Olympic Committee inches for closer ties with Esports

In an interesting move, International Olympic Committee has voted for closer ties with esports. While the Olympic movement is dedicated to celebrating ‘world class’ athletic spirit, IOC’s ties with esports will bolster the fast-moving sector and give the esports’ industry new recognition.

As per the Insidethegames report, IOC has voted for closer ties with virtual esports, however, any games which encourage violence will be rejected by the committee.

“We have a clear red line that we do not want to deal with any game which is contrary to the Olympic values. Any game where violence is glorified or accepted, where you have any kind of discrimination they have nothing to do with the Olympic values,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach cited as per the report.

According to Insidethegames, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had led the group examining computer games and told the Session to not just see the possibilities for these games but highlight the opportunity as well. Apparently, licensing revenue from video games had proved to be a profitable income stream for FIFA during the pandemic.

While adding esports to the ‘Olympic imprimatur’ is expected to bring some of the ‘billions in sponsorship dollars,’ Bach noted that the tie-up would not be about revenue generation but rather about engagement.

The initiative has been encouraged by many renowned athletes like BMX silver medallist Sarah Walker. As per the report, IOC director general Christophe De Kepper describing it as “a recommendation that cannot wait” said that they will start an immediate engagement with esports as a huge opportunity lies with the Tokyo Games. That said, Esports is expected to turn into an Olympic sport by 2024 in Paris.