Dutch electronic gamers hope to join national sports federation
The Dutch gamers’ association e-sportbond is hoping to join the Dutch sports association and Olympic committee NOC*NSF next year, broadcaster Nos says on Thursday.
The association thinks membership of the big Dutch organisation would help it attract major tournaments to the Netherlands, such as the Dreamhack event taking space in Sweden from Thursday.
The NOC is not opposed to the idea outright, the broadcaster says. ‘We already have sports such as chess and draughts as well as darts,’ a spokesman is quoted as saying. ‘And that is not what you immediately think of as sport.’
Sponsorship
‘If we are recognised by the NOC*NSF, we can make the sport a lot bigger,’ said e-sportbond spokesman Jasper Schoo. ‘That means more publicity, corporate access and sponsorship.’
Before the gaming association can be recognised, it needs to draw up a policy plan and join SportAccord, the international federation for all Olympic and non-Olympic sports, Nos points out.
Professional gaming still has a long way to go in the Netherlands but worldwide it is a million dollar industry with massive prizes. Games are streamed via internet and watched by hundreds of thousands of people.
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