Does your national body have a price or a value?

Starts from a reflection on social, financial, moral and ethical crises, and asks whether a national body has a price or a value.

In electronic sports, many people, in the heat of the moment and under extreme pressure to find some financial and operational solution for themselves and their company, one-off or short to medium term, end up making decisions that are harmful, negative and destructive for the Esports ecosystem of their region. They leave a legacy of administrative errors, a complete lack of method and standards, poor financial and business management, and total disregard for the athlete and the Esports ecosystem around them. This creates a "black hole" where a healthy, sustainable, responsible and profitable environment should be, and it also wastes the chance to help form better citizens, with Esports as the base and the tool for that (as in any other category of sport). I have written about these points more specifically in two other articles.

How valuable is your Esports ecosystem? How valuable are your Esports athletes? How valuable is the future of the whole category of sports in your region? Pay attention: I am talking about value, not price. They are two completely different things.

If you stop and think, the value you give to your Esports ecosystem and your athletes, and to a whole policy of legislation and regulation and the creation of a complete, standardized and sustainable sports system (at least that is how it should be), probably comes down to a handful of plane tickets, hotels and meals so your Esports athletes can attend an annual competition, and nothing more. That gives you a price, not a value. If you accept this kind of arrangement, you probably do not even have a system to evaluate and value athletes and teams in your Esports ecosystem (as in football and other sports). It then does not matter that this year those athletes represent your country in some annual competition, because next year most of them will probably not even remain Esports athletes. It is just a small adventure of the moment and nothing more. I am dealing here with national federations, not with private events. Private events SHOULD, whenever possible and depending on the proposal and the competition model, give most competitors air travel, lodging and meals while they take part in that Esports competition. Here, again, I deal exclusively with national federations.

So you are telling me your value is five or six plane tickets, a few days in a hotel and some food? My dear friend, you have no value, you have a price! And believe me: you are very cheap!

I understand perfectly that for some of you this is almost a dream, the chance to give a few Esports athletes the experience of travelling to another country and competing for their nation, something unique in their lives. But unfortunately you are doing it for the WRONG reasons and through the WRONG actions, in the wrong way. In doing so you WRONGLY teach your sponsors, and show them bad things about you and about how to deal with you and your Esports ecosystem! You, as a national federation, and the international body that hosts you, are completely wrong to take such an attitude.

There is also the false idea that, by promoting these "counterparts", such as plane tickets, hotels and food once a year to attend certain Esports competitions, you are "securing" your leading position in your country. The belief is that you show not only your government and your athletes, but especially your "adversaries" (other bodies that also seek the title of National Federation), that you are the right choice and "they" are not. This is pure deception, pure error and the acceptance of an indirect, cheap, small and useless "bribe". In fact, the only one who benefits from all this is the International Body that offers it as a "currency" in exchange for your "loyalty" and your participation in an ineffective, inefficient and somewhat corrupt Esports system, created only to promote that same body and nothing else. I want to make clear that all of this applies to professional Esports, not educational Esports.

You should be committed to creating a responsible, solid and trustworthy institutional and business environment, so that many investors and sponsors can offer you the capacity to manage and meet many of your own needs in a variety of areas. That includes small, basic needs such as plane tickets, hotel stays, meals, uniforms, training rooms and much more for your Esports athletes, creating a sustainable environment for the Esports ecosystem. If you do not have this yet, it is because you are not able to create and show investors and sponsors that what you have in your national federation is in fact a REAL and CORRECT "Federation" (or association or confederation, use the correct name in your country). That means a body whose characteristics, purposes and infrastructure are complete, and which is ready to manage nationally a whole category of sports, a new category: Esports. (I wrote about what a National Federation needs in its infrastructure in a different article, perhaps a year ago.)

By contrast, the "international body" that offers these things should instead help you run your national federation by providing guidance and knowledge, and by supporting you in your country before government authorities. That creates a more responsible ecosystem and a sustainable environment, and gives you guidance to present and propose educational programs, social inclusion programs, bills and Esports regulation programs, and more.

The body that "buys" you for such a small price should instead provide every kind of documentation example, rather than trying to keep you as a "loyal member" with such foolish rewards. It should teach you that only through transparency and good governance can you be a recognized, legitimate and legal body in your country, leading everyone to a sustainable and responsible example of managing the electronic sports environment positively and exemplarily (institutional Esports, not private, of course).

It may seem cruel, it may seem cold, and this view may seem too negative, but it is the most direct, transparent and responsible view you can have. If you have not seen it this way, or the "international body" you belong to never showed you this point of view, you are certainly in the wrong place. You are doing it wrong in your own country, and you will definitely never be the right choice of "national federation" to be chosen over your so-called "opponents" in your own country.

It is time to decide: do you have, or want to have, a value or a price?