By Sagar V. Mankar The Global Esports Federation (GEF) has recently made a major announcement regarding its premier event, the Global Esports Games 2024. Initially set to be held in Chengdu, China, the event has now been postponed to early 2025. This decision affected hundreds of athletes and team officials from over 100 countries and territories who had already qualified for the competition.
Why Was the Event Postponed?
While the GEF has not officially disclosed the specific reasons for the postponement, sources at the Esports Advocate reports suggest potential complications with the Chinese government.
The organization’s official statement only mentions that the adjustment is meant to “ensure continue to provide an exceptional experience for athletes, Member Federations, and fans worldwide.”
The GEF also mentioned that they are actively working on selecting a new host city and finalizing the new dates for the event.
Meanwhile, the annual GEF General Assembly will proceed as planned on December 11, 2024, in an online format.
How Has This Affected the Athletes?
The sudden change in schedule has caused considerable frustration within the esports community, especially among athletes who had already prepared for the event.
Bellemiku, a Dota 2 player representing the British Esports Federation, expressed her disappointment on social media, criticizing the GEF for its lack of transparency. She stated,
““Their lack of transparency on this matter has been absolutely unacceptable, they have not respected our careers or our time and have left us completely in the dark. This is not an event like normal Esports, most of us have careers outside of gaming, family to take care of etc. I’m honestly annoyed because now our federation itself has put so much time and effort into this being held next month. For myself personally, I had to purchase extra holiday days for work which are now useless, so I’m losing actual money just because they were not communicating.”.”
Is This Part of a Broader Pattern?
This is not the first time an esports event in Chengdu has faced complications. Earlier this year, the International Esports Federation (IESF) encountered similar issues with its Asian qualifiers.
Originally planned to be an in-person event in Chengdu, it was shifted online due to difficulties with the local tournament organizers.
The IESF later revealed that the change was because the local organizers did not meet their contractual obligations. However, reports from TEA in September hinted at possible involvement from the General Administration of Sport of China in this decision.
For the latest developments on this story, visit the official Global Esports Federation website. And don’t forget to subscribe to Gaming Foodle for more esports news and updates.