Racap Clarifies Lack of Participation of Nepalese E-Sports Players in Asian Games

Summary: The National Sports Council (Racap) has expressed serious concern over Nepalese e-sports players not participating in the 20th Asian Games. According to the council, player names were recommended in coordination with the officially registered E-Sports Association, Nepal; however, the association later informed that participation could not proceed. Racap clarified that players not included in the initial roster cannot be included subsequently despite claims of later selection.

Kathmandu, 28 Shrawan — The National Sports Council (Racap) has raised serious attention regarding Nepal’s absence of e-sports athletes in the upcoming 20th Asian Games. In a press release issued Wednesday, Racap stated that when submitting preliminary rosters for the Asian Games, the player names were included after official coordination with the E-Sports Association, Nepal (ESAN), which is registered with the council.

Meanwhile, Racap became aware that another organization called Nepal E-Sports Association (NESA) is also operating in this field. To safeguard players’ interests and ensure participation, Racap contacted NESA proposing necessary discussions and coordination. However, according to the council, NESA failed to respond within the given timeframe.

Since the organizers of the Asian Games require final athlete rosters to be submitted through the Nepal Olympic Committee within a set deadline, Racap recommended 15 participants, including 12 athletes, based on endorsements from the relevant association. However, the officially registered E-Sports Association, Nepal, reportedly informed Racap that their recommended players were not selected, which led Racap to decide that Nepal’s e-sports players will not participate in the Asian Games.

Racap stated that after the deadline, NESA ignored requests for coordination. However, NESA subsequently claimed that their players had been selected and insisted on their participation at the Asian Games. Racap firmly clarified that players not included in the preliminary roster submitted for the event cannot be added later based on such claims.

The press release emphasized, “The council is unable to implement the selection of players who were not included in the registered preliminary roster for the competition.” Racap expressed disagreement with the publication of misleading, one-sided news that disregards the facts of the matter.

The 20th Asian Games will be held in Japan from September to October.