The Ministry of Youth and Sports, through the Egyptian ESports federation, announced the results of the first Arab ESports championship at a press conference held at the ministry’s headquarters. The conference was attended by Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, Minister of Youth and Sports and Chairman of the Executive Office of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports, Sherif Abdel Baqi, President of the federation, and a number of ministry leaders.
The conference included a presentation of a report on the championship, which was held in cooperation with the League of Arab States and the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports. The Ministry of Youth and Sports in Egypt was tasked with organizing the championship under the technical supervision of the Arab Federation for ESports and the organizational and logistical supervision of the Egyptian Federation. Three games were approved: FIFA 21, Fortnite, and League of Legends.
Sobhi emphasized the interest in electronic games as another parallel trend that keeps pace with technological developments, especially in the post-COVID-19 era and the increased need for online gaming. He pointed out that all economic and forecasting studies indicate that financial gains will be greater than reality, given the future outlook, with all games being transformed into online formats in the coming years.
Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, Minister of Youth and Sports, witnessed the honoring of the winners of the first Arab Online Electronic Sports Championship, which saw Egypt win the gold medal in League of Legends and place second and third in FIFA 21.
The Minister of Youth and Sports directed the launch of a number of online sports competitions in cooperation with the relevant sports federations. This stems from the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ role in providing all youth and sports activities in their contemporary form, foremost among which is the field of electronic games, given its widespread popularity in all countries of the world in recent years. Hisham Taher, Secretary-General of the Arab Electronic Games Federation, expressed via video conference his sincere appreciation for the efforts made by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, headed by Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, to ensure the success of this tournament, as well as the extremely positive response it received.
Sherif Abdel Baqi, President of the Egyptian Electronic Games Federation, noted that the tournament was held with the participation of players from 16 Arab countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, and the Sultanate of Oman.
The conference witnessed the announcement of the Egyptian Electronic Games Federation’s plan for the new year, and the exceptional plan that will be implemented to encourage young people to stay at home after school and university holidays, as part of the precautionary measures to combat the coronavirus.