The discussion "Where is Vietnamese Esports on the world map?" within the framework of FPT Techday 2024 took place on the afternoon of November 13 in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting the attention of many speakers and guests.
Mr. Do Viet Hung - Chairman of Vietnam E-Sports Entertainment Association (VIRESA) - shared: "Vietnam Esports is catching up with the world quickly, with many opportunities to accelerate and make breakthroughs. Through 3 SEA Games, Vietnam Esports has received consensus from society and State agencies.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also announced a partnership with Saudi Arabia to host the Esports Olympics in 2025. This shows that Esports is on the threshold of history.
Esports has been included in the major sports program. At the SEA Games, this sport has competed in the last 3 tournaments. The Vietnamese delegation won a total of 17 medals, including the overall victory at the 2022 SEA Games, taking place at home.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Son - representative of game publisher VNG - emphasized that Vietnam has great potential for Esports in two areas: Organization and competition.
Regarding organization, Vietnam has learned from countries that have developed Esports to be able to host major events. With the support of many parties, in the coming time, Vietnam will have favorable conditions to organize larger-scale tournaments.
In terms of competition, Vietnamese Esports athletes have a lot of potential to compete in this sport that requires a lot of intelligence and brainpower.
Mr. Son believes that the achievements of Vietnamese Esports can be completely improved and enhanced in the future.
In terms of education, Mr. Vu Chi Thanh - Principal of FPT Polytechnic - emphasized that society does not understand Esports correctly, thereby creating a huge gap: "Very few units train professional Esports in Vietnam. In 2025, we plan to train this industry to create a team of professional personnel. If Esports is invested in the right direction, it will be an attraction for Vietnam's economic development".
Despite its great potential, Vietnamese Esports is still facing some difficulties.
“The biggest challenge is how to develop synchronously domestically and internationally. Esports is different from traditional sports in that it develops and changes constantly in the disciplines and types of competitions. Many disciplines in Vietnam are not yet popular, and countries around the world have gone far behind Vietnam in terms of competition quality and players. How to help Vietnamese Esports catch up with the world and have suitable options is a big problem,” said Mr. Do Viet Hung.
According to Mr. Hung, Vietnamese Esports must be positioned as a sport, a profession that includes training, policies, and career development.
Another barrier is the coordination of domestic resources. Currently, there are a number of large publishers who are competitors in the market but are partners to promote the development of the industry.
“How to train Esports into a system, with inheritance, development and suitability for the Vietnamese market is a big problem,” Mr. Hung emphasized.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hoang Viet Anh - Chairman of FPT Telecom - emphasized the need for synchronization from business infrastructure, training organizations to competition teams... to promote Vietnamese Esports.
“Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has organized international-level League of Legends and Lien Quan Mobile tournaments. However, to become a system, it requires better preparation, synchronization of infrastructure, policies... to encourage teams and fans to come and watch,” Mr. Viet Anh shared.
