The origins

“play-eS-HanseSPIEL e. V.” Hamburg non-profit, has 16 years of experience in organizing “The German Games Schoolchampionship” and regional esports school championships.

As a popular sport, especially in Germany with its particular focus on eSports as a athletic top sport, this form of gaming has to contend with difficulties because Germany, with its unique and successful club culture, has to deal now with a self-determined digital youth gaming culture that demands and requires support. All grassroots sports developments worldwide are affected by this problem.

At the same time, freedom from ties is also largely desired

An important factor in this development is that the peak performance of grassroots esports players especially professional players is apparently the shortest of all sports. It is undisputed that younger eSports players in particular shout be supported in their digital development. This is why the non-profit organization play-eS-HanseSPIEL e.V. Hamburg has paid special attention to the eSports development of students.

Play-eS HanseSPIEL e.V. Hamburg gemeinnützig was founded because we recognized and experienced the importance of grassroots work in schools and their environment with teachers, parents, school-associations, local politicians in community context.

In the last 16 years, we have thus organized regional eSports school championships with tournaments, which were held in the final round as a school festival – largely organized and designed by the students themselves.

After the announcement online, school teams from many regions of the country register, often more than expected, and students interested in esports look for the best in their school and put together an e-sports team. Often with the participation of a digitally committed teacher. This increases the participation of the students and teachers, even with different attitudes towards e-sports. It also applies to parents, the wider school environment and even local politics and the media. It grows to the final round of the championship and beyond.

Gaming communities emerge as a result. An e-sports room is often set up and internal competitions are then organised, including with other schools. One school became German esports school champion twice. Female students also took part in some of the championships.

It is to be expected that the pilot project within the EU framework will increase ambition and participation and draw new attention to eports as a grassroots sport. Top esports performances under professional conditions can only be achieved for a relatively short time compared to other sports. The focus on esports as a competitive sport, which is what most of the official efforts have been aimed at, especially in Germany, will lose importance to grassroots esports in the long run, also because other esports areas are growing.

People want to play for fun and participate in games they love for life, as we highlighted at our National eSports Grassroots Conference in Berlin: “In the future, esports will become the strongest division in company sports.“

Pilot case study

The European Grassroots Esports project has successfully completed its pilot phase in Germany led by play-eS-HanseSpiel e. V.

Esports in Germany has been gaining visibility through high-profile events like the ESL tournaments, which attract significant media attention. Despite this, public awareness and understanding of esports remain limited. The scepticism surrounding esports, particularly among older generations, combined with a lack of cohesive support for grassroots initiatives, hinders the development of esports at the community level.

Esports is acknowledged as a significant cultural and social phenomenon. However, the grassroots development of esports faces numerous barriers across various sectors including politics, culture, education, and traditional sports. The prevailing view tends to support esports as a professional and high-level competitive activity rather than as a community sport that can foster social integration and skill development.

A major obstacle to grassroots esports in Germany is the lack of a unified definition and acceptance of esports as both a digital and sporting activity. Play-eS e. V. proposes a definition of esports that bridges digital gaming and traditional sports, emphasizing the cultural and developmental aspects of play. This conceptual framework seeks to align esports with traditional sports and cultural activities, promoting broader societal acceptance.

The “eSchool” Pilot Project

Play-eS e. V. initiated the “eSchool” pilot project at the Eidelstedt Vocational School, aiming to integrate esports into the school environment. The project encouraged student participation in organizing and competing in an esports tournament. It highlighted the potential of esports to improve school climate and relationships between students and staff. However, logistical challenges, including limited resources and conflicting schedules, hampered the pilot’s full potential.

Grassroots esports in Germany requires a more supportive environment to flourish. Greater alignment between esports, education, and cultural activities could bridge existing gaps in understanding and acceptance. The success of initiatives like “eSchool” demonstrates the potential of esports to engage and empower young people, suggesting that with the right support, grassroots esports can play a significant role in German society.

The future of grassroots esports in Germany depends on overcoming these structural and societal challenges, and creating a more inclusive and supportive ecosystem for digital sports and gaming.

Takeaways and main lessons

• Esports is a play discipline. Play is the evolutionary element in human history. The evolutionary power of the play has significantly promoted digitalization. Young people have always been more open to new developments. For the first time in the genealogy of humanity’s games, young people all around the world have collectively embraced and promoted a new form of gaming: esports.
• Germany, with its unique and successful club culture, has to deal now with a self-determined digital youth gaming culture that demands and requires support. All grassroots sports developments worldwide are affected by this problem.
•  Work on sustainability! Don’t take any support for granted: „after twelve years of active support from the commercial company ESL, this support came to an end. ESL hoped that the school sector would be worthwhile in the form of a commercial tournament system after all.“
• Transferable elements of our approach: Our grassroots sports work includes esports workshops with students, teachers and parents student learning programs, video documentaries, addiction and health advice, gaming opportunities – analogue and digital, scientific lectures and an eSport thematic final event geared towards grassroots eSports with scientific participation.
• The limits of these play-eS HanseSPIEL e.V. Hamburg non-profit grassroots e-sports activities were determined solely by limited financial resources and little support from authorities, society, politics and hardly any investors interested in PR- and advertising-reach in Germany. This is how it is and has been for many grassroots initiatives in Germany – as our research has shown. One of our recommendations is to get in touch with them again. They will come back to life when they get support for eSports and eSports playgrounds.