Gaming takes root in Kenya with ‘Real Madrid’ of online sports, Fnatic, dreaming of Africa market

ESPORTS Youngsters playing video games at Fairdeal Electronics at Nairobi West, in Nairobi on July 26, 2016. [PHOTO: ROBIN TOSKIN/STANDARD]

On a typical weekend, the Fairdeal Electronics showroom in Nairobi West is a beehive of activity. Curiously, the clientele ranges from elderly people seeking to buy electronics to another age-group that finds its way to the video gaming rooms behind the main counter.

Esports is the latest craze in various gaming parlours in Nairobi and various towns in Kenya, where young men spend hours on end playing video games.

Some fanatics also take time during weekdays, even if only an hour, to play their favourite sports.

“The interest is overwhelming. Electronic gaming is exponentially taking root in Kenya,” says Ahmed Abdi Ali, the managing director of Fairdeal Electronics, which deals in Game Consoles and other electronic devices.

“Sometimes we are overwhelmed as parents bring their children and leave them with us to play games. Recently, we have staged tournaments here with Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 prizes for the winners. The interest is just enormous.

“I attribute it to shrinking playgrounds in Nairobi and of course the need to play the game if one cannot make it on the field of play,” Ali told FeverPitch. The games range from Wrestling, Basketball, American football, Soccer, Combat Fights with all respective applicable rules, to betting.

Esports is the newest frontier in the ever-expanding horizon of sports possibilities, one through which leading esports player giants, Fnatic, are gearing up to tap into African passion on gaming.

According to one player interviewed by FeverPitch at the Fairdeal Electronics, “More and more people are playing various games either on online platforms or just video games on DVDs.”

“There are also video game parlours in South C, Nairobi and several in the town centre. It is big business now,” Sylvester said.

Ali offers: “It is interesting that those who play esports are way ahead in terms of information. They play online where they face off with the best of the best.”

Patrick Sattermon, Chief Gaming Officer of Fnatic, founded in 2004 by former English Rugby League player Sam Matthews, said they are exploring the option of launching their brand in Africa because Fnatic wants to “be in the forefront of this space”.

“We know that esports can be hugely popular in Africa because there is definitely some good interest in video games over there,” Sattermon, 31, recently said on the sidelines of the Manila Major 2016.

Sattermon, the Beckham of esports, but now retired, told CNN: “Esports is growing and obviously the opportunity is always there to expand because when all this started nobody thought it would be this big so we are always looking at where the future can take us.”

“I would like us to be more engaging with our fan base,” he told CNN adding: “It is hard to predict where the future is taking us... But we want to be super proactive and we want to change this space..”

With a television audience of more than 300 million people in Europe and Asia, electronic sports is rapidly growing in the world, with established sports teams recently making moves to set up their own esports teams to help boost their brand visibility through the online platform, currently the main marketing platform for esports.

FIFA 2016 is among the games featured in esports, through a FIFA Video Game Tournament while the League of Legends is the most famous competition through which Fnatic have made their name since inception, to earn the tag of the “Real Madrid” of esports.

Patrick explains that esports has a truly global reach as persons in different locations of the world can simultaneously play against each other.

“We believe that this will get traction in Africa in such a way that we can start seeing a few esports tournaments down there to begin with, then we can take it up from there,” concludes Patrick.

Other established brands with esports teams include Sacramento Kings, Besiktas and New York Yankees, to mention but a few.

Wolfsburg have completed the signing of English FIFA 1 star David Bytheway while West Ham have enlisted to their ranks 24-year-old Allen, famously known as Dragonn, to represent them in the FIFA Video Game Tournament.

Online broadcaster, Twitch, has been the main exclusive carrier of esports content but giants Sky television and ITV have recently launched channels to air esports to tap into the 300million plus television audience in Europe.