Will eSports one day soon make its debut in the Olympic setting? Likely. The organization of a summit dedicated to electronic sports, announced for the end of July 2018 in Lausanne, confirms the trend. The IOC is supposed to meet the major players in the sector, including players and brands.
But the prospect of seeing eSports pushing open the door to the Paris Games in 2024 seems like a fantasy. Leopold Chung, director of international relations and secretary general of the International eSports Federation (IeSF), revealed this to FrancsJeux: electronic sport could be present at Paris 2024, but only as a demonstration. Interview.
FrancsJeux: Is the eSport phenomenon continuing its crazy progression? Where are you today in terms of practice and participation?
Leopold Chung: eSports are growing every day. It does this so quickly that it becomes difficult for us to measure the phenomenon. The practice is exploding. It is up to us, as an international federation, to provide a solid support, particularly in terms of organization and governance. France, for example, has a national federation, France eSport. She is very close to the French sports authorities. Currently, we have 46 national federations within the IeSF. Twenty-nine of them are recognized by their national Olympic committee or their Ministry of Sports. These figures increase steadily every year.
How many players are there in the world today?
Two billion. In South Korea, for example, the only game League of Legends brings together 3 million players. In China, an estimated 200 million people practice eSports.
There is a lot of talk about your entry into the Olympic world. Has integrating the Games program become your priority?
Of course, we want to enter the Olympic world. But the Games are not the ultimate goal. Above all, we seek to build structures strong enough to develop the practice of eSports in the long term, particularly with national federations. Concerning the Olympic Games, we are currently discussing with the IOC to obtain its recognition. We must go through all the stages: be recognized by GAISF and by the IOC. We are already signatories to the WADA World Anti-Doping Code.
Are you discussing with Paris 2024?
Yes. We are currently talking very closely with the city of Paris. The French capital is establishing itself as a stronghold of eSports. We would like to be included in the Paris 2024 Games as a demonstration sport, not as a medal discipline. For this, we are negotiating with the city of Paris. Its determination is real, just like that of the organizing committee for the Games in 2024. When we agree, we will be able to go see the IOC and speak with one voice.
You mention WADA and the world anti-doping code. Where are you on this issue, often presented as decisive for possible Olympic recognition?
We follow the recommendations of the AMA. All our official competitions are subject to anti-doping controls. Products banned by WADA are all prohibited in our events. We even want to go further. For example, we want to include all beta blockers on our list of banned products.
Does eSports really need the Olympics? What do you want to get out of it?
We don't think in terms of profits. Today, eSports players do not have a typically sporting background and training. They come from everywhere. They lack everything that makes a high-level athlete a useful person to society: the values of sport, respect for the rules... Integrating the Olympic movement would help us transmit a true sporting culture to our players. To make them citizens perfectly integrated into society. But there is another reason for our desire to be recognized as an official sport by the Olympic movement. At a time when the world is experiencing its 4th industrial revolution, that of new technologies, social demand is changing. From now on, sport is no longer just a way to be in good physical condition. It can also help to become familiar with new technologies. With this in mind, eSports can bring a lot to more traditional sporting disciplines.
But don't you think that the Olympic movement, the IOC in particular, needs you more than you need the Olympic movement?
I don't see things that way. We need each other. One of our missions at the IeSF is to help international federations adapt to new technologies. For this, we have already signed a number of cooperation agreements. We have done this, for example, with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). With it, we create bridges between traditional table tennis and its electronic version. For the first, you need a table, a net and rackets. For the second, a smartphone is enough. By working with the ITTF, we can help them reach a wider audience, a new target of potential players, who are not necessarily familiar with table tennis. With at the end of the road, perhaps, the presence of electronic table tennis in the Olympic Games.
Thomas Bach has never hidden it: he is not opposed to the entry of eSport into the Olympic universe, but he does not want to hear about violent and warlike games...
I believe it is important to clearly distinguish between video games and eSports. E-sports have rules, a code of conduct and a referee. Video games are played for fun. eSports evolve in a controlled environment, with a competitive spirit. Of course, some eSports games operate on the “shoot and kill” principle. But their objective is not limited to that. It is above all to implement a tactical and strategic analysis of the adversary, to achieve victory. The goal is not to kill, but to win.
