Doha, April 21 (QNA) - Qatar has become an active centre for e-sports, which is growing rapidly in view of the State's great interest in sports, making it an example of leadership, inspiration and creativity.

Through its strategy, the State of Qatar seeks to transform the country into a global e-sports hub by organizing several video game tournaments to keep pace with its growing popularity after the world's top stars went to form special teams to compete for the tournaments, as well as benefit from digital transformations, the development of technology and the provision of appropriate infrastructure.

Qatar launched the e-sports project with the first edition of the Qatar Expo Stars E-League Online under the supervision of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) in cooperation with the Qatar ESports Federation (QESF), and with the participation of 12 teams representing Expo Stars League clubs for this season, the competition was held at Doha Festival City through the popular game (FC 24).

Al-Wakra won the first club to be crowned in the first edition of the tournament after beating Al-Ahli (5-3) in the final, and Al-Sadd finished third, beating Al-Shammal with an unanswered goal in the third place play-off.

Al Wakra will represent Qatari clubs to play in qualifying for the 2024 Esports World Cup, scheduled in Saudi Arabia this year.

In this context, Secretary General of Qatar E-Sports Federation Faisal Khalid, said in special remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), that the dream became a reality after the success of the first edition of the tournament, a first step on the road to successes and achievements, pointing out that the first tournament was in the game of football, but in the near future there will be tournaments for other games and a special league featuring teams competing for a title for each game or set of games.

Adding that there were some challenges on the administrative and legal side of organizing tournaments and making teams, and they were working to overcome all the obstacles facing them.

According to the Secretary General, they can achieve the basic goals in the near term, the most important of which is to create a competitive environment and encourage teams to attract the best players in each game, which will lead to the formation of a selection of the best players in various games to represent the state in the largest regional and international forums and tournaments, as a member of the International and Asian Federation as well as the Arab and Gulf Federation for the sport.

In concluding his remarks, Secretary General of QESF Faisal Khalid, pointed out that the overriding objective is for Qatar E-Sports Federation to join the worlds golden march with its great achievements.

Director of the Qatar Stars E-League Project Ahmed Al-Mughaysieb, in a special statement to QNA, stressed the importance of this tournament, which comes in the light of the great development in the field of e-sports in the region. Noting that one of the most important aspects of the agreement with the Qatar E-Sports Federation is that the league aims to raise the level of competition among players and raise awareness of clubs about the field and importance of e-sport.

Also, he highlighted that the main objective was to develop players at a level that was appropriate for the country's e-sports team's representation in various international entitlements.

QSL and the Qatar E-Sports Federation have also paid great support, stressing that this tournament will be a first step for many tournaments to come. Affirming that there are great endeavors to adopt the league within the famous game "FIFA." The Qatar Stars League e-project manager concluded his remarks to QNA by saying that the competitions will be transmitted directly through QNL's social media platforms and will receive media coverage highlighting the league clubs, players, matches and best moments. (QNA)