Officially recognized as a sport in 2017 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), e-sport will be integrated as an official discipline at the next Asian Games, this fall in Hangzhou, China. It arouses the interest of the Olympic movement, like the integration of disciplines such as skateboarding in Tokyo three years ago, or breakdance in Paris 2024. But from there to seeing it integrate the program of the Olympic Games, there is a step that the IOC is not ready to cross.
“I think that today we are not at this stage, we do not think about it,” said Vincent Pereira. The authority’s virtual sports manager spoke on the sidelines of Olympic E-sports Week, held from Thursday to Sunday in Singapore. This event is a “first step” to bring together the e-sports community and the sports community, considered Vincent Pereira, who indicated that more than 20,000 tickets had been sold to see 131 players from 64 countries compete.
An opening for virtual cycling and taekwondo?
Ten virtual sports, including archery, baseball, chess or taekwondo are on the program, to the detriment of the most popular video games such as the first person shooter counter strike or Dota 2a combat arena game.
“We cannot accept that these games promote Olympic values,” said the IOC official. Fortniteone of the most popular shooters in the world, will be there in Singapore, but lightened up with its “battle royale” mode.
On the other hand, it is possible that “virtual active sports” such as cycling or taekwondo will one day be part of the Olympic program, explained Vincent Pereira. “We have already discussed with some federations the possibility of integrating virtual sports into the Olympic program and the next opportunity could be LA 28 [les Jeux olympiques de Los Angeles en 2028], but for now, we are investigating the possibilities. »