Kenya to launch e-sports league, take part in 11th worlds in Korea

Plans are in top gear to inaugurate a Kenyan league for e-gaming, the first step towards participating in her debut international e-sports arena by the end of 2019, recently-registered e-sports Kenya Federation has announced.

The league, to be known as EKL, will be launched by July and will comprise 16 teams.

ESKF founder and CEO Bavong Ojwang says although they are still a young federation, having been registered by the ministry of sports just 10 months ago, they were ready to roll out a national league and several other activities to popularize the sport.

““We are letting corporates own the (league) teams and run the teams to make them as competitive as possible and giving the athletes the chance to showcase themselves,”” said Ojwang during a presentation to reward the winner of the ESKF logo competition in Nairobi.

The competition was supported by Flooks, one of Kenya’s leading gaming technology firms.

Registration criteria

““We will be launching the EKL platform and once we launch the platform we are going to ask the public to register. We will also give a criteria on how to do that.”

On Kenya’’s debut at the world e-sport stage, Ojwang said: “”We are trying to comply with the international e-sports federation so that we can participate in the international e-sports world championships.”

He said the federation was burning the midnight oil to fast-track the affiliation process in time to participate in the 11^th e-sports world championships which will be held in Seoul, South Korea, at the end of the year.

The 10th Esports World Championships, held in 2018, featured three official titles – League of Legends, Counter-Strike Global Offensive, Tekken 7 were played, with more than 459 players from 46 countries taking part.

““There has never been an African team and I have received so many calls since announcing our ambition. But I want us to get to the deep end of the pool and get the experience because I believe can be the biggest e-sports nation in this continent.””

Game for everybody

Ojwang adds that, in addition to public tournaments, they also intend to collaborate with the ministry of education with a view to having the sport incorporated into the e-learning programme in primary schools.

“We have vibrant programmes to bring e-sports to the public. We want e-sports to be a game for everybody and not just one for kids in the bedroom but one they can also engage in with their parents.

“We are discussing with different institutions to introduce scholarships and bursaries for e-sport athletes as a way of giving meaning to parents allowing their kids to participate in e-sports.””

Chebet Kimetto, 25, emerged the winner of the logo competition after her design was voted the best through an online poll. She earned a gaming computer valued at KSh230, 000, among other prizes, courtesy of Flooks, for her logo which has now adopted by ESKF.

““The background is the map of Kenya and a lion just in front of it which depicts Kenyan patriotism,”” explained the graphics and motion designer.

““Then I had to have the gaming consoles in there and then the Kenyan map has a representation of an eagle’s wings to show strength because the eagle really the king of the sky.

“It (the eagle) is a very strong bird so I thought that best captured the imagination what e-sports is about.””

Different leagues

Flooks CEO, Bendon Murgor said: “Flooks is a new entrant in e-gaming. We are here to provide the support for end to end experience for gamers and to ensure that EKF provides the arena for gamers to converge and compete.

““We are also offering sponsorship for the different leagues that are coming up.””

Kenya’’s e-gaming potential has been valued at KSh4.9 billion, as per the independent survey on e-sports conducted in 2017.

In this regard, Mr Ojwang explained: “”Most of the revenue was through mobile and platform games downloads as well as purchase of e-gaming equipment like the PS4s and X-boxes.””

Developing the right infrastructure is one of the key challenges the new federation will contend with but Mr Ojwang says they will focus on procuring partnerships with private sector players to set up e-sports arenas to facilitate the growth of the sport.

Own e-sports teams

E-gaming is massively followed in Asia and Europe, with millions of television audiences on television, mainly enjoyed through online live streaming, while thousands pay top dollar tickets to enjoy e-sports competitions live.

The phenomenal growth of e-sports has seen big sports institutions, including football governing body FIFA, launch its own league; while big football brands like Manchester United have set up their own e-sports teams.

Bundesliga giants, Wolfsbug and Schalke 04 were among the big football names to launch their e-sports teams, with West Ham Football Club leading the way among the English Premier League clubs.