It’s a historic day for the growing esports scene in Europe.
The European Esports Federation (EEF) was recently launched in Brussels, Belgium, with 23 countries represented.
The said federation is starting with 23 national associations and 3 major esports stakeholders, EsForce, ESL, and Burson Cohn & Wolfe.
These constituents from all over Europe will represent more than one million gamers in the continent.
Esports Europe confirmed the official establishment of EEF on Twitter:
“Europe, here we are! 23 national esports organizations and 3 stakeholders together we founded #EsportsEurope – The European Esports Federation. Our mission: connect the 100+ Mio esports players and create a good framework for the esports community.”
On its two-day inaugural congress, the EEF elected members of its board, committees, and its very own president.
Hans Jagnow, leader of the German Esports Federation ESBD, was declared as the federation’s first president. He won with 91 percent of the total votes.
Meanwhile, Karol Cagáň from Slovakia was elected as the vice president. The remaining board members are as follows: Emin Antonyan (from Russia), Ido Brosh (from Israel) and Alper Özdemir (from Turkey).
The EEF aims to promote a “conscious, responsible, sustainable, inclusive, healthy, and value-based development in esports.”
Its headquarters will be located in Brussels.
In an official statement, Jagnow emphasized the aspirations of the EEF to take improve the European Esports scene to the next level:
“The creation of the EEF will take the game to a whole new level… It will give players, teams and national associations the voice they need to decide on the future of their movement. Esports is the future of sports and entertainment and players need to be part of the debate.”
The 31-year-old further expressed his glee after being elected as president in a tweet:
“It’s a great honor to be the first voice of #EsportsEurope. This is the beginning of an exciting journey for all participating organizations. United, we will develop new ideas and overcome challenges!”
The president also highlighted the aim of EEF to become a constructive partner with all political institutions, together with its stakeholders, developers and publishers.
The 23 founding national organizations are comprised of:
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Czech
Denmark
Finland
Georgia
Germany
Hungary
Israel
Italy
Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
The Swiss Esports Federation clarified why it didn’t make the founding list, as one Twitter user asked in a tweet.
“Similar to the dedication to direct democracy in Switzerland, the board will submit the application first to our members at the next general assembly (Apr 19th). The power is the hand of our members, we shall see what they make of it.”
Perhaps more national esports organizations in Europe can join the federation in the upcoming years!
