were the IOC and the respective International Federations aware of the logistical challenges of servers when they put out a blanket online qualifiers as the criteria of selecting the top gamers?
What about African Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees, how prepared are they when it comes to taking the opportunities that esports present? Do they have within their ranks, professionals who are knowledgeable in the video gaming and esports space? Are they engaging with their local industry players already in this space? Are they seeking a seat at the decision making table?
The sentiments from Singapore were positive, indicating that esports will continue to feature in the plans of the IOC.
It is therefore imperative that from the top, IOC finds ways of including the African competitors on a level playing ground, as well as building the capacity of the African National Olympic Committees in regards to the esports space.
The National Olympic Committees also need to include local esports industry stakeholders in their respective countries and tap into their expertise. For a start they should start with including their national esports federations in their membership now that the sport is adopted by the IOC.
Overall, this wake-up call goes beyond the National Olympic Committees. All other national and regional sports federations in Africa should begin to include esports in their strategies.
