ESports
Top British Esports body hopes to host gaming tournament catering to specially-abled gamers
The British Esports Association (BEA) is calling for gaming tournaments to be held exclusively to cater to gamers with disabilities.
British Esports Association (Source: BEA YouTube)
While India continues to refrain from recognising esports as an official sport in the country, the top esports regulatory body in Great Britain, The British Esports Association (BEA) is calling for gaming tournaments to be held exclusively to cater to gamers with disabilities.
This comes on the back of three specially-abled gamers competing at the ongoing Association of Colleges' FIFA Cup.
After being inspired by stories of these players, the BEA has said that it will call on some of the biggest names in the technological industry to make it happen.
"We are hoping that we can take what they're doing as a pilot. We are intending to speak to Microsoft about the opportunities to get a group of colleges like National Star involved in a pilot completion like this because the impact that they have seen is huge," said Tom Dore from BEA to the BBC.
One of the specially-abled participants in the FIFA Cup, Daniel, has limited mobility in his hands and arms. He is currently competing in the tournament using an adapted technology developed by the Microsoft in 2018.
Even though Daniel has not won a single match in the tournament, he maintained that playing in the FIFA Cup meant a lot to him and that he would love to compete with other specially-abled gamers.
BBC quoted Daniel as saying, "Being able to play real opponents is really hard because I play the game in a different way to them. I would like to be able to play against people who use the same technology as me so that it is fairer."
While countries like Britain are pushing for inclusivity in esports, the Indian esports industry continues to struggle mainly due to prejudice and stigma. At a time when the entire world has acknowledged esports as something to look out for in the near future, is it not time that India, too, finally gives esports the credit and recognition it deserves?
