ISLAMABAD   -  President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday while welcoming the organizers of a two-day e-sports event in Islamabad, said the tournament would involve Pakistani youth and bring further investments in the country in future.

In his virtual message at the opening of the esports tournament organized by Galaxy Racer here, he said: “I am glad that the investment is taking place in the special technology zone and the fact that this investment is in the fastest growing industry of video gaming.”

He congratulated the patron of Galaxy Racer Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum and his entire team for their launch event in Pakistan. “This investment will harbinger a new era of cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.” The president thanked Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum for his special interest in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s biggest E-sports Tournament ‘Gamers Galaxy’, kicked off with a bang here at the Pak-China Friendship Center on Saturday, offering a perfect chance to the youth to showcase their skills in the nascent sports discipline in Pakistan. The two-day event, which was first of its kind, carries a prize purse of Rs 20 million.  Gamers Galaxy is an initiative of Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s company Galaxy Racer. Through this he was making a significant investment in the technology sector in Pakistan through Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA). The event includes gaming, tournament matches and other related activities.

Speaking on the occasion, Galaxy Racer Owner Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, who declared the event open, thanked President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan for making this event a reality. “This will create a new chapter in the relationship of UAE and Pakistan. This is a first step in E-sports in Pakistan and we aim to take outstanding gamers from Pakistan to the world,” he said. He said youth had limitless opportunities in E-sports and the future belonged to them. “The launch of Supreme Galactic League in Pakistan was a good initiative and this is just a start. We are also setting up academies in Pakistan for the youth for E-sports,” he said.

Alam also announced to launch Pakistan’s biggest E-sports competition league titled ‘Supreme Galactic League’. “A total of eight teams will compete in the league out of which one team each, have been bought by owners of Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi Javed Afridi Haier, respectively.” He said in the nearer future a nationwide Online Massive Competition of school and colleges named ‘Scholars Galaxy’ would also take place. 

Former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari said in 2025 the gaming industry would cross 250 billion. “Alam organized this event in Pakistan. This investment shows that our country has the potential and gaming is a reality,” he said. “We need to ease of businesses for these types of foreign investments. I thank Galaxy Racer Owner Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum for looking at Pakistan.” 

He said the gaming industry was growing faster than the movie industry in the USA. “At a time when the world came to a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, the gaming industry is the only one which excelled. Best of luck to the youth participating in the tournament, put us on the map as this is the future,” he said.

Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA) CEO Amer Hashmi lauded the government of Pakistan for their all-out support and explained his and Alam’s struggle and hard work that paved off well in the field of E-sports. GroupM CEO Naveed Asghar said there were over two billion gamers around the world and 100 million in Pakistan. “There is a big gaming market in Pakistan. It is good to see the female coming into gaming. This shows Women Empowerment and this is a big platform for female to exhibit their talent,” he said.

Source: The Nation