Global Esports CEO Appeals to Indian Government to Ease International Travel for Esports Athletes

Rushindra Sinha, founder and CEO of Global Esports, recently revealed that the South Korea and Brazil visas of the organization’s Valorant players are still in process. Sinha expressed his frustration with the lengthy and complicated visa approval process and called on the government of India to issue a special passport for esports athletes to simplify the process and avoid these delays in the future.

Global Esports CEO expresses frustration over the visa application process

Since December, Global Esports has been working on the Brazil and Korean visa application process for its players. The players will need Brazil visas to play the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023 LOCK//IN, whereas  South Korean visas will be needed to relocate to the organization’s bootcamp in South Korea. However, the organization faced some difficulties while doing so. Due to this, the organization’s Indian players and members could not travel to its South Korean bootcamp as planned. 

In a recent livestream, a viewer asked Sinha about the status of Brazilian and Korean visas of Global Esports players. Responding to this, he revealed that the organization is still working on it. “Brazil visa is yet to get approved. The Korean visas of some players have been approved, but Brazil visas are yet to be approved. We will work on Brazil visas of those players whose Korea visa has been approved, and work on the Korea visa of those players whose Brazil visa has been approved,” he said. 

Sinha expressed his frustration over the tiresome process of visa approval and appealed to the government to provide a passport to esports athletes that will save the hassle of visa approval. “The Indian government has recognized esports. Give us such a passport for which there won’t be any issue regarding visas when traveling as esports athletes,” he added. “If you genuinely want to know, instead of making committees and having god-forsaken meetings in the government and saying what not… do those things. But if you really, the government - this is for you, if you really, really, want to help esports in India, ensure that esports athletes can travel anywhere without having to worry about their visas. If you provide this, we will take care of the rest.”

The government of India recently declared that esports is a part of “multi-sports events” under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the subheading B. Department of Sports. The government also held a few meetings to discuss the development of esports in the country.