Author: Brendan Ihmig / Founding President of the Namibian Electronic Sports Association (NESA)
Namibia is renowned for its spectacular landscapes, abundant wildlife and indigenous people ? iconic symbols of Africa. From the breathtaking views of the tallest sand dune and the largest salt pan in the world, to the magnificent collection of Africa’s ‘Big Five’, Namibia is without a doubt one of the most inspiring locations on earth. However, all this natural wonder and beauty has not exactly been the setting for the most ideal competitive gaming environment.
In previous years while gamers from New York to Seoul and Sydney to London were enjoying high speed broadband Internet – allowing for near lag-less play on First Person Shooters like Counter Strike and Call of Duty or Massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of WarCraft and Guild Wars – Namibian gamers were still on dialup and LANing in garages and school halls. As is the case with most African countries, Namibia has sluggishly trailed behind the developed world with regards to availability and adaptation of technology.
Tackling these challenges and developing a platform for Namibian gamers to not only participate in competitive gaming but to have electronic sport recognized as a nationally sanctioned sport was always going to be a difficult quest. A handful of ‘brave’ local gamers took the initiative to establish eSport in Namibia and to create the platform for Namibian gamers to compete on the global eSport stage and obtain recognition locally for the sport.
Beginning in 2006 with regular, competitive LAN tournaments with around forty participants, the foundations were built, and in 2008 the first national organized eSport event was hosted. After a period of five years that required much of the proverbial blood, sweat and tears, eSport was officially recognized in November of 2010 as a nationally sanctioned sport with the Namibian Electronic Sports Association (NESA) as the governing body of eSport in Namibia.
In December of 2010, Namibia gamers were given the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of competitive gaming on the international stage when NESA hosted the first ever international eSport tournament against South Africa’s national gamers. Although nerves and lack of experience got the better of the Namibian gamers, their debut on the international eSport stage was both historic and memorable, putting Namibia officially on the global eSport map.
It is an unavoidable fact of life that growing pains will accompany any new organization as it faces new challenges and puts into motion systems and processes that will help establish it, and to fulfil its mandate. 2011 saw eSport in Namibia and Namibian Electronic Sports Association (NESA) overcome many challenges faced with the growth and spotlight of being a national sport and competing internationally. These challenges would have seemed daunting for anyone at the helm, but the rewards being worthy payouts. The Namibian Electronic Sports Association (NESA) being accepted as a member of the International E-Sport Federation (IeSF) being one such reward.
The future of eSport in Namibia is on course to grow in participation and competitiveness and Namibian gamers can look forward to more gaming than ever before and more opportunities to prove themselves internationally. Namibia has yielded ‘diamonds’ from its ‘rough’, with the likes of Michelle McLean and Frank Fredericks, and there is sure to be a brave gamer from this magnificent ‘Land of the Brave’ that will reach such heights in eSports.
