President of the Esports Association, Ghana (EAG), Kwesi Hayford, believes that the recent news that Ghana will be competing at the 2022 FIFAe Nations Series is a step in the right direction.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced that they will be giving three gamers the opportunity to represent the nation at the global event after holding the maiden edition of the national qualifying event dubbed the “MA eTrophy”
Hayford in an exclusive interview with EAN reacted to the news stating that “I think it’s a step in the right direction, we’ve been asking and pushing the GFA for a long time. It’s not out of the blue, things have been done in the background to make this happen and I could confidently say that it has been 4 years since we started pushing FIFA asking them to include Ghana in the agenda.”
Though Hayford revealed that the association had no hand in the GFA’s recent announcement, he still believes the EAG’s hard work building the esports community over the years may have been a factor in the decision.
“The news is by the GFA, I am saying that in a broader sense if there is no FIFA community in Ghana that wouldn’t have been said. Who has been the one that has been putting the grassroots together? We have been to Western, we’ve been to Eastern and it is all the work of the association that is making esports.”
“So yes it is on their mandate that the announcement has been made and it is laudable, you hope that they will have consultation and we will communicate with them but yes I will say that it is a step in the right direction that they are [giving gamers this opportunity] because when it comes to the Nations Cup, it is football federations that handles it, it is not the esports federation that handles it.”
The FIFAe Nations Series kicks off at a domestic level, with each country selecting their most skilled players to compete in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers, where they go head-to-head in hopes of securing one of the 24 spots at the FIFAe Nations Cup.
The domestic competition may be played in a 1v1 or 2v2 format using the FIFA PlayStation console. PlayStation users can participate using the PS4 version of the game on their respective consoles.
Speaking about how the Esports Association, Ghana (EAG) could support the GFA if they are approached EAG President, Kwesi Hayford said the association is ready to help the GFA with logistics and their expertise if approached.
“The competition is in partnership with FIFAe and what we have is logistics personnel and expertise to brand these interactive gaming experiences because we’ve done it and we’ve been doing it and if they want a national approach, we already also have members across the nation.”
“So from us, yes in a partnership role, yes in a consultation role. I mean definitely, they also have their own requirement. FIFAe definitely will give out an outline as to how the event will go and that is where our priority is and then also we are in touch with the grassroots, that is the key thing. That is where we have an eye and expertise to bring on board to make successful.”
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) will host and run national qualification events, called GFA eTrophy, to find the best players to be included in the Ghana eNational Squad.
The GFA eTrophy may be held at several national qualification events. The best player(s) winning the final event of the GFA eTrophy will be automatically nominated to the eNational Squad to represent the Ghana Football Association in the FIFAe Nations Series™.
The Association will be providing more details about the GFA eTrophy competition in the coming days to Ghanaian video gamers.