eSports

Football for Friendship eWorld Championship: over 200 countries contest qualifying matches in mixed international teams

Published

5 years ago

May 27, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

On 24^th and 25^th May, the participants of the 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship from over 200 countries contested their qualifying matches in 32 teams organised into eight groups. The semi-final and final will take place on 29^th May. The Championship is one of the highlights of this year’s Ninth Season of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship (F4F).

The teams “Argali”, “Bearded Vulture”, “Crested Ibis” and “Stoat” with Young Players from 19 different countries have qualified for the semi-final. The 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship is being contested in a digital format on the multiplayer simulator Football for Friendship World (F4F World), which was specially developed for F4F and is available free of charge in 27 languages on MS Windows, Apple macOS, Android and iOS.

The Open Draw for the eight groups, which were made up of a total of 32 International Teams of Friendship, already took place back at the end of April. Boys and girls from over 200 countries were able to apply to take part or were proposed by their national football academies.

The International Teams of Friendship have names of animal species that are at the brink of extinction, for example “Chinese Alligator”, “Red-legged crow”, “Dusky shark”, “White rhinoceros”, “Pallas’s cat”, “Star-nosed mole”, “Woodland owl” and “Western long-beaked echidna”. This practice was first introduced in 2018 to draw attention to the idea of environmental protection and biodiversity.

In the International Camp of Friendship with the theme “Uniting friends – uniting the world”, the children had already prepared intensively for the 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship under the guidance of Educators and Young Coaches.

At the Camp, which was held on May 15-23, the kids exchanged ideas and experiences in workshops and other online formats on a range of topics, including the Nine Values of F4F: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour. Irrespective of their country of origin, their gender, their ethnicity or their language, the Young Participants were able to get to know each other better and to make friends.

The winners of the 2020 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship were the team “Granular salamander”, whose players came from Bosnia Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Turkey.

Since December 2020, “F4F World” has been available outside of the eF4F competition free of charge to anyone interested. “F4F World” was developed by the company DataArt.

Rohit Peeris, Sri Lanka: “After playing with my wonderful team, I have now made contact with 100 countries in the F4F World game. I am proud and glad that I have been able to play with kids from all over the world. I also have been able to interact with several of them through classes & sessions. It is a truly unique opportunity. I look forward to the day that the F4F World Championship will be held offline so that I can meet the kids in person.”

Berlin Gaming Industry

Tom Achsel Joins FACTORY-C to Spearhead “Home of Indies” Communications

Published

6 days ago

January 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

tom-achsel-joins-factory-c-to-spearhead-“home-of-indies”-communications

FACTORY-C, the Berlin-based communications powerhouse specializing in gaming and esports, has announced the appointment of Tom Achsel as Event Communications Manager. Achsel will join the “Home of Indies” team alongside project initiator Christiane Gehrke, focusing on the platform’s global expansion and upcoming presence at Gamescom 2026.

With over a decade of experience in the tech and gaming sectors, Achsel brings a massive professional network and deep operational expertise to the agency.

A Veteran of the Berlin Gaming Scene

Tom Achsel is a well-known figure in the German development community. His career highlights include:

Games Academy: Served as Head of Marketing & Events at one of Europe’s oldest game development institutions.
Games Ground Berlin: Co-founded and led communications for the Berlin Gaming Festival, curating impactful B2B programs and speaker lineups.
IGDA Berlin: Serves as Vice-Chairman, strengthening ties between local developers and the global gaming ecosystem.

Christiane Gehrke, Senior Event Communication & Sales Manager at Factory-C

“Tom knows the indie scene from multiple perspectives and has a sharp understanding of the needs of indie developers,” said Christiane Gehrke, Senior Event Communication & Sales Manager at FACTORY-C. “He brings everything needed to support the continued development of Home of Indies.”

Scaling the “Home of Indies” Platform

Since its debut in 2022, Home of Indies has grown into a central pillar of the Gamescom Indie Area. The platform provides a shared booth for independent developers, lowering the barrier to entry for international studios.

2025 Growth: The booth expanded to 440 square meters, featuring over 50 games from a dozen countries.
New Features: The project recently added a dedicated Spotlight Stage, streaming booths, and professional networking areas via MeetToMatch.

As Event Communications Manager, Achsel will lead the outreach strategy for Gamescom 2026, ensuring that the creative diversity of the global indie scene receives maximum visibility among press, influencers, and players.

The post Tom Achsel Joins FACTORY-C to Spearhead “Home of Indies” Communications appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BlueBottle

BlueBottle Launches “League Broadcast” SaaS for Streamlined Esports Production

Published

6 days ago

January 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

bluebottle-launches-“league-broadcast”-saas-for-streamlined-esports-production

BlueBottle, the Munich-based esports technology innovator, has officially launched League Broadcast, its professional-grade production software, via a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription model.

Announced on January 7, 2026, this B2C release moves the platform from selective partner deployments and its long-standing beta phase into a publicly accessible tool for leagues, tournament organizers, and individual content creators worldwide.

Professional Broadcast Tools for All Tiers

League Broadcast is designed to automate and elevate the visual storytelling of competitive gaming, specifically targeting the League of Legends ecosystem. The software bypasses traditional API limitations by using low-level game data collection to provide real-time, high-fidelity visualizations.

At launch, BlueBottle has introduced a tiered pricing structure to suit different operational scales:

Tier	Status	Key Features	Target Audience
Free	Available	Core overlays, essential team/player data, basic game stats.	Grassroots creators & amateur streamers.
Basic	Available	Commercial usage rights, customizable pre-game elements, professional draft tools.	Semi-pro leagues & small event organizers.
Pro	Coming Soon	Advanced analytics, event-driven automation, premium production tools.	Professional leagues & high-scale live operations.

Supported by Creative Europe Media

The transition to a scalable SaaS model was significantly bolstered by funding from Creative Europe Media, the European Union’s flagship program for the audiovisual and creative sectors. This backing allowed BlueBottle to invest in:

Enhanced Stability: Hardening the software for 24/7 live environments.
Improved Infrastructure: Faster development cycles and dedicated customer support.
Accessibility: Lowering the barrier for European creators to produce “broadcast-quality” content that competes with high-budget international productions.

“This launch represents more than a new pricing model — it’s the moment League Broadcast becomes accessible to the wider esports community,” said Lars Eble, CTO at BlueBottle. “We were able to invest in long-term product quality… ensuring that our B2C customers receive the same level of reliability previously reserved for large partners.”

Strengthening the European Esports Ecosystem

By providing affordable, automated tools for real-time data visualization—such as dynamic gold graphs, inhibitor timers, and 3D in-world branding—BlueBottle is positioning itself as a core infrastructure provider for the digital media age. The platform allows smaller organizations to monetize their formats more effectively through professional-looking sponsor placements and deeper viewer engagement.

The post BlueBottle Launches “League Broadcast” SaaS for Streamlined Esports Production appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Akshat Rathee

Indian Esports 2026: Strategic Growth and the Asian Games Milestone

Published

1 week ago

January 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

indian-esports-2026:-strategic-growth-and-the-asian-games-milestone

The Indian esports landscape is transitioning from a period of rapid “spectacle” growth to a phase defined by lasting institutional structure. Following the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), 2026 is set to be the year where regulatory clarity, international competition, and domestic grassroots development converge.

The Impact of PROGA: Policy into Practice

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), signed into law in August 2025, has officially moved from policy to practice. Its primary contribution to 2026 is the explicit separation of esports from money-based gaming.

Legitimacy: By categorizing esports as a legitimate competitive pursuit, PROGA has unlocked state-level adoption and cleared the way for schools and colleges to integrate gaming into their sports frameworks.
Commercial Confidence: With a clear regulatory environment, brands in sectors like FMCG, automotive, and BFSI are now viewing esports as a stable, long-term youth engagement platform rather than a risky experiment.
Athlete Pathways: PROGA facilitates the creation of standardized national registries for athletes, ensuring that competitive integrity is maintained across grassroots and professional tiers.

The Asian Games 2026: A Global Stage

The Asian Games 2026 in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, serves as the most critical milestone for the ecosystem this year.

Medal Status: Esports will feature as a full medal event with 11 confirmed titles, including League of Legends, PUBG Mobile (Asian Games Version), and Pokémon UNITE.
Indian Prospects: India’s best historical result (quarter-finals in League of Legends at Hangzhou) has set a high bar. For 2026, the focus has shifted toward high-performance training camps and long-term athlete mentorship to secure a podium finish.
Multi-Sport Integration: Participation alongside traditional athletes reinforces the narrative that esports is a viable professional career, further encouraging government investment through schemes like Khelo India.

Market Evolution and Key Trends

The Indian gaming market is projected to reach approximately $5.02 billion in 2026, driven by a massive player base exceeding 500 million gamers.

Trend	Impact in 2026
Mobile Dominance	Over 95% of the market remains mobile-first, fueled by 5G expansion and affordable hardware.
Beyond BGMI	2026 is seeing a push to diversify the market into fighting games, sports simulations, and PC titles to avoid “one-title dependency.”
Monetization Shift	Revenue is shifting from pure advertising toward battle passes, subscription models, and in-game progression.
Tier II & III Growth	Most new user acquisition is coming from smaller cities, demanding more vernacular and localized content.