FHE eFootball World Tournament 2025 - Sign Up Now!

Are you a passionate eFootball player? Do you dream of competing against the best players in the world? Here’s your chance! The FHE eFootball World Tournament 2025, organized by the Haitian Esports Federation (FHE), is officially live, and we invite eFootball players from across the globe to join this epic competition!

💥 Who Can Participate?

All eFootball players from around the world are invited to compete in this thrilling tournament. No matter where you are – whether in Europe, America, Asia, or beyond – you can join the event and represent your country!

🌍 How It Works:

Regional Qualification Phase:

• Local online competitions to determine the top players in each country.
• Players will qualify for regional tournaments across continents.
• The best players from each region will advance to the World Final Phase.
• World Final Phase:
• Regional finalists will face off in an elimination-style tournament.

The grand event will be held online or on-site (to be confirmed), bringing together the world’s top players for the ultimate showdown.

🏆 Prizes:

• Cash prizes for the winners.
• Sponsorship contracts.
• Exclusive trophies and merchandise.
• Career opportunities in the world of eSports!

📅 Key Dates:

• Registration: Now open!
• Regional Qualifiers: Details coming soon.
• World Final Phase: [Date to be confirmed] – get ready to compete with the best players from around the globe!

💻 How to Sign Up?

Registration is now open! To register, please send an email to: fhehaiti@gmail.com for more details and to secure your spot in the tournament.

🚨 Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to represent your country and make your name known in the world of eFootball. Prepare to take on the best and claim the world championship!

Additional reading:

• 2025 Calendar of Events
• AEC24 - Champions of all of Africa - Protea Female Counter Strike 2 Esports Team wins AEC24
• AEC24 - Forged in battle - a Counter Strike story...
• Affiliation: Private Clubs
• Affiliation - Procedure to be followed by school clubs affiliating for the 2025 season.
• Awards - 2024 Management Board Awards
• BRICS - MSSA National Team Trials for 2025 BRICS Esports Championships for TEKKEN 8 - 13 April 2025
• BRICS - ReSF to host BRICS Esports Championship 2025 in Tekken - 28 May 2025 to 3 June 2025.
• Colours 2024 - Almost  half the awards are awarded to female gamers.
• Colours 2024 - Athletes who have earned Senior Provincial Colours in 2024
• Events - 6th WESTERN CAPE Online Championships - 22 February 2025
• Events - Last chance to qualify for BRICS Esports Championships - 14th Provincial Online Championships to be held on 5 April 2025.
• Events - Northern Cape Online Esports Provincial Championships - 25 January 2025.
• Events - Types of esports events run by MSSA.
• Fees: MSSA advises of its affiliation and registration fees for the 2024/2025 season.
• Hosting official Regional Championships.
• IESF -  136 Nations Registered for IESF 2025 World Esports Championships.
  
• IESF - IESF announces proposed game titles for 17th World Esports Championships to be held in 2025.
• IESF - MSSA CONFIRMS ITS ENTRY TO WEC25
• IESF - Official Game Titles for 2025 IESF WEC25
• IESF - SA Team Trials
• International events - FHE eFootball World Tournament 2025 - Sign Up Now!
• International events - ReSF to host BRICS Esports Championship 2025 in Tekken
• International events - SOUTH AFRICA vs IVORY COAST in PUBGM title
• International events - TEST MATCH - SOUTH AFRICA vs MAURITIUS in MLBB title
• International events - Rose is no wilting bloom - the result of SA vs Mauritius.
• Legal - Privacy. Who is looking after the children?
• National Team Trials: Ensuring every athlete achieves their dreams.
• National Team Trials - MSSA events that count for National Team Trials for 17th IESF World Championships (WEC25)
• Results - Northern Cape Online Esports Provincial Championships held on 25 January 2025.
• Team Trials: To qualify for National Team Trials to represent South Africa.
• Titles - Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships - 2025.
• Titles -  Esports titles selected for all MSSA's 2025 High School and Primary School Championships and leagues.
• Titles - Esports titles selected for all MSSA's 2025 Student Championships.
• Transfers: Transfer season - 1 November 2024 to 28 February 2025
• WADA - WADA's 2025 Prohibited List and revised TDSSA

Other African News:

• Benin - Assemblée Générale Constitutive : la Fédération Béninoise des Sports Électroniques (FBSE) mis sous les fonts baptismaux
• Botswana - Botswana has an esports Federation

Gaming mentally

by Dr Denise Bouah

Esports is not sport! If we were to accept this notion it will mean that you do not need mental skills! Or dare we tread into the realm of it being a sport and maybe against your will acknowledge that you actually need to have a pretty good arsenal of mental skills that you can whip out and use to your advantage? Yes, we know it is a sport. So, my dear athlete, my question to you is this: What does your personal repertoire of mental skills look like? As a competitive athlete, you need to be mentally equipped.

Anytime you attempt to achieve something, mental skills come into play:

Do you know how to enter a zone of optimal focusing and concentration so you can perform your best? How do you re-enter it when you get distracted? What do you do when you feel anxious the night before a big event? How do you curb those negative thoughts that you just might not have what it takes? How well do you cope with a lack of support from those around you? What do you do to maintain a healthy balance in your life - this means your sport is not ruling your life and that you can make time to visit with friends and family, enjoy other activities, be successful in academic studies etc., whilst not feeling guilty for not practicing or performing. It is all a fine art of setting up your life as a competitor in such a way that you can perform to the best of your ability, whilst also maintaining a well balanced life apart from your performance domain.

Fast forward to your next competition game, your game hasn't started yet. It is minutes before it starts and your palms are sweaty, you glanced at the opposition and suddenly you wonder for a brief moment if you will win, you shrug it off and tell yourself that you think you will be fine, your heart is racing, the intensity of your emotions is palpable, you feel nervous and if you are honest maybe ever so slightly anxious. You hope your training will pay off. The game starts.... and suddenly you're in it! Time for action!

This is what we experience as athletes. I am a competitive Chess player who has been representing South Africa since 1998. I know that competing is tough and that preparation can be strenuous and lead to making all sorts of sacrifices to get the required amount of training done. I know that sometimes, things go wrong and that hard work doesn't always pay off when we need it to. We have to dig deep to bounce back. But then I also know the joy when a win is recorded and you can sit back and just take in the moment of a good performance. As athletes, we get to experience it all! The highs, the lows and everything in between. 

Being mentally strong is NOT overrated. Making the decision to grow mentally as you progress in your sport is one of the most important choices you can make. Let's look at just 5 benefits of incorporating mental skills training into your preparation programme:

1. Confidence

Insecurity and doubting one's own ability can hamper performance greatly. It also saps energy and can distract a player from focusing on task related skills. Through mental skills training, a player can learn ways to boost confidence levels and as a result also increase positive thinking and self-talk. This is a crucial skill to have in the heat of the battle.

2. Coping strategies

 Anxiety is a common emotion to experience in the performance domain. I know athletes who have terminated their sport careers due to their negative experiences caused by anxiety. A psychologist can assist players to deal effectively with anxiety and stress. Depression can be a silent companion of an athlete. It is important to deal with this and not be limited in life and performance just because an athlete feels embarrassed to get help. Working with a psychologist is confidential. 

3. Time management

This is an important aspect that can be fine tuned with the help of a mental skills expert. Using time productively during a performance can be a determining factor of the result. If a player is anxious or gets distracted, it can cost the player valuable seconds during critical moments. 

4. Dealing with losses and mistakes

We cannot be part of competitive activities without experiencing losses from time to time. How we deal with them is critical, especially during a competition. This refers to making mistakes during game time. Being angry with ourselves or other teammates will not be helpful for our performances. So it is a good idea to develop strategies to deal with these type of moments and situations. 

5. Balancing life and sport

This is probably the most important skill to develop. We cannot live in a performance zone most of the time. There must be time for relaxation, connecting with others socially (face to face), and making time for other interests as well. Because eSports is sedentary in nature (as is Chess), it is important to be fit and maintain one's general health. Burnout can be prevented and it renews our energy when we step away from the world of performance so we can return with gusto, motivation and renewed enthusiasm.

Performing well is not just about plugging in and giving all we've got.  A successful athlete is one who lives a balanced life, who has the ability to be resilient, fair and on the lookout to grow emotionally through experiences. If you should score yourself on a mental skills scale of 1-10, realistically speaking, would you say that you can give yourself a 10/10 for doing the effort of developing key mental skills necessary for you to perform all-round in your life? If not, you have nothing to lose by investing in your growth as athlete and person. What do you need to take that step? Also read:

• Festive Season Special!! COMBO DEAL!

"Give him a gold coin and send him home. He has a story to tell." Beowulf

Charlize Seremak, with support structures, has made  it all the way to top international competition.

Every championship in which a Registered Player competes adds to the sum total of the players' experiences.

The championships help define the personal individual in terms of character, strength, perseverance, dedication, and endurance.

Not every tournament runs smoothly, not every umpire makes the right call, not everything goes the way that the player wants it to go.

It is the player who can rise above all the vagaries of competition that becomes a true champion. Not only a champion in the sense of winning, but also a champion in the sense of becoming a well-rounded individual who is able to take all obstacles in his/her stride.

It is therefore important for players to participate in as many championships as possible. The experience gained in a multitude of championships, under the correct guidance of a coach, will put the player in good stead for later life.

Without training and/or competing under proper guidance, the player will pick up bad habits and will rarely ever rise to his/her full potential. It is not practice that makes perfect, it is perfect practice that makes perfect.

With proper coaching within training sessions and competition, the player will be able to rise to his/her own personal bests, and go home with a story to tell, and a story that they can tell all their lives...

Also read:

• 2020 Calendar of Events
• MSSA's umpiring course - 25 January 2020.
• 28th OLD EDWARDIAN SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS - 1 & 2 February 2020
• 10th Online School Championships - 8 February 2020.
• The road to Eilat

Going to play overseas.

Team eSports South Africa with Team China 

While clubs that have financial backing repeatedly go overseas to participate overseas, the majority of clubs do not have the resources to do so.

As a result the difference in the standard of play becomes more and more marked as the ga[p continues to widen between the various players.

Ultimately, to have such a great divide in the standard of play in South Africa is not beneficial.

Like in all sports, if there is only an improvement at the top, the sport will fail to meet long-term goals of inclusivity and general growth.

What  is required is that there is an overall improvement of the average.

It is far better to have more teams at the top, as it forces a greater competitiveness as well as greater levels of  improvement.

I can personally attest to the enormous improvement of the standard of play of players who have competed in international competition.

To put it in a 'nutshell', the player that comes back from an international championship is so much more than before he/she went.

This is where Mind Sports South Africa comes in.

Yes, clubs affiliated to MSSA may apply for National Lottery Funding which will assist them getting overseas.

However, more importantly, MSSA's system of selection is not based on financial well-being but on being able to deliver the 'goods' at MSSA championships, and at National Team Trials.

Thus MSSA team trials offers every gamer the opportunity to fight for a place in the National Team. Being in such a team will ensure that you face-off against the top national teams that the world has to offer, and by doing so will improve your competitive edge.

Being selected for the national team is quite life-changing.

And that is what MSSA is all about.

The  numbers of players that have officially represented South Africa in eSports are:

Year	# of National Players (overseas)	# of National players (Test Match in SA)	# of National Players (online test matches)	Annual total
2016	12	0	3	15
2015	8	0	16	24
2014	10	0	5	15
2013	10	1	15	26
2012	4	0	9	13
2011	5	0	0	5
2010	9	0	0	9
2009	4	0	0	4
2008	1	5	0	6
2007	1	0	0	1
2006	10	0	0	10
2005	5	0	0	5
TOTAL	79	6	48	133

Find your dream!

Francois Mouton representing South Africa in HearthStone at IeSF's 8th World Championships - Jakarta. 

It is not easy to find your dream.

There are so many people along the way that  might attempt to deter you, or steer you along a different path for their own ulterior motives.

Then there are those who go out and try to educate and get you to create a considered opinion.

In my own life, I consider myself to be blessed to be surrounded by the latter.

My parents (now deceased) always promoted freedom of thought at a time in South Africa when such freedom was not much appreciated. Then there was Zvi Katabi, my old swimming coach, who added much, and to whom I shall always be indebted.

But I digress.

Many gamers will look at the two options offered to gamers in South Africa by Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) on the one side, and by private operators (like TELKOM) on the other.

Such gamers feel that they need to choose between the two.

The truth is that gamers can do both.

Few gamers are aware that  the league offered by TELKOM was in fact started by MSSA in 2005.

It is important though that gamers get in as many competition type games as possible if they are to improve on an international stage.

In my own experience, I have found that I was only ready for international competition if I had played in at least 5 competitions between championships

Thus, in order to find your dream, you have to put in a lot of work.

Your dream will  not just fall into your lap, and often you will find that the more difficult path leads to greater success.

Just as it takes years of study to acquire a degree to find the career of choice, so becoming a professional gamer requires hours of training, competitive play, and taking every opportunity that is offered no matter by what, who, or whom.

Is there a difference between a gamer and an eSports athlete?

I believe that there is indeed a difference between a gamer and an eSports athlete.

I can already hear the howls of indignation and  protest.

Let  us examine  the differences:

Gamer		eSports athlete
Purchases the latest games		Concentrates primarily on the title  he/she plays in competition.
Addicted to reviews on the latest games		Tends  only to read  up on the games  that  interest him/her
When finishes the one game, moves onto the next.		Will play the title that he/she plays competitively for a number of years
Although never having played in a formal competition, considers him/herself to be highly competitive and expert at playing the game		Is more interested in competitive play, and competes religiously in order to improve his/her standard of play as well as his/her official rankings.
Does not control his/her playing time		Has specific times for training and competitive play.
Does not try to become 'technically' correct at the game		Makes every  effort to learn the nuances of the game as well as the 'technicalities' behind the game.
Does not practice at the game		Practices for long hours in order to improve general standard of play.
Does not belong to a club		Belongs to a club  in order to play in competition and thus take  advantage of all the benefits of competitive play

Thus, as you can  see there is a widening chasm growing between the 'gamer' and the eSports athlete.

That  is  not to say that there will not be the  rare individuals that cross the divide, but the two are very different.

May I play?

A couple of days ago, I received a query from a gamer asking:

"May my team play in both MSSA championships and in TELKOM gaming?"

The short answer is, yes!

For many years  there has been quite a bit of inaccurate information given out by gamers that if a team played in MSSA events, such team would not be allowed to play  in other events.

THIS IS QUITE UNTRUE, and always has  been!

Any team affiliated to a club affiliated to MSSA may play in any league/championship/competition.

The Calendar  of Events for 2016 is:

2016 Calendar of events

Date	Event	Discipline	Venue
13 & 14 FEB	OE Summer Championships	Ancients (500pts), Draughts, Morabaraba	Blue Room, Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Ave, Lower Houghton, Jhb
20 FEBRUARY	On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships	CS:GO, DotA, FIFA, HearthStone, LOL, SC, TTT II	On-line
5 & 6 MARCH	20th NORTH WEST Championships	All	TBA
26 & 27 MARCH	33rd GAUTENG Championships	All	TBA
9 & 10 APRIL	Provincial School Championships	Board and Figure games	TBA
16 APRIL	Dota 2 Online Championships CounterStrike GO, League of Legends	eSports (PC)	On-line
30 APRIL & 1 MAY	22nd KWAZULU NATAL Championships	All	TBA
28 & 29 MAY	15th MPUMALANGA Championships	All	TBA
28 MAY	FINANCIAL AGM	Meeting	TBA
25 & 26 JUNE	13th FREE STATE Championships	All	TBA
23 JULY	City of Johannesburg Regionnal Championships	* Ancients 200AP (DBM v3.2) * FIFA '16, * Morabaraba * Tekken Tag Tournament II	Blue Room, Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Ave, Lower Houghton, Jhb
30 & 31 JULY	SA School Championships	Board, Figure and eSports	Cape Town
13 AUGUST	StarCraft II, Hearthstone	eSports (PC)	On-line
27 & 28 AUGUST	21st WESTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
TBA	Indigenous Games	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA
24 & 25 SEPTEMBER	16th EASTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
29 & 30 OCTOBER	6th LIMPOPO Championships	All	TBA
3 & 4 DECEMBER	30th S A NATIONAL Championships	All	TBA
4 DECEMBER	33rd NATIONAL CONVENTION	Annual General Meeting	As per 30th S A NATIONAL Championships
TBA	SRSA's S A Schools Championships	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA

Notes:

1. International events still need to be included.
2. Inter-Provincial events need to be included
3. Inter-regional events need to be included
4. Club events need to be included
5. Regional Championships need to be included.
6. Free State is moved to earlier in the year.
7. National Team Trials still need to be included