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Dubai: Inter-school gaming tournament launched

Dubai - The e-sports events are meant to ensure that students can take part in competitions during the pandemic.

The Dubai Schools Games (DSG) has gone live with two online e-Sports events, FIFA 2021 and Chess, ensuring that schools have the opportunity to take part in organised competitive activities.

A third online event – Online Rocket League Championships - is set for April 9 and 10, with more than 500 registrations already confirmed.

All DSG events are free of charge to enter for schools and parents. 106 KHDA governed private schools have registered so far, and organisers hope to see a rise in those numbers in the coming months.

More than 2,000 students have already registered as well, and close to 500 PE teachers have signed up to share their sporting expertise in order to help their schools excel at the Games. Those numbers are expected to increase to more than 25,000 students once it is safe for school sports to return and participate in the 14 planned sports for the inaugural event.

James Bowing, Commercial Director of ESM noted: “We are incredibly pleased with the number of schools and students who have participated in the two online events so far. The championship finals will follow after the Holy month of Ramadan, ideally in person if it is safe to do so, but failing that, we'll put on a fantastic show online with the support of our technical partners and sponsors.”

The Games have seen two events initiated so far - the online FIFA 2021 championships and the online Chess Championships. Both these events have been well attended with more than 1000 students taking part in the qualifying rounds of the championships, and the numbers have been whittled down to the last 16 in each of the six different age groups.

The Dubai Schools Games is a Dubai Sports Council initiative supported by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and professionally managed by ESM and sponsored by GEMS, Al Ain Water and Dawson Sports. Go Gamers are the Technical Partners for the e-Sports segment of Dubai School Games, while Anta are the Support Sponsors.