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Paris considering adding eSports in the Olympics 

France is mulling something new regarding the future of eSports: whether or not it will be put in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as the committee's co-president Tony Estanguet reportedly told The Associated Press that he is considering the decision.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, August 14, 2017

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Paris considering adding eSports in the Olympics While the Olympics might not be ready to consider eSports a sport yet, the Asian Games have already taken it a step further and are adding an eSports exhibition match to its official program in 2022. (Shutterstock/File)

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t this moment, the largest eSports tournament to date in terms of prize pool is happening. Dota 2’s The International, with a whopping prize pool of US$23 million, is making waves in the eSports world.

However, at the same time, France is also mulling something new regarding the future of eSports: whether or not it will be put in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as the committee's co-president Tony Estanguet reportedly told The Associated Press that he is considering the decision.

With the large growth of eSports over the last few years, with large networks like ESPN giving screen time to large scale eSports tournaments, it seems inevitable that this discussion would come up among Olympic organizations. For instance, over the next year the number fans are thought to grow to 145 million people.

“We have to look at [eSports] because we can’t say, ‘It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics,’ ” Estanguet told the AP. “The youth, yes they are interested in eSport and this kind of thing. Let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let’s try if we can find some bridges.”

As Estanguet also remarked that he would like to meet with the IOC and various eSports organizations to better understand the phenomenon. 

Read also: Video gaming becomes a scholarship sport at University of Utah

While the Olympics might not be ready to consider eSports a sport yet, the Asian Games have already taken it a step further and are adding an eSports exhibition match to its official program in 2022. The decision was announced in April and will include four games: Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone and a sports game.

The growth of eSports is definitely in a place where it can be considered for a place in the Olympics. However, to add any new sport, French officials would have to get support from the IOC and the IOC president Thomas Bach did not sound too optimistic for its future in the Olympics.

“We are not yet 100 percent clear whether eSports is really sport, with regard to physical activity and what it needs to be considered sport,” Bach told Inside the Games. “We do not see an organization or a structure that will give us confidence, or guarantee, that in this area the Olympic rules and values of sport are respected and in place, and that the implementation of these rules are monitored and secured.”

It is true that organization and structure has been a problem for eSports organizations since its birth. In order to become an Olympic event, these issues need to be fixed first before esports can be properly considered for the Olympics. (ken/kes)

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