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n a bid to popularize electronic sports (e-sports) and put it on the same standing as conventional sports, two Indonesian soccer prodigies, Egy Maulana Vikri and Witan Sulaeman, were challenged to attend an all-star match with Singaporean prime e-sports players Amraan Gani and Joseph “Zarate” Yeo on Friday.

Dubbed E+Sports, the event will showcase the gaming skills of Egy and Witan, who both are members of the U-19 national team, in playing soccer game FIFA where they will be tested by the Singaporean players.

The match will be livestreamed by Revival TV and game enthusiasts can witness the match on Revival TV’s Youtube account RevivalTV on Friday at 8 p.m.

Singapore-based sports agency Reddentes Sports managing director Mark Chew said the event was part of the efforts to popularize e-sports, in which the newbie has seen its popularity grow in recent years.

“We did a similar game in Singapore last year. Singapore U-23 soccer players played against Amraan and the result was a draw,” Mark told a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

Amid his tight schedule of training and competitions, Egy, who plays for Poland’s Lechia Gdansk, acknowledged that he liked to play games in his spare time. He said the game was like a sweet escape from his daily routine as a soccer player.

Amraan and Joseph are professional e-sports players where both play for Team Flash, a Southeast Asian e-sports franchise.

Team Flash now has contracted 27 e-sports athletes from Singapore and Vietnam where they are divided into five divisions of games such as FIFA and Arena of Valor.

Both Amraan and Joseph have won prestigious titles such as the East Asian Champions Cup (EACC) last year. Amraan won the tournament in its spring and winter edition in Bangkok and Busan, South Korea, last year. Joseph, meanwhile, won the spring edition as he teamed up with Amraan in the tournament.

The popularity of e-sports has been developing in the region and it will likely get more recognition after the Philippines’ Southeast Asian (Sea) Games organizer decided to put e-sports in the medal contest.

Previously, e-sports was competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, but only as an exhibition event.

Responding to that matter, Joseph said the recognition was a step forward for the development of e-sports in the region amid the perception of parents who were reluctant to support their children in pursuing a professional e-sports career.

In line with his teammates, Amraan said the Sea Games’ recognition would be an opportunity for e-sports players to showcase their talents.

“The Sea Games is a very good platform to push e-sports further,” he said, while agreeing to Joseph’s statement on the challenges in developing e-sports that comes from the perception of parents.

Cofounder of Team Flash Samson Oh acknowledged that he had seen a sign in the development of e-sports in the region as he witnessed that its expansion did not only come in the form of a bigger community but also reached the grassroots level like at schools.

Besides dealing with people’s perception about e-sports, he went on to say that developing the sport must also be supported by many stakeholders, including the government and corporations.