The 2019 Southeast Asian Games,
held in the Philippines late November through mid-December of last year, was
not only a successful hosting stint for the country but also a groundbreaker in
terms of new sporting events that were introduced for contention. They ran the
gamut from conventional (3x3 basketball), to extreme (skateboarding) to
awesomely niche: e-sports. Six medal events were given for that sport last
year. The next SEA Games host, Hanoi in Vietnam, was forced to cut down the
number of events for their turn in 2021, due to lack of funding on account of
the COVID-19 pandemic. E-sports aficionados are determined to not let that sport
be cut.
According to The Philippine Star, not only is the previous Southeast Asian Games
host the Philippines invested in preserving their debuted e-sports events for
the following one in Vietnam next year, they also have the support of the techy
contest’s regional governing body. There is communication between the
respective presidents of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) and the National
Electronic Sports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP), Sebastian Lau and Ramon
Suzara, to convince the organizing committee for the 2021 Hanoi SEA Games to
include e-sports among the medal events.
Compared to the 56 sports events
boasted by the Philippines last year, Hanoi’s 2021 competitive slate is 20
sports less at just 36, primarily the sports already contested at major
international events such as the Olympic Games. This was necessitated by the
significant budget cuts on the upcoming SEA Games – half of its original – by the
Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) as part of their
health and safety measures against the ravages of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
When an appeal by Abraham
Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, to add more sports
(including e-sports) to the Hanoi SEA Games program fell through, the AESF and
NESFP have decided to weigh in their requests as well. “I am writing this
letter to seek your support in driving our Olympic collaboration agenda for the
upcoming 2021 SEAG in Hanoi,” writes AESF head Lau to NESFP chief Suzara. And
they are not the only countries taking steps to address the lack of e-sports, which
was competed in by six southeast Asian nations last year including Vietnam and
the Philippines, which won the most gold.
Electronic sports were shown as a
demonstration game during the 2018 Asian Games at Jakarta and Palembang,
Indonesia. The reception was good enough to push through with it becoming an
official medal event at the Manila SEA Games only the following year. The Asian
Electronic Sports Federation already has 45 countries in Asia as members.
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