On Saturday 4 March 2023, the Play FIFA Like A Girl workshop will make its comeback to further empower women and girls in gaming and provide an opportunity for female FIFA players to take their FIFA gameplay into the realm of competitive esports. The event will be hosted in Johannesburg by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright and Busisiwe Masango-Steenkamp, FIFA esports player for Goliath Gaming.
This follows the success of the inaugural Play FIFA Like A Girl workshop in 2022, which was conceptualised and run by Wright and Gabbi Brondani Rego from Goliath Gaming, and hosted at Ridge Park Sports Club.
“The Play FIFA Like A Girl concept was created with the intention of providing a safe and supportive space for women and girls to either learn to play FIFA or to improve on their skills, as well as to cultivate a stronger community of female FIFA players in SA. Consoles were provided for everyone to jam on, with some of South Africa’s top pro FIFA players from Goliath Gaming joining to coach the gamers who wanted to take their competitive FIFA to the next level. With all of that in mind, it was important for us to find a way to take Play FIFA Like a Girl to the next level,” says Wright.
“The Goliath Gaming pro players at the first event scouted Busi and after playing a few matches against her convinced their organisation to keep an eye on her and consider signing the FIFA player because of her talent. I wanted to help Busi and other women work towards being competitive in the various FIFA esports tournaments in the country, and hopefully internationally too. We see no women signing up for these competitions and I truly believe that to build women in esports they need to be competing not only at women-specific events but also the current events taking place,” Wright adds.
Masango-Steenkamp echoes Wright’s sentiments. “Empowering women in gaming in South Africa means breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for growth and success in a male-dominated industry – this holds true for titles such as FIFA and others. It’s time to unleash the potential of women in the virtual arena and make their mark on the world of FIFA,” says Masango-Steenkamp.
The workshop on 4 March 2023 will be hosted at the Mettlestate studios in Johannesburg and will be focused on girls and women (from the age of 15 years and up) who are serious about improving their competitive FIFA gameplay. There is no cost to attend, though spaces are limited, and registration will open on 8 February 2023.
“Busi and I have come together, her as a player and myself as a broadcaster, to further empower girls and women who want to take their FIFA gameplay to the next level, and we encourage those who want to learn to play or aim to improve their gameplay to compete, to join us. In addition to providing all the hardware they’ll need to jam on at the event, we’ll make sure everyone has ample opportunity to practise and put their FIFA skills to the test, along with ensuring guests are well fuelled with snacks and beverages,” Wright concludes.
As the Play FIFA Like A Girl movement in SA grows each year, the team behind the event hopes it will build a strong foundation of competitive female FIFA players who ultimately can build on their skills to make an impact on local and international events.
To register for the Play FIFA Like A Girl workshop: https://www.mettlestate.com/play-fifa-like-a-girl-2023/451871?signup=true&type=tournament.
Once all spots are filled, registration will close.
For more information about the Play FIFA Like A Girl workshop:
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