Turkish E-Sport Federation’s Main Statute is Published

Turkish E-Sports Federation’s Main Statute (Statute) was published by the Turkey E-Sports Federation (Federation) in the Official Gazette and entered into force on 18 November 2022 within the Law on Sports Clubs and Sports Federations (Law) and the Regulation on Procedures and Principles on the Work of Independent Sports Federations.

The Statute regulates the procedures and principles that the actors operating in the field of e-sports must follow, particularly the establishment of the administrative structure and boards of the Federation.

As per Statute, the general assembly, the board of directors, the supervisory board, the disciplinary board, and the general secretariat make up the Federation's core organization, which has its headquarters in Ankara. In addition, it is stated that Federation representations can be established in provinces other than the headquarter. Statute also includes specific guidelines for these boards' roles, authorities, organizational structure, and qualifications for membership. In this regard, it can be argued that the Federation's organizational structure is similar to that of other independent sports federations.

With the Statute, in which the distribution of the members of the general assembly, the highest body of the Federation, the number of members and the meeting method and time are regulated, the general assembly has been granted with many powers, including changing the Statute. It is set forth that the general assembly will consist of different segments such as athletes, coaches, representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Ministry), sports writers and representatives of sports clubs. Thus, it is possible to say that the general assembly, which has many powers, covers many different environments in the e-sports industry. In this context, the representation of stakeholder groups in the sector in the Federation stands out as a very positive development in terms of the development of e-sports.

With the Statute, the most authorized institution in the e-sports sector has become the Federation. It has been stated that all activities in the field of e-sports shall be managed by the Federation and the board of directors of the Federation shall have the authority for competitions, tournaments and their publications. In this context, disciplinary sanctions may be imposed by the Federation. The decisions of the Federation's disciplinary committee can be appealed to the arbitration committee at the Ministry.

It is also among the regulations that sports clubs and sports joint-stock companies operating in the field of e-sports within the scope of the Law shall be registered and enrolled by the Ministry. The Law and the Statute are consistent with one another and include comparable provisions, as can be observed when the Statute, particularly this regulation, is analysed. As a result, the conflicting circumstances seen in several sports disciplines after the Law were avoided in e-sports. Both the Ministry's and the Federation's responsibilities complement one another and will end the uncertainty in the e-sports industry. Therefore, it is aimed that the government would control and oversee e-sports activities through both the Federation and the Ministry, and that the industry will expand and flourish.

The obligations and authority of the Federation, which has an independent organizational structure, were clearly illustrated with the publication of the Statute. In context, it can be stated that a new era in the supervision and regulation of e-sports activities is about to start.

You can reach the Turkish E-Sports Federation’s Main Statute here (Only available in Turkish).

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