The International Esports Federation has announced an agreement with the Asian Electronic Sports Federation to form a formal relationship to promote and advance esports globally as well as across Asia.
The IESF will recognize and acknowledge the AESF as the sole federation for esports in Asia and the AESF will recognize and acknowledge the IESF as the sole international federation for esports.
“The MOU between the IESF and the AESF further reinforces IESF’s position as the only true international federation for esports,” said IESF President Colin Webster. “The IESF was founded in 2008 and today is the largest international federation of its kind and is acknowledged to be the leader in its field. Together, the two federations will ensure a greater degree of delivery and expertise, as well as ensuring the development and recognition of esports as a sport.”
The Global Association of International Sports Federations in a release praised the agreement, saying it “welcomes this news and notes the steady progress of IESF, which has worked hard on its recognition within GAISF over the last years.”
“These type of initiatives will make it much easier for our international sports federation members to collaborate with esports, which in turn will result in exciting and dynamic developments for all involved,” said GAISF President Raffaele Chiulli.
“I am sure that the partnership today is strong enough to unite the esports community, including publishers, organisations and most importantly our esports players,” AESF President Kenneth Fok said. “It is also groundbreaking as it paves the way for better collaboration and cooperation between the International Esports Federation and the Asian Electronic Sports Federation. This is an exciting day for us and we look forward to new initiatives from this partnership.”
Asia has the most members in the ISEF with 23, followed by Europe. The United States is represented in the ISEF by the United States eSports Federation, with USeF President Vlad Marinescu serving as the IESF’s vice president.
“Today marks a significant and momentous milestone in the evolution and development of esports,” Marinescu said. “The unity between the IESF and the AESF will reinforce the foundation of the Asian Continent–from the national associations to all stakeholders, including athletes, publishers and event organizers. Moreover, it will send the message globally that esports is united and united we can, with respect and inclusion, further develop for the benefit of the people playing.”
The IESF also added four countries as new members, expanding its overall membership to 60 countries.
Colombia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine are the newest members for the organization. Colombia is the third country from South America, joining Brazil and Argentina. Kazakhstan will be represented by the Kazakh Cybersport Federation. Turkey was one of the founding members of the European Esports Federation along with Ukraine, which will have two different organizations, Ukraine Esport Federation and Esports Ukraine, merge into one group.
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