Chris Chan has praised the Global Esports Federation's activities in its first year ©Getty Images

The Global Esports Federation (GEF) reports that its "#worldconnected" series attracted more than 500,000 viewers - a demonstration of its capability for "drawing the world’s esports community together", according to President Chris Chan.

The series marked the Singapore-based GEF's one-year anniversary.

It comprised of esports community events, including competitions, and the Global Esports Convention (GEFcon20), which took place from December 17 to 19.

GEFcon20 featured 14 sessions, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi and Olympic ice hockey gold medallist Angela Ruggiero among those taking part.

Ruggiero, a former IOC Executive Board member, is co-chair of the Coordination Commission for next year's first Global Esports Games.

"While so many events around the world were cancelled or postponed in 2020, our #wcs20 [#worldconnected series 2020] program demonstrated the Global Esports Federation’s capability, drawing the world’s esports community together," Chan said.

More than 530,000 people viewed the Global Esports Federation's anniversary event ©GEF
More than 530,000 people viewed the Global Esports Federation's anniversary event ©GEF

"We kick off 2021 with renewed determination and commitment to promoting the credibility, legitimacy and prestige of esports.

"At the GEF’s December Board Meeting, we reaffirmed our commitment to provide an integrated service platform to our Member Federations, assisting further growth and development. 

"This year we will focus on diverse strategic initiatives, as well as the development and delivery of our global events portfolio, including our annual flagship Global Esports Games."

The GEF was established in December 2019, with Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent a founding partner.

The Olympic Council of Asia, World Taekwondo, the Commonwealth Games Federation and Sports Innovation Lab are among the wide array of organisation's the GEF has since entered into agreements with.

Also claiming to be the global governing body for esports is the International Esports Federation, founded in 2008 by nine member nations from Europe and Asia.