Kenya to Host Second Phygital Rivals Tournament in November

Kenya is the host of the Second Phygital Rivals tournament, which will take place in November.

Kenya is preparing to host the second instance of the Phygital Rivals tournament next month, which strengthens its image as an important participant in the emerging global movement that is fast gaining momentum and that reacts to traditional sports with esports.

It is a football competition dubbed Phygital Rivals: Kenya, Phygital Football, and will be held on November 23 at the Jamhuri Primary School at Arena 5 Astroturf.

It will come with 16 leading teams that will compete on the points of ranking that will serve as a part of the qualification to the 2026 Games of the Future in Astana, Kazakhstan, a worldwide place of phygital sports. Phygital sport (physical and digital) is a term used to refer to athletic competition and virtual gaming.

In the football game, every game involves two portions in which one is a five-a-side football game on the pitch and the other one is a video game using a console.

The outcome of both rounds is summed up to come up with the overall winner, and challenges the skills of the testing participants in the real and virtual arenas.

In January 2025, Kenya hosted a Phygital Rivals tournament at the Uhuru Sports Complex, which was the first event in the country to enter the international phygital sport community.

The first one was awarded to the Isaa Team of Kajiado, who had impressed with their flexibility in both versions.

Their triumph won them a desirable place at the Phygital Contenders tournament held in Abu Dhabi in July, where they made it to the quarter-final, giving Kenya a global exposure to the hybrid sporting discipline.

World Phygital Community Chairperson Dan Merkley would say that Kenya is rapidly adopting the sport, and this is an indication of their increasing innovation and interest in the changing sports world.

Merkley said this event will be the passion, talent, and creativity that characterizes this movement. Phygital sports unite communities that enjoy playing, competing, and interacting at the field and on the console.

The next event is also likely to bring not only local but also fans, tech enthusiasts, and stakeholders in the rest of Africa who view phygital competition as a crossover between physical fitness and digital entertainment.

The integration of esports and grassroots football offers a new inclusive, and holistic avenue where young athletes and gamers can express their innovative capabilities and collaboration. The Federation President of Esports Kenya, Ronny Lusigi shared the same sentiments, saying that technology has to be used in a balanced manner with physical health.

He said that we live in a rapidly digitizing world, and it is critical that we keep our physical activities. We are all phygital, physical and digital, and this is what makes this format so powerful. Phygital Rivals: Kenya is set to be a very colorful show of technology, competition, and community. The event is perceived as an important move towards establishing Kenya as a geographical center of phygital sports and innovation.

With the build-up, local organizers hope that the event can also motivate more youth to play in both physical and digital sports, which is to support the message that the future of play should not be seen as either or the other, but both.