In the latest online meeting, the host country Vietnam and representatives from other nations in the Southeast Asian Sports Council agreed to add 4 sports to the SEA Games 31 competition program, including: Bowling, Jiu jitsu, Electronic Sports (Esports), and Triathlon. Thus, the total number of sports at the largest Asian sports festival in 2021 has increased to 40.
The official decision will be approved and announced by the regional sports council during an important online meeting scheduled for November, chaired by Vietnam.
Previously in July, many sources suggested that eSports would not be included in the SEA Games as the regional sports council disagreed. The preliminary list of 36 sports to be held in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam did not include eSports.
The Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) has thus planned to advocate for eSports to be included in SEA Games 31. The President of the Philippine Sports Federation, Ramon Suzara, has called out: “For the success of SEA Games, we have made eSports a medal event“.
This campaign is currently considered successful. However, details about the specific eSports events included have not yet been announced up to this point.
In 2019, the Philippines included 6 eSports events in the medal competition. At that time, the host country had the right to choose, so some less popular events in Vietnam such as Dota 2, Tekken, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang were featured.
As Vietnam is the host country, it is highly likely that Arena of Valor and League of Legends will be chosen.