The Montenegrin e-sports and fidget delegation, led by the President of the Electronic Sports Association of Montenegro, Filip Šoć, paid a strategic working visit to the United Arab Emirates, together with partners from the Adria region, Turkey, Libya and Western Europe. During the visit, key meetings were held with leading institutions and companies in the e-sports and fidget industry, including the UAE eSports Federation, Yalla Group and eSports Middle East, and the delegation also participated in the prestigious World Phygital Summit 2025 in Dubai.
During the meeting with Saifi Ismail, President of Yalla Group, the focus of the conversation was on partnership opportunities in organizing regional tournaments, developing digital platforms and educational programs in the e-sports sector, with the group's open willingness to support projects connecting the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East.
At the meeting with the Secretary General of the UAE Esports Federation, Saeed Ali Al-Tahir, there was discussion of joint work on international competitions, staff education, exchange of technical knowledge and participation in global events, while with the President of the Syrian eSports Federation, initiatives for the production of regional tournaments, the establishment of eSports academies and the implementation of joint educational programs for youth in Europe and the Arab world were discussed.
A strong point of the visit was the participation in the World Phygital Summit 2025, a global event that brought together representatives from over 100 countries. The summit was opened by Dan Merkli, President of the World Phygital Community, highlighting fidget sports as a key bridge between the traditional and digital worlds. The delegation from the Balkans played an active role in panels and bilateral meetings with representatives of countries, federations and technology companies, presenting initiatives from the region that can contribute to the global fidget sports network.
"This visit shows that Montenegro and the Balkans can be part of the global chain of development of fidget sports, e-sports and digital education. We are grateful to our partners from the UAE for their openness and vision, now we are moving towards concrete implementation," said Filip Šoć after the visit.
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