Credit: FIFAe

 

SINGAPORE, 28 JUNE 2021 – Singapore will take on reigning champions France and world number one England in the FIFAe Nations Cup 2021™ when they make their tournament debut.

 

After a whirlwind campaign that saw Singapore qualify at the very death after overcoming Australia in May, we have now booked our place amongst the 24 best teams across the globe. We were drawn into Group D earlier this month for the tournament, which will be held in in Copenhagen, Denmark from 20 to 22 August.

 

Our three representatives, Ahmad Sufian, Amraan Gani and Muhammad Syakir will compete against France, who won the inaugural edition in 2019, England, Sweden, Mexico and Japan in the eSports tournament organised by FIFA and supported by EA Sports, where member nations compete internationally via the latest FIFAe association football video game series. This Cup is FIFA’s official inter-nation competition for EA Sports FIFA 21 and sees players represent their country in a two-versus-two format.

 

On his journey thus far, Syakir conveyed the desire to succeed and said, “The qualification period was a challenging one for us, but we were incredibly determined to qualify as a team. We motivated each other through the tough games and eventually managed to put in our best performances to qualify for the finals.

 

“It was probably the best moment of my esports career when we knew we had qualified; I was so happy to have done well. To represent Singapore in one of the biggest international tournaments is a huge achievement for us. However, this is just the first step, and we will be aiming to do even better at the finals.”

 

Syakir also expressed confidence in the quality of the team and emphasised their aspirations in putting Singapore on the global eSports map despite being drawn in a challenging group that includes multiple world champions. He added, “We are going to be playing against some of the best players around the world, but we will not be fazed. In fact, it gives us even more motivation to do Singapore proud and prove that we can be as skilled as these players or perhaps even better.

 

“Our ultimate goal is to win it all but we will take one game at a time and see how it turns out.”

 

His teammate Amraan echoed similar sentiments, saying, “Personally, I am over the moon to be able to represent Singapore in a global competition of this scale. With the draw, we may have been placed into the toughest group but we will still perform to the best of our abilities and try to get past the group stages.”

 

The third member of the three-man squad, Ahmad Sufian, ranked highest in the East Asia Zone qualifiers for Singapore said, “It is definitely a great honour to represent Singapore in an eSports tournament, and it is a dream come true for me really. When I started playing FIFA, I never once imagined that I would be playing for Singapore one day, let alone in an international tournament of this scale.”

 

On his team’s chances of progressing in the tournament, he said, “For me personally, the aim would be to progress far in the competition. However, we know that it will not be an easy task, as we will be up against some of the best teams in the world in Group D. But I believe in taking it game by game, because every game has its own unique set of challenges and we should go all out to overcome them.”

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by FIFAe (@fifae)

 

Jonathan Wong, Director of Commercial and Marketing at the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), stressed the importance of being competitive in the emerging global eSports scene and acknowledged that its mounting popularity could eventually pave lucrative careers for aspiring players. He said, “The fact that Singapore is able to qualify for the world’s biggest eSports tournament speaks volumes about the progress that we have made in recent years as we strive to be successful in this area. The eSports scene is increasingly making itself heard by leaps and bounds, and we are proud to support our athletes in whatever way possible, as they strive to bring glory to our nation.

 

“At the same time, we would like to wish the team all the best as they continue their preparations for the upcoming finals. Let us all cheer them on together and show them the support that they deserve, as we look forward to their performances on the virtual pitch!”

 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!