Sri Lanka has become the first nation in South Asia to give credits to Esports as a sport. The country’s Ministry of Sports has recently declared its acknowledgment on October 2nd on their government website.
Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication and Sports has made a Declaration on September 26. It has been a long battle of a decade from the Sri Lankan Esports Association (SLESA) to make all this come true. After all the great efforts, Sri Lanka Esports players can now enjoy their status as a sports player.
The significant growth of Esports in the community
Esports is growing by bounds and leaps in recent years. With that, the community has been giving credit to Esports as an industry to create job opportunities and money flow. We are no longer mere geeks who are just into games every day. We should be recognized as competitors who hype up the mood for the crowd. Esports is nothing different than a sport.
Sri Lanka has joined the Esports recognized countries club with France and South Korea. With this, Esports players in the nations can have fewer troubles while issuing for visas – which has long been a nuisance.
Earlier this year, China has further acknowledged Esports as a sport. This has led to a boom in the number of Esports players in the country. By July 2019, more than 100,000 people had registered themselves as professional gamers under this. Even more, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security stated that 2 million athletes will enroll in this profession in the next five years.
Will the Indian government follow the path and acknowledge the existence of Esports as a regular sport? It may take great time and effort, but definitely possible.
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