• Guinea hosts first national EA FC 25 tournament June 27–28.
• Goal: grow e-sports, tap Africa’s $1.8B gaming market.
• Costly, limited internet remains key obstacle.

The first national "FIFA Champions Guinea 2025" tournament will take place on June 27 and 28 at Chapiteau By Issa in Conakry. This event, dedicated to the EA Sports FC 25 video game, will gather 32 players from across the country. Organizers aim to promote access to e-sports and support the growth of digital technology in Guinea through this competition.

Guinea is increasingly interested in gaming, viewing it as a path to employment and a way to showcase digital talent. The organizers hope to structure the video game ecosystem, create a database of top players, train them, support them in building digital careers, and connect Guinean youth to a rapidly expanding global market.

According to a report from African video game publisher Carry1st and market research firm Newzoo, Africa's video game market reached $1.8 billion in 2024. This marks a 12.4% increase over the previous year, while global growth was a more moderate 2.1% during the same period. These figures underscore the sector's potential in Africa, presenting significant opportunities for young people, especially in Guinea.

However, Guinea faces several challenges to fully capitalize on this opportunity. Professional gaming relies on high-speed fixed internet for performance, stability, and its capacity to handle large data volumes, all crucial for a smooth and competitive experience. Yet, fixed internet access remains limited and costly in Guinea.

Data from the International Telecommunication Union indicates that in 2024, the cost of fixed internet represented nearly 7.29% of the monthly gross national income per capita. This figure is well above the internationally recommended 2% affordability threshold, which hinders broadband adoption and limits the use of advanced digital services.

To address these constraints, Guinean authorities quadrupled the capacity of the national fiber-optic backbone in December 2024, increasing it from 50 to 200 gigabytes. However, this technical improvement must be followed by a substantial drop in costs and an expansion of coverage nationwide to allow Guinean youth to fully seize opportunities in gaming and digital technology.

This article was initially written in French by Melchior Koba

Edited in English by Mouka Mezonlin