The Chairman, Lagos State E-sports Association (LSEA), Emmanuel Oyelakin, on Friday said that the state was intensifying efforts at promoting the game at the grassroots level, especially, among secondary school students.
Oyelakin gave the brief on grassroots development of the newly introduced E-sports in Lagos State and in the country in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
NAN reports that E-sports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. E-sports often takes the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players and individually.
Most of the games on E-sports are replicas of traditional games and sports but they can only be played with a limited number of active players, ranging from two to four players.
Oyelakin said that the Federal Government had recognised E-sports, after a pronouncement by the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.
“Lagos will continue to put its money where its mouth is. Lagos has done much in encouraging E-sports at the grassroots level in the state.
“We have received a lot of support from the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) in the past years.
“Lagos State E-sports Association (LSEA) is the only approved association of E-sports in Nigeria today. Right now, we are not covering Lagos alone; we have contributions from outside Lagos. We want to get the best from the grassroots.
“LSEA is now a member of the African E-sports Association, the equivalent of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and International E-sports Federation, the global body on E-sports.
“In November last year, Lagos took some athletes to attend the International E-sports World Championships in Israel with the support of LSSC. This year, we will also be going to Indonesia,” he said.
