Jakarta – The Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and also the General Chairperson of PB ESI, Police General (Ret.) Prof. Dr. Budi Gunawan, SH, M.Sc., Ph.D., PSM has succeeded in bringing Indonesian Esports to the international level. This can be proven from the achievements and accomplishments obtained both at the national and international levels during the leadership of General Chairperson Budi Gunawan.
Chairman of PB ESI, Budi Gunawan said that Indonesian Esports has shown very significant development. With the ecosystem that has been formed, esports can be a promising career choice because the global reach of esports has reached more than 577 million audiences in 2024.
“In the era of the PB Esport Indonesia management for the 2020-2024 period, many achievements and accomplishments have been achieved both at the national and international levels. The development of the Indonesian esports organization has reached 9,280 people at the central to district levels. We have also included esports in Law No. 11 of 2022 concerning sports as an acknowledgment that esports is one of the high-achieving sports branches,” said Budi Gunawan at the National Sports Conference and PB ESI National Coordination Meeting on October 6, 2024 at the Grand Ballroom Intercontinental Jakarta.
Budi Gunawan also emphasized that Indonesian esports has been recognized globally as the only official esports parent organization in the international esports federation.
“Another important note is the international recognition of PB ESI as the only official esports parent organization representing Indonesia in the international esports federation. This is the result of the hard work of Indonesia’s esports diplomacy which is increasingly recognized as a global force,” he explained.
Then, Budi Gunawan said that in order to support the Indonesian national esports team athletes, PB ESI has also provided coaching to athletes and management so that they have equal opportunities to excel and compete.
“We have created training for national-scale accredited coaches and referees. Currently, we have 73 referees and 123 esports coaches accredited up to the international level. This is a form of support and appreciation for athletes and administrators who have achieved in official championships both nationally and internationally such as the 2021 Honai-Vietnam SEA Games, 2022 IESF, and 2023 Cambodia SEA Games,” added Budi Gunawan.
On the same occasion, Deputy Chairman 3 of KONI, Maj. Gen. TNI Ret. Andri Sutarno expressed his appreciation and respect to the Chairman of PB ESI, Budi Gunawan who has succeeded in advancing the Indonesian game industry to the global stage.
“This is an achievement of PB ESI under the leadership of General Budi Gunawan in the history of PB ESI. I express my highest appreciation and respect for Mr. Budi Gunawan and the special ranks of PB ESI who have greatly advanced the history of esports in the country,” said Major General TNI Ret. Andri Sutarno.
Retired Major General TNI Andri Sutarno hopes that with the National Coordination Meeting and the re-election of Budi Gunawan as the General Chair of PB ESI, he can bring the name of Indonesian esports to the peak of world glory and make esports a national pride.
“With this national coordination meeting, I hope that an evaluation will emerge so that Indonesia can achieve more in addition to improving the country’s esports industry. The national meeting that is being held is expected to improve Indonesia’s esports achievements,” he explained.
“We also hope that this achievement can be even more prominent in the next term of PB ESI, namely under the leadership of Budi Gunawan,” he added.
“With the re-election of Budi Gunawan as the General Chair of PB ESI for the 2024-2029 period, it is also hoped that he can bring Indonesian esports to greater success at the international level,” he concluded.