On July 17th, French esports organisation Team Vitality entered an agreement with INSEP (National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance) which could slowly but surely see strides towards esports having its own federation in France.
The deal was made in the presence of Laura Flessel-Colovic, the French Minister of Sports, and Ghani Yalouz, Director of INSEP.
We're honored to sign with the French Minister @FlesselLaura a convention with the iconic French center for excellence in sports @INSEP_PARIS
Together, we aim to help esport growth in France through 3 objectives: train, develop & help french esport athletes in their reconversion pic.twitter.com/aRSswAZSFa
— Team Vitality (@TeamVitality) July 17, 2018
This agreement was signed so Team Vitality could work with INSEP in the hopes of helping to train and develop esports athletes in France. It will also see the two parties look at how Team Vitality can be supported by INSEP, in view to expanding this to other teams should it prove to be a success.
Fabien “Neo” Devide, Co-owner and President of Team Vitality said: “Vitality is not a sports club strictly speaking but we have the same values and common issues: how to train players, how to supervise them, what reconversion, but also what dangers related to school drop-out or sedentary life. We will benefit from Insep’s know-how, its infrastructures, its help for the conversion of our players and make them available to advance research. It’s a first step, a test, an approach, because the Team Vitality is not the totality of the French esport.”
Conversations for this agreement began in February 2018 alongside the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Flessel met with OGN and KeSPA, with Devide also in attendance, to get to know what esports is about. From that initial point of conversation, Devide and Flessel continued their discussion leading to this moment.
Esports Insider says: This is a good agreement for Team Vitality, INSEP, and esports in France overall. INSEP will gain some much-needed knowledge and guidance on esports which could spawn developments in support for the industry. It seems like a step in the right direction.