Globally, the gaming industry has evolved into a fully-fledged career path, with a few schools taking advantage of the growth in the sector by offering gaming scholarships.
Thabo Moloi, Zaid April and Julio Bianchi will be representing South Africa at the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023. Picture: Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s top gamers Kaylan Moodley, Julio Bianchi, Thabo Moloi and the recently-crowned SAFA eCup winner, Zaid April, have qualified for the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023.
“Looking forward to meeting all the players and a few friends from overseas, and of course representing our country to the best of our abilities,” said Thabo “Yvng Savage’ Moloi.
Team SA participated in the FIFAe Nations Series 2023 in the playoffs and joined Qatar and Morocco as entrants representing the Middle East and Africa zone in the 2v2 competition format.
@FIFAe Nations Cup 2023: Morocco and South Africa Qualify For Grand Finale in Saudi Arabia
fifae-nations-cup-morocco-and-south-africa-qualify-for-grand-finale-in-saudi-arabia
#esports #FeNC #fifae #africa #morocco #southafrica pic.twitter.com/oI5npyhjOt
‘ The Afrogamer (@theafrogamer_) May 22, 2023
“I’m looking forward to representing my country at the FIFAae Nations World Cup. I’m also looking forward to gaining experience in these massive events. We plan to go all the way and win the tournament, so we will represent South Africa to the best of our abilities and work hard as a team,” said Zaid April.
Team South Africa will be competing alongside India, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore who qualified from the Asia and Oceania region for the final event. They will be joined by 11 teams from Europe, three from the Middle East and Africa, three from South America and two from North and Central America, along with the host nation, which has not been announced yet.
Moloi told Eyewitness News that more financial investments would grow the sport.
“I’d say maybe more investment by individuals and brands. Not everyone competing in esports can call it a full-time career yet, unless you’re with one of the best organisations or teams who have the financial means to support you and your career but obviously, it’s not easy getting there.”
FILE: Thabo Moloi will be representing South Africa at the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023. Picture: Supplied.
April was recently crowned SAFA eCup winner and has had a string of successes as a gamer, winning the LAN event, the Toyota Gaming Engine’s FIFA Thumbderdome.
“Qualifying for the FIFA eNations World Cup stands out the most because it’s the first time we’ve qualified for the event, which is what makes it much more special. We will be 1 of 24 teams at the event competing against very big nations from all around the world,” said April to Eyewitness News.
Load shedding can disrupt gameplay and online tournaments, as power outages can cause gamers to lose progress or disconnect from online matches.
“Load shedding is terrible for gamers and everyone of course because sometimes you’ll need to play a game at a certain time, but the lights are off. If it’s an important tournament or game I have to move around to where there is power which I don’t like doing, but we have to now,” said Moloi.
READ MORE:
– Esports a gamechanger in South Africa, says Centennial Schools
FILE: Zaid April will be representing South Africa at the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023. Picture: Supplied.
Globally, the gaming industry has evolved into a fully-fledged career path, with a few schools taking advantage of the growth in the sector by offering gaming scholarships.
“Honestly it’s been tough during load shedding, because everyone is on different load shedding schedules I find it difficult to find players to practice with. Load shedding shortens my gaming hours as well. Luckily for me, when there are tournaments, I would fly to Johannesburg, to the Goliath Gaming HQ, where we have generators to avoid load shedding,” said April.
The first FIFAe Nations Cup took place in 2019 and was won by the French team while the Brazilian team held the title in the last edition in Denmark 2022. Will South Africa take it this time?
Final stretch for team ???????? in the @FIFAe Nations Qualifier. The squad is feeling strong, confident and are ready to get the job done????#GGFIFA #GoliathGamingArmy pic.twitter.com/7R2vtO9w6Y
‘ Goliath Gaming (@GoliathGamingZA) May 21, 2023
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
