KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s football esports team, eRimau will be making its debut at the 2021 SEA Games with the goal of scoring at least a bronze medal.

       The team under the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will be competing in multiplayer football simulator Fifa Online 4, one of the 10 esport events, though they will be separate from the rest of the esport contingent under the Malaysian Esports Federation (MESF).

       eRimau team admin Muhammad Fariz Ab Rahman explained that the split was because the video game is sanctioned under Fifa – the international governing body of association football – which sent the invite to participate in event to FAM, back in 2020.

       “To improve the eRimau brand, we decided to join the SEA Games. In future, eRimau will also be developing players and contesting under FAM,” he said. FAM is also in charge of selecting the lineup for SEA.

       Asked if there was collaboration with MESF, he said not for the SEA Games, though they would consider it for future tournaments, and would also be speaking to other esports organisations for assistance.

       He confirmed that there would be four players representing Malaysia, though the lineup would be announced tentatively next week.

       One of the four, Muhamad Luqman Haziq “LuqmanHzq” Hajiman, who also attended the press conference here in Bukit Jalil, said the team was targeting a bronze medal at minimum.

       “My personal goal is gold because I want to do my best in any tournament, however it’s impossible to say since we’ve not even played against most of the other countries’ teams,” he said, adding that host country Vietnam, and Thailand were the crowd favourites and the teams to beat.

       Luqman Haziq said this would be the team’s first time representing the nation at such a tournament. “It’s my childhood dream to play football, even efootball is a great opportunity,” he said.

       The team would be travelling to Hanoi, Vietnam on May 11 ahead of the tournament on May 13. They would also be doing a bootcamp later in April for last round of preparations.

       Separately, Malaysian esports team manager Kelvin Pang Ching Kuen confirmed that the MESF would be sending a contingent of 47 athletes and nine support staff including coaches and team managers.

       MESF is targeting four medals: a gold for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBG Mobile) and three bronze medals in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), League Of Legends: Wild Rift and Arena Of Valor.

       He said that if the team managed to exceed that tally, it would further cement esport’s prominence and hopefully enable a larger contingent to participate in the SEA Games 2023, to be held in Cambodia.

       The six game titles involved seven medal events namely PUBG Mobile (solo and squad categories), MLBB, League Of Legends, Wild Rift (men’s event), Garena Free Fire and Arena Of Valor.

       Malaysia is not sending representatives for first-person shooter CrossFire or for the women’s event for Wild Rift.