eSports could be part of 2024 Olympics

“We have to look at it because we can’t say, ‘It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics,’” Estanguet said in an interview with the Associated Press. “The youth, yes they are interested in eSport and this kind of thing. Let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let's try if we can find some bridges.

“I don’t want to say ‘no’ from the beginning. I think it’s interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the eSports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success.”

The eSports Asian Games, which are recognized by the IOC, are billed as the world’s second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics. Forty-five national delegations and about 10,000 athletes took part in the most recent Asiad three years ago in Incheon, South Korea.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that eSports will be a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games in China. The details of which games will be contested have yet to be provided, though the OCA confirmed the titles for this year’s Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Turkmenistan: Fifa 2017, Moba (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and RTA (Real Time Attack) gaming types.

IOC president Thomas Bach, whose support would be crucial to eSports’ addition as an Olympic event, sounded less than convinced when asked about it after the Asian Games decision in April.

“We are not yet 100% clear whether eSports is really sport, with regard to physical activity and what it needs to be considered sport,” Bach told Inside the Games.