Global Esports Federation

Last updated
Global Esports Federation
FormationDecember 16, 2019;5 years ago (2019-12-16)
Type Sports federation
Registration no.T21SS0039J
Headquarters Singapore
Official language
English
President
 Flag of Singapore.svg Chris Chan
CEO
 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul J. Foster
Website globalesports.org
Motto: #worldconnected

The Global Esports Federation (GEF) is a non-governmental organization that convenes the world's esports (or competitive video gaming) community. It was established on December 16, 2019, and is headquartered in Singapore, [1] where it is a registered society under the Singapore Registry of Societies.

Contents

The GEF consists of 172 Member Federations and four continental Esports Development Federations (Africa, Europe, Oceania and Pan Am). [2] As of January 2025, there are 10 Commissions and two Councils that guide the work of the federation. The first and current President of the GEF is Chris Chan of Singapore. [3] He was reelected for a second term in December 2023. The CEO and Secretary General is Paul J. Foster. [4]

The organization's flagship event is the annual Global Esports Games (GEG), held since 2021. The GEG is a multi-title esports competition featuring athletes from Member Federations that takes place in December every year. [5] The GEF also organizes the Global Esports Tour (GET) and supports its Member Federations in hosting local esports competitions and regional qualifying events.

The GEF is part of the Esports Leadership Group that is chaired by International Olympic Committee Member Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), and includes Chris Chan (Singapore), President of the Global Esports Federation, and HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (Saudi Arabia), President of the International Esports Federation. [6]

History

The GEF was launched on December 16, 2019 with Chris Chan appointed as its first President. [3] The Board currently consists of a President, sixix Vice-Presidents, and 15 Board Members. The GEF appointed its first Chief Executive Officer, Paul J. Foster, in March 2021. [7] Chris Chan was re-elected as President of GEF in 2023 for a second four-year term. [8]

The GEF organizes two main events: the Global Esports Games (GEG) and the Global Esports Tour (GET). The inaugural Global Esports Games were staged in Singapore in December 2021, followed by the second edition in Istanbul, Turkey in 2022 and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2023. [9] The first season of the Global Esports Tour was staged in 2021, beginning in Los Angeles in September. [10] Both the GEG and GET are held on an annual basis.

GEF Board

DesignationNameCountry/Territory
PresidentChris Chan Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore
Vice PresidentsSteven Ma Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
Chester King Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
T A Ganda Sithole Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe
Adrian Lismore Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
Melita N. Moore, M.D. Flag of the United States.svg United States
Dino Ying Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
Board MembersRamil Aliyev Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan
Stefy Bau Flag of Italy.svg Italy
Samy Bessi Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium
Hala Ghandour Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon
Lorenzo Giorgetti Flag of Italy.svg Italy
Hideki Hayakawa Flag of Japan.svg Japan
Jerry Ling Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore
Chong Geng Ng Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore
Yaqui Núñez del Risco Mejía   Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic
Chris Overholt Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Alper Afsin Özdemir Flag of Turkey.svg Türkiye
Dana Reizniece Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia
Aurelia Ruetsch Flag of France.svg France
Koen Schobbers Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
Peter Zeytoonjian Flag of the United States.svg United States
Chief Executive OfficerPaul J. Foster Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
Honorary Board Member Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia
Senior Advisor Hideki Okamura Flag of Japan.svg Japan
Rebecca (Bex) Smith Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
Song Luzeng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
AdvisorNicholas Aaron Khoo Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore

GEF Commissions & Councils

Commission / CouncilChair
Athletes, Players, Community Stefy Bau
Brand, Marketing, CommunicationsLorenzo Giorgetti
Education, Culture, YouthJerry Ling
Finance, Legal, AdministrationAdrian Lismore
Governance, Ethics & MembershipT A Ganda Sithole
Health & WellnessMelita N. Moore, M.D.
International Relations & DevelopmentAurelia Ruetsch
Digital Transformation Eric Pulier
GEG Coordination CommissionMelita N. Moore, M.D.
Strategy & ImpactVictoria Cabezas Alvarez
Youth CouncilSayo Okamoto
International Federations Advisory CouncilDr. Choue Chung-won

Member Federations

As of January 2025, there are 172 Member Federations in the GEF.

Development Federations

In September 2021, the GEF announced the creation of two Esports Development Federations: [11] the Africa Esports Development Federation and the Pan Am Esports Development Federation.

In 2023, the Oceania and Europe Esports Development Federations were formed to continue the support of sustainable development of esports communities throughout the world. [12]

Events

Global Esports Games

The Global Esports Games (GEG) is a multi-title esports competition featuring athletes from Member Federations that takes place in December every year.

In May 2021, the GEF announced the host cities for the first three editions of the GEG. The inaugural GEG took place in Singapore in 2021, followed by Istanbul in 2022 and Riyadh in 2023. [13] The 2023 edition was the largest held to date, with 950 athletes competing from more than 100 countries. [5]

A variety of esports titles have been contested at the Global Esports Games, including: Valve’s Dota 2, Konami’s eFootball PES 2021 Season Update, eFootball 2023 and eFootball 2024, Capcom’s Street Fighter V and Street Fighter 6, as well as Krafton's PUBG Mobile. [5]

Competition categories include Open and Women, with the Open category allowing both men and women to compete together.

Editions

Source: [14]

LocationDatesEvent NameTitlesCategoryChampionPlayers [14]
Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore December 17–19, 2021 Global Esports Games 2021 [15] Dota 2 Open Brazil Joao Gabriel Giannini dos Santos (4nalog), Leonardo Fernandes de Gusmao (RdO), Gustavo Batista Teixeira Ribeiro (fcr), Leonardo Manulli Moraes Freitas (Manulli), Thiago de Oliveria Cordeiro (Thiolicor), Matheus Santos Jungles Diniz (KJ)
Women's Singapore Hui Chun TAY (Melody), Jiayi Amanda LIM (bings), Jia Ling Paula Natalaya TEO (xiaoma), Zhong En Joanne LIM (Minkiey), Sheng Ying HO (KazeL)
eFootball PES 2021 Season Update Open Brazil Jana Victor Ferreira Lopes (CSC_Jvictor)
Street Fighter V Open Chinese Taipei Yu-Lin HSIANG (GamerBee)
Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul December 15–17, 2022 Global Esports Games 2022

[16]

Dota 2 Open Peru Bernardo David Rocca Alarcon (BernaBerna), Isaac Antonio Zavaleta Lopez (Drakell), Sebastian Axel Cerralta Velarde (Roboz), Joel Eduardo Mori Ozambela (KIM), Julian Esnaider Carbajal Ylave (FLAPJACK), Diego Fernando Perochena Salvatierra (xephondp)
Women's Thailand Suchada Somboonthana (nana), Apinya Pinyokong (Ningendd), Rakpirach Rakchid (CatChaser), Sasiwan Pimpak (sleepless), Supanuch Hirunthanakijjakul (honeylisa), Nuttanitcha Puvasiriroj (Ntygogo)
eFootball 2023 Open Iran Hassan Pajani (Hasan_Player1)
Street Fighter V Open Chinese Taipei Yu-Lin HSIANG (GamerBee)
PUBG Mobile Open Vietnam Duong Thanh DINH (DXRabizz), Anh Hao MAC (DXFrankyyy007), Hoang Hung VU (DXLamborghini), Trung Duc CHU (DXTDuccc), Van Dong PHAN (DXVicòi)
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Riyadh December 12–16, 2023 Global Esports Games 2023 [17] Dota 2 Open Kazakhstan Askar Zhumagulov (Toshi), Salamat Sadyr (v3ndetta), Yegor Millor (egxrdemnxn), Ilyas Akhkubekov (liru01), Alexandr Pak (v1olent’)
Women's Malaysia Vanessa Hii (Butterfly), Tiffany Teoh (Hishiko), Bette Chia (istarx), Adeline Anak Foki (velnaoh), Melissa Lim (Lynnie), Stephanie Lim (auroraa)
eFootball 2024 Open Jordan Sief Adeen Jaser Fahed Dababneh (S.HACKER55)
Street Fighter 6 Open Dominican Republic Bryan Diesel Tineo Marchena (BryanD)
PUBG Mobile Open Ukraine Dmytro Kuzmenko (Bamb1ni), Daniel Havlicek (KVIQQ), Dmytro Bui (TripleOldBoy), Andrii Tulika (madTUL1KA), Denys Havlicek (xqsmeHAVLIK222)
Flag of Peru.svg Lima December 7-14, 2025 Global Esports Games 2025 TBC

Global Esports Tour

The Global Esports Tour (GET) is a series of tournaments for professional esports athletes and teams.

In September 2021, the GEF announced the first series of the GET, with each stage showcasing a different esports title. [18] The first edition of the GET had a total prize pool of US$500,000. [19]

In 2022, the second season of the GET was held over two stages in the cities of Dubai and Riyadh. Dubai staged a CS:GO tournament from June 10–11. Riyadh held a Street Fighter V - Champion Edition tournament from July 25–27 during the annual Gamers8 festival.

In 2023, the third season of the GET was staged in Riyadh from August 26–27 during Gamers8 festival. Participating pro athletes competed for a US$50,000 prize pool in eFootball 2023.

In 2024, Season 4 of the Global Esports Tour headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a Counter-Strike 2 tournament from April 18–21. [20]

In 2025, Season 5 of the Global Esports Tour announced cities including Mumbai, India, and Lima, Peru, for the first time.

Marquee Events

Beginning in 2021, the Global Esports Federation began hosting esports championships at regional and continental Games. The first marquee event, named the Commonwealth Esports Championships, was held at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. [21] The South American Esports Championships were held in collaboration with the South American Sports Organization (ODESUR) at the Asuncion 2022 South American Games. [22] The 2023 European Games Esports Championships were held alongside the Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games with support from the European Olympic Committees (EOC). [23] The 2023 Pan American Esports Championships were held in Santiago, Chile in parallel with the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in collaboration with Panam Sports. [24]

Partners

Tencent is a Founding Global Partner of the GEF. [25] The federation also has a list of other strategic partners including an agreement signed with Amazon MGM Studios in January 2024, [26] as well as with the International Telecommunication Union, [27] Peace and Sport [28] and UNESCO, [29] among others.

The GEF also has several key partners within the Olympic Movement, including the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Pan American Sports Organization (Panam Sports), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), European Olympic Committees (EOC), South American Sports Organization (ODESUR), and Centro Caribe Sports. [30]

References

  1. ↑ Spangler, Todd (January 19, 2024). "'The Voice' Producer Inks Pact for Global Esports Games Reality TV Shows, Live Events". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Development Federations". Global Esports Federation. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "E-Sports: First global body to be headquartered in Singapore, SNOC sec-gen Chris Chan to be president". The Straits Times. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  4. ↑ Menocal Pareja, Marcos (January 15, 2024). "Global Esports Federation revamps its structure". Inside The Games. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Rowbottom, Mike (October 12, 2023). "Riyadh 2023 Global Esports Games announces titles for flagship event". Inside The Games. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ Maas, Lea (January 25, 2024). "GEF and IESF establish Esports Leadership Group". Esports Insider. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Foster named as Global Esports Federation's first chief executive". www.insidethegames.biz. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  8. ↑ Wong, Jonathan (December 15, 2023). "Singaporean Chris Chan to head Global Esports Federation for another four years". The Straits Times. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ Šimić, Ivan (2021-05-11). "Global Esports Games unveils first host cities". Esports Insider. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  10. ↑ Houston, Michael (September 29, 2021). "Team Kraken wins first leg of inaugural Global Esports Tour in Los Angeles". Inside The Games. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ Miller, George (2021-09-21). "The Global Esports Federation Establishes Continental Esports Development Federations". European Gaming Industry News. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  12. ↑ Sankar, Vimal (July 9, 2023). "EEDF launched after inaugural European Games Esports Championships". Inside The Games. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Global Esports Games Headed to Singapore, Istanbul, and Riyadh". Benzinga. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  14. 1 2 Global Esports Federation (April 2, 2024). "Global Esports Federation Champions Circle". Global Esports Federation. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Singapore2021".
  16. ↑ "istanbul2022".
  17. ↑ "riyadh2023".
  18. ↑ Nicholson, Jonno (2021-09-14). "Global Esports Federation unveils details on Global Esports Tour". Esports Insider. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  19. ↑ "Global Esports Federation Name Host Cities For Global Esports Tour". Ministry of Sport. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  20. ↑ esportsafricanews (March 31, 2024). "Global Esports Tour kicks off with Counter-Strike 2 at GET24 Rio de Janeiro". Esports Africa News. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  21. ↑ Olympics (August 8, 2022). "Commonwealth esports championships 2022: India win bronze in Dota 2 - know all medal winners". Olympics. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  22. ↑ Barshop, David (May 2, 2022). "Global Esports Federation Announces First-Ever South American Esports Championships In Paraguay". Business of Esports. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  23. ↑ Lyons, Ben (May 24, 2024). "European Games Esports Championship to feature eFootball 2023 and Rocket League". GameReactor. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  24. ↑ Muñana, Gustavo (November 5, 2023). "Record-breaking inaugural Pan American Esports Championships at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games". Inside The Games. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Global Esports Federation launched in Singapore with China's Tencent as founding partner". Tencent. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  26. ↑ Weprin, Alex (January 19, 2024). "Amazon MGM Studios Division Cuts Deal For Esports Content". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  27. ↑ ITU (2020-06-18). "Global Esports Federation joins ITU to launch global dialogue on esports". ITU News. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  28. ↑ "Peace and Sport partners with the Global Esports Federation (GEF) to foster education, development and enhanced social cohesion". www.peace-sport.org. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  29. ↑ "Global Esports Federation to work with UNESCO on sustainable development goals". www.insidethegames.biz. 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  30. ↑ Global Esports Federation (April 2, 2024). "Global Esports Federation Partners". Global Esports Federation. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
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