Head Of BIN Budi Gunawan Leads PB ESports Indonesia

JAKARTA - The Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), officially established the Indonesian eSports Committee or abbreviated as PB ESI. Later this organization will become a forum for associations and athletes to improve the achievements of electronic sports in the international arena.

PB ESI is led by General Pol (Purnawirawan) Budi Gunawan as Chairman of PB eSports. Later, the management of PB ESI will be divided into several committees such as competition, innovation, competition and others.

"This inauguration is a momentum to build eSports in a more positive direction and is expected to be able to bring the nation's progress in various sectors," Budi said in his remarks at the inauguration of PB eSports Indonesia.

Budi, who also serves as the Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), also said that his party would immediately make regulations governing eSports so that it was clearer and more focused so that it could make more achievements at the international level.

At the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, when eSports for the first time became one of the official branches to be contested, the Indonesian contingent successfully won two silver medals.

Budi hopes that this achievement can continue to be improved in other championships, especially the 2022 Asian Games and the 2024 Olympics. In which the eSports branch will certainly be competed in these sports competitions.

For this reason, there are several main things that PB ESI will immediately do. Starting from preparing regulations for Indonesian eSports athletes, to preparing training centers.

"PB eSports must be able to face challenges and obstacles, and we have homework to complete, one of which is the construction of an international standard eSports training center," he added.

The inauguration of the PB ESI management was attended by representatives from 23 national eSport teams, eSport associations and related ministries and institutions. Where the musician and politician Giring Ganesha was appointed as Deputy Head of Public Relations and Communications.

The inauguration of PB ESI was also greeted positively by the government. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Zainudin Amali, hopes that this management will help Indonesia send an eSport contingent to the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

"That is why the government welcomes this effort and appreciates the commitment to build eSport into a sport that is our pride," said Zainudin at the same opportunity.

"Moreover, it is informed that the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be one of the sports to be contested," he concluded.