The body that will regulate and oversee the general activities of African electronic gaming sports, otherwise known as eSports has been formed.
The African Confederation of Electronic Sports (CASE) was founded on Tuesday September 26, 2023, paimedia.com.ng reports.
Following an invitation sent by the Ministry of Sports to 45 delegates from African countries mandated by their respective states, the Constitutive General Assembly was held on September 25 and 26, 2023 in Dakar, ending with a unanimous vote by the countries to create this continental organization for the promotion, training and development of Electronic Games and Immersive Sports and their related activities.
An Organizing Committee made up of the following countries was at the heart of the organization:
* Nigeria
* Ghana
* Mauritius
* Zimbabwe
* Ivory Coast
* Senegal
The mission of the Confédération Africaine des Sports Electroniques (CASE) is, among other things, to coordinate, develop and initiate any action to represent, educate, train, disseminate and promote the practice of Esport throughout Africa.
To choose the President, the countries voted unanimously to appoint Mr. Samba Bathily CEO of the Africa Development Solutions (ADS) Group as head of this continental organization.
CASE has divided the continent’s countries into six zones:
* North zone
* West Zone A
* West Zone B
* Central zone
* Central East Zone
* South Zone
Out of 13 members of the Executive Committee, only 9 countries have been appointed:
* Cameroon
* Congo
* Ghana
* Ivory Coast
* Cabo Verde
* Mali
* Mauritius
* Madagascar
* Somalia
In his closing speech, Mr. Samba Bathily, the newly appointed Chairman of CASE, pledged to develop Gaming and Esport activities across the continent. Through his ADS Group, he announced that 50% of the cost of setting up “HP Gaming Garage” training centers would initially be financed in one country in each zone of the Confédération Africaine des Sports Electroniques (CASE).
Numerous personalities attended the closing ceremony, including:
* Mr. Souleymane Astou Diagne, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy
* Mr. Bakhoum, Managing Director of Sénégal Numérique SA, the first partner of the Fédération Sénégalaise Des Jeux Électroniques, currently CONAPES, which has made available to the federal organization the 45 Sénégal Services spaces dedicated to Esport training and competitions.
* The presence of the Orange Middle East Africa Group, represented by Mr. Issa Sene, Sponsorship Director for the zone, who was present throughout the proceedings.
* The Managing Director of Smart Africa, Mr. Lancina Koné and Mr. Amadou Gallo Fall President of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and Senior Vice President of the NBA, who delivered messages of support to the participants.
* Mathieu Faye Vice-President of FIBA Africa and President of the West Africa Zone
* Mayank Dhingra Senior Education Business Leader Europe, Africa and Middle East at HP
The Constitutive General Assembly for the establishment of a Pan-African Confederation around
Esport and its related activities and professions was organized under the aegis of His Excellency, Mr. Macky SALL, President of the Republic of Senegal, the Ministry of Communication, des Télécommunications et de l’Économie Numérique de la République du Sénégal and the sponsorship of the ADS Group, and by the Fédération Sénégalaise des Jeux Électroniques et Sports Immersifs, currently the Comité National de Promotion du E-Sport (CONAPES), under the aegis of the Ministry of Sports, and several other similar legally constituted African structures (Federations, Committees, etc.).
Institutions such as UNESCO, HP Education Middle East and Africa, VISA, FIBA Africa, the Sport Council of the African Union, the Senegalese Basketball Federation, the Senegalese Olympic Committee, as well as major global esport institutions, including several personalities from the world of video games, took part in the event.