ACGL and Acer for Education have just committed to a further three-year partnership to invest in and grow the Nitro ASL League and the local school esports scene.
The Nitro African Schools League (ASL) is a free-to-enter competitive esports league dedicated to the Sub-Saharan African region. Schools can register teams online to compete against each other in a variety of videogame titles. Starting out with six schools a year and a half ago, the league has rapidly grown to include over 160 schools today, including a recently added junior league. This initiative not only gives schools a platform on which to compete against each other but has helped grow local competitive esports to the point where schools are able to invest in and establish dedicated esports teams.
The most popular title remains Fortnite, seeing over 500 participants during the start of 2024 – an increase of over 1000% since starting tournaments for the title end 2022. Glenn du Toit, director of Acer Africa, notes “…It’s been a phenomenal partnership with ACGL and the ASL league, and being able to reach the schools… not only from a publicity point of view, but to see kids who are quiet, sitting in the back of classrooms not engaging on the sports field, to suddenly come to life and just explode in enthusiasm because we’re talking their language – that’s what we’re after.”
The global esports industry is accelerating at a rapid pace, having grown more than 70% over the last five years to an estimated value of 1,64 billion dollars globally. Esports is becoming an increasingly established industry, with a growing number of professional talent and careers emerging. ACGL and Acer for Education are striving to make sure that young South Africans are not being left behind and have the support to be able to compete on a global stage one day. Nick Holden, co-owner of ACGL says: “Ultimately these are the future pros of South Africa and SSA, and we want to be able to follow them along in that journey because the story of how we find our next professional esports player is still to be found, and we can’t wait to be there along for that journey.”
With this extended partnership agreement, ACGL and Acer for Education restate their commitment to the youth of Sub-Saharan Africa, providing a growing platform for them to reach newer and greater heights in esports.
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If schools would like to get involved with this amazing platform, they can find more information at https://schools.acgl.gg/ or contact our education lead at adam@acgl.gg .
