India’s first eSports FIFA U-19 tournament in Bhubaneswar

After hosting Men’s Hockey World Cup, Bhubaneswar gets another opportunity to play host to India’s first eSports FIFA U-19 qualifier tournament.

The two-day event started at the Kalinga Stadium Complex on Saturday. The tournament, a single-elimination format, will see 130 players taking part.

eSports made a buzz when it was included as a medal event in the 2018 Asian Games, with India bagging a bronze medal. Just Think Sports is organizing the event and its CMO and founder John Zaidi is surprised by the response it got from the state.

Zaidi said: “eSports is one of the fastest-growing sports in India. For the first time, we are organizing the FIFA qualifiers in Odisha. It will be also played in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru.”

The top finishers of each qualifying round will take part in the final events, which carries a cash award of Rs 2 lakh. The champion and runners-up will receive a cash award of Rs 50,000 and Rs 35,000 respectively.

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