The Global Esports Federation (GEF) is a non-governmental organization that convenes the world's esports (or competitive video gaming) community. It was established on December 16, 2019, and is headquartered in Singapore, where it is a registered society under the Singapore Registry of Societies.
The GEF consists of 180 Member Federations and four continental Esports Development Federations (Africa, Europe, Oceania and Pan Am). As of January 2025, there are 10 Commissions and two Councils that guide the work of the federation. The founding President of the GEF was Chris Chan of Singapore. As of September 2025, Paul J. Foster is CEO, was formally elected President, having previously assumed the role of President ad interim following Chan's resignation in July 2025.
The organization's flagship event is the annual Global Esports Games (GEG), held since 2021. The GEG is a multi-title esports competition featuring athletes from Member Federations that takes place in December every year. The GEF also organizes the Global Esports Tour (GET) and supports its Member Federations in hosting local esports competitions and regional qualifying events.
History The GEF was launched on December 16, 2019 with Chris Chan appointed as its founding President. The Board currently consists of a President, six Vice-Presidents, and 15 Board Members. The GEF appointed its first Chief Executive Officer, Sir Paul J. Foster, in March 2021. Chan was re-elected as President of GEF in 2023 for a second four-year term. On 23 July 2025, following Chan's resignation, Foster was elected President ad interim by the GEF Executive Committee, and formally elected President at its Board Meeting in September 2025. Aurelia Ruetsch has been GEF Secretary General since January 2026, the first woman to hold the position.
The GEF organizes two main events: the Global Esports Games (GEG) and the Global Esports Tour (GET). The inaugural Global Esports Games were staged in Singapore in December 2021, followed by the second edition in Istanbul, Turkey in 2022, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2023, Mumbai, India in 2026, and Los Angeles in December 2026. The first season of the Global Esports Tour was staged in 2021, beginning in Los Angeles in September. Both the GEG and GET are held on an annual basis.
GEF Board DesignationNameCountry/TerritoryPresidentPaul J. Foster, KStJH AustraliaVice PresidentsChester King United KingdomT A Ganda Sithole ZimbabweAdrian Lismore IrelandMelita N. Moore, M.D. United StatesSecretary GeneralAurelia Ruetsch FranceBoard MembersRamil Aliyev AzerbaijanSamba Bathily MaliStefy Bau ItalySamy Bessi BelgiumLeo Fontes BrazilHala Ghandour LebanonLorenzo Giorgetti ItalyHideki Hayakawa JapanJay Lee South KoreaJerry Ling SingaporeSteve Loader AustraliaRonny Lusigi KenyaYaqui Núñez del Risco Mejía Dominican RepublicAlper Afsin Özdemir TurkeyDana Reizniece LatviaKoen Schobbers NetherlandsPeter Zeytoonjian United StatesChief Executive OfficerPaul J. Foster, KStJH AustraliaSenior AdvisorsBijan Burnard United KingdomHong Li Glauser SwitzerlandNicholas Aaron Khoo SingaporeAli Kiremitçioğlu TurkeyKota Mogami JapanDuane Mutu New ZealandHideki Okamura Japan
GEF Commissions & Councils Commission / CouncilChairVice ChairAthletes, Players, CommunityStefy BauJosselyn AbusabalBrand, Marketing, CommunicationsLorenzo GiorgettiPeter ZeytoonjianAlper Afsin ÖzdemirEducation, Culture, YouthJerry LingDr. Dikaia ChatziefstathiouTom DoreFinance, Legal, AdministrationAdrian LismoreDana ReiznieceGovernance, Ethics & MembershipT A Ganda SitholeChester KingSir Prof. Dr. Gabriele Pao-Pei Andreoli, MDRamil Aliyev, MembershipHealth & WellnessMelita N. Moore, M.D.Ali Al RamahiInternational Relations & DevelopmentAurelia RuetschSamy BessiDigital TransformationBerkley EgenesGEG Coordination CommissionMelita N. Moore, M.D.Yaqui Núñez del Risco MejíaAli KiremitçioğluStrategy & ImpactVictoria Cabezas AlvarezYouth CouncilAnim WardInternational Federations Advisory CouncilDr. Choue Chung-won
Member Federations
As of August 2025, there are 180 Member Federations in the GEF:https://www.globalesports.org/member-federations
Development Federations In September 2021, the GEF announced the creation of two Esports Development Federations: the Africa Esports Development Federation and the Pan Am Esports Development Federation.
In 2023, the Oceania and Europe Esports Development Federations were formed to continue the support of sustainable development of esports communities throughout the world.
Events
Global Esports Games The Global Esports Games (GEG) is a multi-title esports competition featuring athletes from Member Federations that takes place in December every year.
In May 2021, the GEF announced the host cities for the first three editions of the GEG. The inaugural GEG took place in Singapore in 2021, followed by Istanbul in 2022 and Riyadh in 2023. The 2023 edition was the largest held to date, with 950 athletes competing from more than 100 countries. Global Esports Games World Finals took place in Mumbai in March 2026. The 2026 edition will be held in Los Angeles in December 2026.
A variety of esports titles have been contested at the Global Esports Games, including: Valve’s Dota 2, Konami’s eFootball PES 2021 Season Update, eFootball 2023 and eFootball 2024, Capcom’s Street Fighter V and Street Fighter 6, Krafton's PUBG Mobile, and Supercell's Clash Royale.
Competition categories include Open and Women, with the Open category allowing both men and women to compete together.
Editions
Source:
LocationDates Event name TitlesCategoryChampionPlayers SingaporeDecember 17–19, 2021 Global Esports Games 2021Dota 2OpenBrazilJoao Gabriel Giannini dos Santos (4nalog), Leonardo Fernandes de Gusmao (RdO), Gustavo Batista Teixeira Ribeiro (fcr), Leonardo Manulli Moraes Freitas (Manulli), Thiago de Oliveria Cordeiro (Thiolicor), Matheus Santos Jungles Diniz (KJ)Women'sSingaporeHui Chun TAY (Melody), Jiayi Amanda LIM (bings), Jia Ling Paula Natalaya TEO (xiaoma), Zhong En Joanne LIM (Minkiey), Sheng Ying HO (KazeL)eFootball PES 2021 Season UpdateOpenBrazilJana Victor Ferreira Lopes (CSC_Jvictor)Street Fighter VOpenChinese TaipeiYu-Lin HSIANG (GamerBee) IstanbulDecember 15–17, 2022 Global Esports Games 2022 Dota 2OpenPeruBernardo David Rocca Alarcon (BernaBerna), Isaac Antonio Zavaleta Lopez (Drakell), Sebastian Axel Cerralta Velarde (Roboz), Joel Eduardo Mori Ozambela (KIM), Julian Esnaider Carbajal Ylave (FLAPJACK), Diego Fernando Perochena Salvatierra (xephondp)Women'sThailandSuchada Somboonthana (nana), Apinya Pinyokong (Ningendd), Rakpirach Rakchid (CatChaser), Sasiwan Pimpak (sleepless), Supanuch Hirunthanakijjakul (honeylisa), Nuttanitcha Puvasiriroj (Ntygogo)eFootball 2023OpenIranHassan Pajani (Hasan_Player1)Street Fighter VOpenChinese TaipeiYu-Lin HSIANG (GamerBee)PUBG MobileOpenVietnamDuong Thanh DINH (DXRabizz), Anh Hao MAC (DXFrankyyy007), Hoang Hung VU (DXLamborghini), Trung Duc CHU (DXTDuccc), Van Dong PHAN (DXVicòi) RiyadhDecember 12–16, 2023 Global Esports Games 2023Dota 2OpenKazakhstanAskar Zhumagulov (Toshi), Salamat Sadyr (v3ndetta), Yegor Millor (egxrdemnxn), Ilyas Akhkubekov (liru01), Alexandr Pak (v1olent’)Women'sMalaysiaVanessa Hii (Butterfly), Tiffany Teoh (Hishiko), Bette Chia (istarx), Adeline Anak Foki (velnaoh), Melissa Lim (Lynnie), Stephanie Lim (auroraa)eFootball 2024OpenJordanSief Adeen Jaser Fahed Dababneh (S.HACKER55)Street Fighter 6OpenDominican RepublicBryan Diesel Tineo Marchena (BryanD)PUBG MobileOpenUkraineDmytro Kuzmenko (Bamb1ni), Daniel Havlicek (KVIQQ), Dmytro Bui (TripleOldBoy), Andrii Tulika (madTUL1KA), Denys Havlicek (xqsmeHAVLIK222) MumbaiMarch 19–22, 2026 Global Esports Games MumbaiDota 2OpenTurkeyEge Dengi (Dingo), Faruk Terci (Wuiter), Abdullah Fatih Koparan (Stoic)), İsmail Bahadir Koparan (G.T.I.), Berke Can Yenigün (Jeezy), Dursun Baran Uludağ (Leni)Clash RoyaleOpenIndiaAnuhith Gosala Los AngelesDecember 2–7, 2026Global Esports Games 2026Clash RoyaleOpen / Women'sTBCRocket LeagueOpenTBCCounter-Strike 2OpenTBCMobile Legends: Bang BangOpen / Women'sTBCeFootballOpen / Women'sTBCiRacing featuring FerrariOpenTBC
Global Esports Tour The Global Esports Tour (GET) is a series of tournaments for professional esports athletes and teams.
In September 2021, the GEF announced the first series of the GET, with each stage showcasing a different esports title. The first edition of the GET had a total prize pool of US$500,000.
Los Angeles, United States of America: September 27–28 - Hearthstone Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: October 21–23 - PUBG Mobile Dubai, United Arab Emirates: November 26–27 - Counter-strike: Global Offensive
In 2022, the second season of the GET was held over two stages in the cities of Dubai and Riyadh. Dubai staged a CS:GO tournament from June 10–11. Riyadh held a Street Fighter V - Champion Edition tournament from July 25–27 during the annual Gamers8 festival.
In 2023, the third season of the GET was staged in Riyadh from August 26–27 during Gamers8 festival. Participating pro athletes competed for a US$50,000 prize pool in eFootball 2023.
In 2024, Season 4 of the Global Esports Tour headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a Counter-Strike 2 tournament from April 18–21.
Marquee Events Beginning in 2021, the Global Esports Federation began hosting esports championships at regional and continental Games. The first marquee event, named the Commonwealth Esports Championships, was held at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The South American Esports Championships was held in collaboration with the South American Sports Organization (ODESUR) at the Asuncion 2022 South American Games. The 2023 European Games Esports Championships was held alongside the Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games with support from the European Olympic Committees (EOC). The 2023 Pan American Esports Championships was held in Santiago, Chile in parallel with the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in collaboration with Panam Sports.
Partners Tencent is a Founding Global Partner of the GEF. The federation also has a list of other strategic partners including an agreement signed with Amazon MGM Studios in January 2024, as well as with the International Telecommunication Union, Peace and Sport and UNESCO, among others. The federation announced a partnership with the Los Angeles Times Media Group, Trivandi, and Xsolla.
The GEF also has several key partners within the Olympic Movement, including the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), European Olympic Committees (EOC), South American Sports Organization (ODESUR), and Centro Caribe Sports.
See also International Esports Federation
References
External links Global Esports Federation Singapore 2021 Global Esports Games Istanbul 2022 Global Esports Games Riyadh 2023 Global Esports Games Global Esports Games Mumbai Los Angeles 2026 Global Esports Games