ESports have become more profitable than ever before, and now a new governing body has been formed, World Esports Association (WESA), to help promote standardization, as well as representing the players.
The world of eSports has gained a lot of mainstream attention recently as huge sports outlets have begun to back it financially. As we have covered here on numerous occasions the industry as a whole is growing exponentially. Now a governing body, mirrored after FIFA, has been created to help eSports “further professionalize.”
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As eSports have grown over the past few years more issues regarding standardization have come up. The rules, competitions and most of all money, have been historically inconsistent. Therefore WESA was founded as a governing body to help curb these issues. They will help to fight for representation for the players, revenue-sharing and tournament standardization.
The Electronic Sports League (ESL) is currently the worlds largest eSports company and they helped to found WESA along side some of the top professional teams in the world. Eight teams officially helped start WESA. The first league and players that will begin to adhere to their guidelines will be ESL’s Pro League for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, esports’ second-largest game. Like other governing bodies the real goal is to help create a level playing field, as well as a foundation for competition standards and compensation.
From our Press Conference, WESA Structure & how the association directly involves players in governance #WESA pic.twitter.com/T1eqt0QadI
— WESA (@WESAofficial) May 13, 2016
The vision of the new governing body is “to create an authentic framework to support and amplify sustainable growth of esports, based on the shared values of fairness, transparency, and integrity and sharing that growth between the players, teams and leagues.” This is an admirable goal, but it is one that can not be achieved without the help and involvement of the real driving force behind any sports league: the players.
WESA will start their own “Player Council” that will help advocate for players rights, as chosen by the players themselves. This new council will help shape rules, player transfers, scheduling and much more. Having the players voices be heard should help WESA fight some of the backlash they have already started to face.
As eSports grow in reach and money making potential, many of the players are worried that their time is stretched thin because of a lack of organizational structure. There are many leagues and even more competitions throughout the year, which creates the need for a relatively clear schedule. WESA hopes to create more regulated and predictable schedules. These kind of standards are how most professional sports leagues around the world have thrived. If games or tournaments are always played at a certain time, it helps grow the brand.
Multiple parties must be directly involved in order for any league or sport to grow: fans, players, broadcasters, and many more. Therefore in the eSports world, which currently has very little standardization, the formation of WESA could help both the players and the leagues in the long run.
Almost every major sport around the world has a governing body. WESA is starting small, but as eSports continue to become more profitable for all parties involved, it is better that this initiative has beugn sooner rather than later.