Sergio Perez (center) won the FIFA 23 Coliseum and will represent Cuba at the Pan American Championship in Chile. Author: Manuel Alejandro Sais

The Cuban sports movement, despite the obstacles and challenges, is one of the phenomena that more and more people are adding from end to end of the island. From high performance to base, passing through other manifestations managed by the Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation. , the idea has always been to add in order to promote not only future victories in the international arena, but a healthy and healthy lifestyle.

Recently, this movement has begun to actively include a modality with a large presence in the world, which also wants to break through and succeed in Cuba. This is the Electronic Sports Association of Cuba (ADEC), which has been working with Inder for some time now to give these practices the publicity they deserve.

This was stated by ADEC President Javier Vidal. Jr that this group has existed since 2007 and that they have always worked thanks to the work and efforts of enthusiastic volunteers.

“The band has changed a lot over the years. For example, I came in 2015 when we had a static process and from there we started to change things. We had access to wireless communities and organized more events,” commented Javier, who, along with Vice President Alexis Trista, took ADEC to a level never seen before.

According to Vidal, the group currently consists of representatives of numerous communities of mobile devices, computer and console games. Although officially they are a small group that also has a designer and social media manager, at the same time they have many volunteer employees who act as referees in the tournaments they organize, both face-to-face and Online.

“We have contacted Inder several times and the conversations have always been positive, not only in terms of helping organize events, but also in terms of recognizing e-sports (e-sports) in the leisure sector. Last December, when we were unable to attend the Global E-sport Games in Istanbul, Turkey due to visa issues, we decided that a link was more necessary because, among other things, participating in Inder has always been a historical goal ADEC.

“This is not just an alliance, Inder has a corporate purpose – to cooperate and help develop sports disciplines like ours, less traditional, but just as important as the rest,” Vidal said.

At the moment, the connection is expanding and both organizations are keen to continue working on the development of esports in the Greater Antilles.

On behalf of ADEC, Javier also commented that while they are considered the island’s esports use federation, due to their membership in the Cuban Computer Union making them eligible for the GEF, they are still in the process. make it official.

“We are concretizing this idea with Inder and hope that this will happen as soon as possible. From now on there will be new initiatives and we will work with them to advise them and also count on their support for further progress. In any case, we plan to keep all leagues and tournaments, create new gaming communities that are of strategic interest to us,” added Vidal.

great opportunity

The ADEC guys knew about the first one. Pan American Esports Championship at the end of 2022 through the Global Electronic Sports Federation (GEF), which has formed an alliance with Panam Sports to host the event.

It was eventually revealed that he would compete in the titles eFootball 2023 (football simulation), DOTA 2 (multiplayer online battle arena, or Moba, as it’s abbreviated in English) and Street Fighter V (fighting game), three of the most popular disciplines worldwide . , which would coincide in Santiago de Chile with fights corresponding to the 19th edition of the Pan American Games.

Regarding the recent FIFA Coliseum, a continental qualifier, where Spirit’s Sergio Perez won, Javier noted that this is relevant at different levels. First, because it was the first competition sponsored by ADEC and Inder, and also because 128 participants claimed the title of national champion.

In this activity, in which the initial game was hosted by Inder First Vice President Raul Fornes Valenciano and Alexis Trista, Association Vice President, in addition to the competition itself, ADEC enjoyed the support of world record holders Javier Sotomayor. and Eric Hernandez of local development project Deporte Total and other companies and initiatives such as Red Bull and Hive.

Now, given that Konami’s eFootball and not FIFA (EA Sports) will compete in the Pan American Games, Vidal said he prefers to compete in the latter because the country doesn’t have a very large eFootball community. , for which the idea was to select the best player in FIFA and then prepare him in the specifics of another title, which, after all, will still be about football as well.

In the case of Street Fighter V, ADEC decided to select a Cuban representative without holding a Candidates Tournament. The problem is that Alfredo Osorio, known in the community as Mael-Bonchan, has won the last two domestic tournaments.

As for DOTA, a five-man team discipline, the path will be a little more difficult for those who aspire to wear the colors of the island on Chilean soil. The problem is that first they will have to win the national qualifier and then they will have to face some regional qualifiers.

Extension in progress

Another good reason for continued growth in this direction is the fact that the International Olympic Committee pays more attention to these disciplines. The main example of this is the first eSports Olympic week, which will be held in Singapore from June 22 to 25. In addition to the sport itself, this event will feature various activities such as discussion panels and conferences.

In this world, every electronic sport is considered as an independent sports discipline. Usually gamers They are grouped into categories such as Fights, Moba, and more, though that doesn’t mean that every video game title, be it FIFA, Dota, or Street Fighter, works independently.

However, recently the GEF, in alliance with the IOC, sent out a form to all federations to find out what types of games are most popular in each country and region. In ADEC’s case, they nominated Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch and more.

Community Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is another community that has many fans who dream of wearing our colors on the international stage someday. Photo: Laura Dominguez

“I think we are moving towards expansion, we are on the way to it. The IOC and the GEF wanted feedback from all communities, and no doubt more will come. We have a big dream – to hold several Olympic Games. exclusively from eSports or include some of these disciplines in the framework of the traditional Olympic Games,” Vidal admitted.

Source: Juventud Rebelde