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At least three South American Phygital football teams to play in 2024 Games of Future

As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games

KAZAN, May 16. /TASS/. At least three South American teams may take part in the 2024 Games of the Future in the sport of Phygital Football, Vladislav Yershov, the sports director of the competition, told TASS on Tuesday.

The Russian city of Kazan will host the 5th edition of the Phygital Games between May 16-19. The Tennis Academy in Kazan is hosting competitions in Phygital Football (interactive football + 5 on 5 football) involving eight teams from six countries.

"There are currently three teams [from South America] participating [in Phygital Games’ football competitions] and they are from Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil," Yershov said. "We also have teams representing Serbia and Iran."

"I am sure that they will all participate [in the Games of Future]," he continued. "I am sure that South America will certainly be represented by at least three national teams."

According to him, organizers are currently exploring the market for classical interactive football.

"It turned out that during the first Phygital Games, a Brazilian team of bloggers arrived in Russia for the second season of the Media League and they really liked our format; they were interested. They came and watched [the Phygital Games]. We are now a juicy piece of gossip."

Franco Bartucci, a former student of FC Barcelona’s youth academy and one of the founders of Argentine League of Streamers and other top football players, told journalists on Tuesday that in the long-time perspective the format of the Games of the Future might become as interesting as the Olympic Games or world championships.

"Yes, there is such chance in the long-time perspective," Bartucci told journalists in response to the question about the future perspectives of the Games of the Future compared to the Olympic Games.

According to him, the Fygital Games boast an interesting format. "We [Argentina] are still not used to it, we are not experts in Phygital, but we are getting adjusted," he said adding that the team from Uruguay is playing very well, while Brazil is in good physical shape.

As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games. The first Phygital Games were held on September 21-23, 2022, the second - from November 24 through December 10, 2022, the third - on February 5-11, and the fourth - on March 9-10.

The inaugural cybersport Games of the Future in 2024 will consist of new disciplines using advanced technology, the digital environment and physical activity. The competitions are designed to use cutting-edge developments in cybersports, robotics, both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tournament offers $25 million in prize money.

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