Protecting the player.

Alex Lim, of IeSF, hammering home the message.

With more and more money being poured into eSports in terms of money for winners of competitions and salaries for professional gamers, there is a growing need to protect the player more than ever.

While it is also true that much of the prize-money offered at tournaments is paid directly to the clubs, and their owners, little -if any - ever reaches the hands of the players who actually won such monies.

I have stated in a previous article that gamers who play for clubs as professionals and earn prize-money for clubs must be treated as employees and are entitled to be treated as such under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

Treating gamers as a commodity by which clubs can earn income will become more-and-more of an issue.

Thus IeSF (International e-Sports Federation) thus, bearing in mind the issues surrounding gamers, thus brought an Athletes' Commission into being.

Five players were head-hunted to be part of this auspicious start, and in Shanghai, China, the five players accepted their positions.

The famous five are:

Koen Hubert, Young Ho Lee, Mr Jun (President of IeSF),
Jason Batzofin, and Leonardo Ribas

• Young Ho Lee (South Korea)
• Leonardo Ribas (Brazil)
• Koen Hubert (Netherlands)
• Madelaine Leander (Sweden)
• Jason Batzofin (South Africa)

However, IeSF has moved forward on this issue.

IeSF's Board has produced a set of Regulations that determine the long-term sustainability of the Commission.

The current members of the commission shall hold office  until 2019, at which time they shall retire and a new commission shall be elected - not by the National Federations, but by the players attending the World Championships.

Thus gamers have control of a body that will deliver a person to sit on the Board itself to ensure that the concerns of  gamers are brought directly to the attention of IeSF's Board. It is through such open chain of command that gamers may be fully represented.

The Commission is to represent the gamers and to help protect all gamers. IeSF believes that it is the first step in ensuring that nobody takes advantage of a gamer.