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| (Image Source: Ungeek.ph) |
Recently, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has granted accreditation to PESO, making the organization an official National Sports Association (NSA) for eSports. As the official governing body for Philippine eSports, PESO's tasks will include organizing events, the promulgation of the rules of the sport, promotion and growth of the sport through grassroots development programs and other activities and recruitment of national players and coaches. Aside from having fulfilled the requirements set by the POC, this landmark decision for PESO's approval was built on the organization's long-standing experience in the eSports scene considering that it has conducted national qualifying events for the IeSF World Championships and imposed anti-doping protocols approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and mandated by the International eSports Federation (IESF).
The IESF is the only eSports organization in the world that fulfills the criteria set by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Founded in 2008, the IESF is the oldest and largest eSports organization in the world with 75 member countries wherein 36 of them are accepted by their respective National Olympic Committees. The IESF also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Asian eSports Federation (AESF), World eSports Consortium (WESC) and the International University Sports Federation (IUSF). On the other hand, PESO's member organizations have previously worked under the banner of the eSports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP) and the Philippine Southeast Asian Games eSports Union (PSEU) for the successful staging of the first eSports event in the Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines in 2019 which was officially sanctioned by the AESF.
"I entrust the PESO on their endeavors in uplifting the Philippines through eSports globally, and I congratulate them on being an associate member of the Philippine Olympic Committee," said POC Chairman Stephen Hontiveros in a statement. PESO president Brian Lim, on the other hand, is grateful for the monumental recognition which would help the organization bring in more support to fellow Filipinos who are competing globally and bringing glory to the country. Smart Communications Senior Vice-President and Consumer Wireless Business Head Jane R. Basas said, "We thank the POC for recognizing PESO as an Associate Member. Our goal is to continue leading the way to bring glory to Philippine eSports. After supporting Team SIBOL in the 2019 SEA Games, Smart is reaffirming its commitment to the eSports industry by looking for the next members of Team Sibol who will represent the Philippines in the IESF World Championships.
To celebrate these unprecedented significant milestones, PESO is mounting the Philippine Qualifiers for the 12th IESF World Championships which is slated to be held in Eliat, Israel on December. The organization's first event of 2020 will be online-only and feature DOTA 2 and Tekken 7. The search for the newest members of Team Sibol, meanwhile, is set to begin within September 2020. Details on the Philippine qualifiers for the 2020 IESF World Championships will be announced through PESO's official Facebook page. TV5 and Cignal, who have been strong advocates of eSports on Philippine airwaves, will air the 12th IESF World Championships Philippine Qualifiers on One Sports (free TV channel 41, Cignal channel 6) and One Sports+ (Cignal SD channel 91 and HD channel 261). For more information and updates on the Philippine eSports Organization (PESO), visit its official Facebook page and www.e-sports.com.ph.
