9th Nov 2021, BANGKOK, THAILAND – The Southeast Asian Esports Federation (SEAEF) official meeting was conducted online last month on Wednesday 6th October 2021 and marks the date to be the auspicious day for the official establishment of the SEAEF by representatives from 10 Southeast Asian nations from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Southeast Asian Esports Federation (SEAEF) Secretariat Office will be headquartered in Bangkok and startup the organizational and governance structure to work towards developing Esports throughout Southeast Asia and helping its recognition as an official sport in the region. SEAEF aims to represent the region in fostering relationships with stakeholders in the Esports ecosystem and develop good relations with many different international organizations.
Mr. Santi Lothong, President of Thailand Esports Federation (TESF), has been appointed Acting President of SEAEF and Mr. Samart Benjamin Assarasakorn, Chief Executive Secretary President Office at TESF, appointed as Acting General Secretary of SEAEF. The majority of the SEAEF founding members voted for both appointments for their official interim position.
Acting President Mr. Lothong emphasized that the SEAEF allows SEA National Esports Associations and Federations to work with a united vision towards a goal much larger than their own Associations or Federations.
Acting President Mr. Lothong said:
“It is with great honor for me to be entrusted with the privilege as Acting President of the Southeast Asian Esports Federation, and to represent SEAEF on behalf of the 10 founding SEAEF members until we are ready for our first General Assembly and establish the governance structure for SEAEF. My role is not to lead SEAEF, but to work as equals while agreeing to disagree in order to make decisions that benefits our 10 founding SEAEF members. I look forward in building a close working partnership and give support as best as I can with each of the founding members. Being united together will make us become stronger in the development of Esports in the region and more competitive globally”.
SEAEF Acting General Secretary Mr. Samart Benjamin Assarasakorn added:
“It is a privilege as Acting General Secretary to be working closely with our 10 founding members from Southeast Asia, with whom we have been collaborating and supporting each other for many years together in the region on events such as SEA Games Philippines and Asian Games in Jakarta along with other international and regional Esports championship events and tournaments. Unlike gaming that remains an entertainment activity and an entry level to competitive gaming, Esports is a competitive activity that requires a transparent set of rules and regulations overseen by a neutral third party. Therefore, we are working towards a proper governance structure of the Federation to meet the international standard and best practice of an International Sports Federation in Southeast Asia.”
The Southeast Asian Esports Federation currently has multiple regional events in the pipeline, including the SEA Esports Championship 2021 (SEA EC 2021) organized by Vietnam Recreational & Esports Association (VIRESA) to be held in early January 2022, which will have popular platforms, categories and game titles in Southeast Asian markets such as Player Unknown Battleground Mobile (also known as PUBGM) from Tencent and two game titles from RIOT games : Wild Rift, an Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) category and VALORANT, a strategy combat style game title.
SEAEF will host its first tournament the SEAEF Dota 2 Championship this month, hosted and organized by Thai Esports Co.,Ltd and sponsored by Hashtag Esports. The event will attract the top pro players of DOTA 2 from Southeast Asia fighting for their national flag and representing their national SEA Esports Federations from 16th-20th November 2021 with total prize pool of USD 35,000. SEAEF also plans to introduce later on a SEA University Esports Tournament and League format as well as develop a Regional SEAEF Championship and League annually.
Acting General Secretary Mr. Assarasakorn said:
“The Southeast Asia game industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars if not billions each year. Mobile games are the most popular amongst SEA gamers across the region which makes up about 80% of the market, followed by PC’s and consoles. As you can see in our sanction tournaments such as the SEA Esports Championship hosted by Vietnam Recreational & Esports Association (VIRESA), there are mostly Mobile games for the tournament. Esports has the potential to create opportunities for the region as it becomes more and more competitive and the players become more and more professional. Therefore, the gaming gear and equipment, the electronic devices, and the data networks such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Infrastructure and 5G play an increasing part of the Esports industry and its development. As the industry grows so does the infrastructure that needs to support the market, so it creates its own business ecosystem thus becoming an economy of its own and establishing its very own Esports Hub for Southeast Asia.”
About SEAEF
The Southeast Asian Esports Federation (SEAEF) is a self-governed nonprofit organization headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. SEAEF is a unified agreement between the National Esports Federations in the SEA region that aims to promote and develop Esports as a sport while being aligned with international sport standards. SEAEF activities ranges from tournaments to educational events to work towards establishing Esports as a sport and make SEA a hub in the international Esports scene. To learn more about the Southeast Asian Esports Federation and get news about its activities, events & tournaments, visit SEAEF on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
For media inquiries, please contact SEAEF Liaison Officer Mr. Michael Greiner by email at [email protected] or mobile +66655671373.
