Russian officials have worked with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to prepare for the participation of Vietnam’s teams in Russia’s Games of the Future, which is slated for 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told the introduction ceremony of the sporting event in Hanoi on Friday.

“Russia will cover all fees of travel and accommodation for participating teams,” said Russian Deputy PM Chernyshenko.

Russia has high expectations for its Games of the Future, which will feature both traditional physical sports and electronic sports (E-sports) to replace the traditional Olympic Games.

The Russian official also expressed his desire to cooperate with Vietnam Cable TV Channel VTVCab and Vietnamese media agents to broadcast live and cover the event’s matches free of charge.

The leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnam Recreational eSport Association and many other organizations attended the ceremony on Friday.

Based on Russian President Putin’s idea

The Games of the Future is based on the Phygital trend, which is a combination of traditional physical sport and E-sport.

Phygital originates from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea.

Last December, Russian President Putin signed a decision to host the Games of the Future in Kazan City in 2024. 

The sporting event will feature 16 E-sports, robot races, football matches and hockey tournaments and is expected to attract over 250 teams from many nations and more than three billion spectators worldwide.

The participation of Vietnamese teams will contribute to beefing up the presence of E-sport in Vietnam, said the Russian official.

“Many nations have shown their interest in the Games. Hopefully, Vietnam will not miss the event,” said Chernyshenko.

The Russian representative also said that the project is new, so it is inevitable that many people think the “Games of the Future” is not a sporting event.

“Therefore, it is necessary to build close cooperation and enhance the trend in Vietnam to make it clear for officials and residents. We expect the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to set up a phygital sports federation in Vietnam,” said the Russian deputy prime minister.

“We are willing to transfer experience and technology to Vietnam,” he affirmed.

Expected replacement for traditional Olympic Games

According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko, the Olympic Games have been maintained for over 100 years, but the audience’s interest in traditional sports is weakening. Meanwhile, E-sport becomes more popular.

“We should create a new product. We invite you to join the process to renew traditional sports and shape the future of the global sport,” said Chernyshenko.

He affirmed that with the combination of virtual and real things, the Games of the Future would ensure the balanced growth of people. This is not an event for game players to sit still, but requires competitors to move physically.

“The Games of the Future” in Kazan will be held based on clubs, meaning that cities and nations worldwide will send clubs to the event. Competitors of a club can come from different countries.

In 2022, global revenue from E-sport totaled over VND30.3 trillion (US$1.3 billion). Despite the advantage of its population and potential market, Vietnam has yet to tap the E-sport field.

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