The Road to the Games of the Future 2025 Heats Up as Phygital Stars AdvanceImages in the link

13 Feb 2025, Hong Kong

What’s the difference between a world-class football team and a Dutch dancing vet? No, it’s not the latest weird joke – the answer is nothing as they were both some of the winners at this year’s GOTF Majors – the latest qualifying stage for the Games of the Future 2025 (GOTF).

The global tournament, being held in the UAE in November 2025, is the pinnacle of phygital sports competition – which combines digital gaming excellence with dazzling physical sporting skills – in a brand new and exciting sporting event.

In total, 1,000 teams participated in the GOTF Majors over the past nine weeks in a world-wide spectacle of phygital power and prowess.

Next generation of stars from the GOTF Majors

Some of the stand-out stars from the GOTF Majors include Dion Visser, a 27-year-old working in veterinary medicine from the Netherlands. Following previous success at the Just Dance World Cup, he wanted to take on a new challenge.

After hearing about the GOTF qualification program, Dion was in a hurry to find an event he could enter. At the eleventh hour, he spotted his chance and applied to participate in the Phygital Dancing GOTF Major in Montenegro.

“Literally three or four days before the global deadline I heard that I had a shot at qualifying Montenegro,”, he said. “I didn’t have to think, I just went for it. I barely had any time to practise, but I’ve played so many hours on this game that I believed I could give it a good try.”

One week later, he was crowned the champion of Phygital Dancing at the GOTF Major in Montenegro. “It was the best decision of my life!” Dion said, “It’s the first time I get to compete for prize money as well. I really feel like an esports competitor now, and it’s awesome to experience this world.”

Another team making waves is world-class football team, Peñarol who sent a team made up from their football and esports team to the GOTF Major that happened in Uruguay. They captured the championship with a performance that left the local, as well as international audiences watching online, in awe.

Dan Merkley, Chairperson of the World Phygital Community, commented:

“Thank you to every phygital athlete that competed in the GOTF Majors all around the world and congratulations to those who won their tournaments. It highlights the extraordinary talent within the phygital sports community and more importantly, the global movement that is uniting diverse cultures through a shared passion for this unique blend of sports and esports.”

Key Stats

The GOTF Majors gave us:

• Phygital athletes participating in 31 countries
• 71 events were held across multiple disciplines:
  • 30 in Phygital Football
  • 18 in Phygital Basketball
  • 15 in Phygital Dancing
  • 8 in Phygital Shooter
• In total, 1,000 teams participated with:
  • 408 teams competing in Phygital Football
  • 256 in Phygital Basketball
  • 232 in Phygital Dancing
  • 104 in Phygital Shooter