AIFF to conduct e-sports national tournament to select Indian team for FIFAe Nations Series

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday announced it will conduct a national tournament from 20 March to 4 April to select the Indian team for its maiden appearance in the FIFAe Nations Series. The FIFAe Nations Series is the world body’s flagship tournament for the member associations and is contested by eNational teams using the EA Sports FIFA 21 game. An Indian team will be part of the global tournament for the very first time, with the AIFF building an eNational Squad, constituting the country’s top FIFA gamers, who will represent it at the FIFAe Nations Series 2021 (FeNS21). To facilitate the selection process, the AIFF will host a national tournament ‘AIFF eFootball Challenge’ wherein the top 16 eligible PlayStation gamers of the country will contest to decide the winner. The FIFAe Global Series Rankings (West Asia Region) as of February 25 shall be used to determine the qualification and seeding. The two finalists will represent India in the next stage of the global competition. The FeNS21 will feature a multi-phase structure including online qualifier stages which will eventually culminate in the FIFAe Nations Cup — the final event. India will participate from the Middle East and Africa server region. “Gaming has always been a great engagement tool for football fans across the world. Owing to the current pandemic situation the interest in eSports has increased manifold globally,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said. “The opportunity to nominate eAthletes from India for the event is a unique opportunity to engage with the gaming community in the country and open a new avenue for fans to connect with the ‘Beautiful Game’. “At the same time, it will help promote the concept of eSports as a career and provide global exposure to Indian eAthletes,” he added.