Turkmenistan became the latest addition to the Asian Electronic Sports Federation list of member associations last week following an announcement by the Central Asia country’s national esports federation, the E-sports Federation of Turkmenistan. 
 
This was indeed a pleasant and welcomed news as Turkmenistan has played a very integral role in the inclusion of esports in a multi-discipline sporting event. In 2017, as hosts of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), Turkmenistan included esports as a Demonstration games event, a move which eventually led to us seeing esports being featured again as Demonstration games at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and as an official medal event at the 2019 SEA Games in Manila. 
 
Following the success of esports’ inclusion at AIMAG 2017, the government of Turkmenistan decided to launch the national E-Sports Federation of Turkmenistan, a move which was fully supported by the Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan. Following their formation, the Federation has organized more than 30 tournaments throughout the country. By officially joining the AESF, it is hoped that esports would continue to grow on all levels, encouraging participants and collaborations from all sectors. 
 
Sharing his delight on the latest development, the assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Mr A. Eyeberdiyev said “TMeSF is constantly looking for new opportunities for the growth of eSports in the country, and joining the AESF will take this process to a new stage. Therefore, we are ready to go hand in hand with AESF and make every effort to help and develop Asian eSports.”
 
AESF President, Kenneth Fok welcomed this inclusion saying “We are excited to finally see the inclusion of TMeSF into the AESF family. They have been one of our strongest supporters in incorporating esports into major sporting events - since AIMAG 2017 so it goes without saying, that we look forward to more collaborations moving forward. I am excited to see what the future holds for the Turkmenistan esports scene.” 
 
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