International e-Sports Federation
 | |
|
Member nations | |
| Formation | August 11, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
Official language | English |
President | Byung Hun Jun |
Main organ | General Assembly |
| Website | http://www.ie-sf.com |
The International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) is a global organisation based in South Korea whose mission it is to have electronic sports recognized as a legitimate sport.
History
The International e-Sports Federation was founded in August 8, 2008 by nine e-Sports associations from Denmark, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Vietnam and Taiwan, and held its first general meeting in November of the same year.
A year later, in December 12, the IeSF was able to host its own international tournaments, starting with the "IeSF challenge" in 2009, followed by "IeSF Grand Finals" in 2010, and the "IeSF World Championship" in 2011 and onward.[1]
2012 saw a massive breakthrough for e-Sports and the IeSF, as the IeSF 2012 World championship presented an e-Sports tournament for women for the first time.
In July 7, 2013, IeSF was selected as counterpart for the electronic sports discipline of the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.[2] This was a big breakthrough for e-Sports and the IeSF, as the branch was introduced in an Olympic event for the first time.
In May 2013, IeSF was approved as the official signatory of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the branch of e-Sports.[3]
In July 2013, IeSF submitted an application to join Sport Accord, and is expected to be approved as a temporary member in April 2014.[4]
In November 2013, IeSF saw a successful overseas launch of its events, as the IeSF 2013 World Championship and the 2013 General Meeting was held in the city of Bucharest, Romania, in what was the first time of an IeSF event held outside of South Korea.
In May 2014, IeSF was approved for membership by TAFISA. The IeSF will be represented at the 2016 TAFISA World Games for All, to be held in Jakarta.[5]
In 2014, IeSF restricted female players from participating the in Hearthstone tournament, as part of the World Championship division of tournament into male and female sections. IeSF later revised the policy, uniting the section into open-for-all tournaments while maintaining female-only tournaments with smaller prize pools.[6]
Official World Championships
So far, the IeSF has held six World Championships:
Official Tri-Nation Test Matches
The following online events were held by member associations and under the jurisdiction of the IeSF:
| Year | Date | Countries | Title played | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 12 October 2013 |  Denmark,  Israel,  South Africa | League of Legends | 4, 2, 0 |
| 2013 | 5 October 2013 | Denmark,  France,  Spain | League of Legends | 4, 2, forfeit |
Official Test Matches
The following Test Matches were held by member associations and under the jurisdiction of the IeSF:
| Year | Date | Countries | Title played | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 February 2016 |  Ghana, South Africa | FIFA '16 | 5 - 1 |
| 2015 | 4 December 2015 |  Finland, South Africa | StarCraft II | 2 - 0 |
| 2015 | 14 November 2015 | Israel, South Africa | League of Legends | 2 - 0 |
| 2015 | 11 July 2015 |  Austria, South Africa | FIFA '15 | 6 - 0 |
| 2015 | 27 March 2015 | South Africa,  Zimbabwe | FIFA '15 | 2 - 0 |
| 2014 | 25 October 2014 |  Namibia, South Africa | Dota 2 | 0 - 2 |
| 2014 | 4 October 2014 | Finland, South Africa | StarCraft II | 2 - 0 |
| 2014 | 4 October 2014 | Finland, South Africa | DotA 2 | 2 - 0 |
| 2014 | 8 August 2014 |  Egypt, South Africa | DotA 2 | 2 - 0 |
| 2013 | 8 September 2013 |  Mexico, South Africa | DotA 2 | 0 - 1 |
| 2013 | 31 July 2013 |  Romania, South Africa | DotA 2 | 1 - 0 |
| 2013 | 31 March 2013 | Romania, South Africa | StarCraft II | 2 - 0 |
Mission
The International e-Sports Federation's mission is to promote electronic sports as true sports, and become the global body in charge of maintaining, promoting and supporting it.[7] In order to achieve these goals, the IeSF is focused on four core projects:
- Increase the number of member nations
- Create regulations and standards for international e-Sports
- Train referees through the human resources program
- Host an international e-Sports world championship
In order to become an international sports body that is true to its name, the IeSF is working with governmental bodies, international sports organisations and video game developers in order to achieve the greater goal of uniting the entire e-Sports world under one jurisdiction.
External links
References
- ↑ leSF. "IeSF". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ leSF. "media > IeSF News > [IeSF News] Updates on 4th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games and IeSF 2013 Asia Conference". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ "Anti-Doping Community". World Anti-Doping Agency. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ leSF. "media > IeSF News > [IeSF News] IeSF submitted its membership application to "Sport Accord"". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ "IeSF, 국제체육기구 가맹 "e스포츠도 생활체육"". Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ↑ Jenna Pitcher. "Previously male-only Hearthstone competition now open to all genders". Polygon. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ leSF. "IeSF". Retrieved 2 September 2015.