The Durban University of Technology (DUT) proudly hosted the 2024 University Sports South Africa (USSA) EA Sports Tournament, solidifying its reputation as a leading institution in competitive gaming. Jawaad Omar, an Advanced Diploma in Applications and Development student at DUT, clinched the most coveted title by winning the 2024 USSA EA FC Championship.
Held over two days at the Fred Crooke’s Sports Centre on the Steve Biko campus in Durban on 30 August and 31 August 2024, the tournament was expertly organised by the DUT Sports Administration unit.
Omar, a lifelong FIFA enthusiast from Morningside in Durban, leveraged years of experience to secure his victory, demonstrating that his extensive background in the game was pivotal to his success.
‘’The experience I have had over the past few years in FIFA is just natural to me and I am always competing no matter if it is local tournaments or online. I think I won because I was just better than everyone else in this competition,’’ said Omar.
The champion also thanked his team and his friends for helping him with practice to get to this level in the tournament. He thanked the coach for giving him the opportunity to play in this tournament and the rest of the team for their support.
The tournament saw 11 South African universities competing to be declared the ultimate E-Sports champion. In the official opening ceremony of the tournament the DUT Dean of Students, Dr Clement Moreku warmly welcomed all the participants and ensured them of a great, fair and transparent tournament.
‘’I am pleased to welcome you all at DUT as we celebrate the art of skill and talent. This tournament affords students to showcase their skills and compete at the highest level. Beyond the competition, this is an opportunity to foster fruitful community relations. We are humbled and honoured to USSA for trusting us once again for hosting one of their tournaments. I would also like to thank our sponsors for their support,’’ added Dr Moreku.
The tournament was a massive success and filled with unforgettable moments. DUT was honoured to be given the opportunity to host a prestigious USSA Tournament once again. Last December, DUT hosted a five-day USSA Chess Tournament, which consisted of 320 students from 20 South African universities.
Reacting to the tournament turnout and its success, Takalani Mfamadi, DUT E-Sport Officer said that E-Sports has significantly grown in a short space of time and has become an influential tool in education as schools, colleges, and universities are going digital, using technology to come up with creative and innovative ways of teaching and learning.
“The success of this tournament shows how E-Sports has grown and cemented a place in education as it’s a digital sport. It requires technology and innovative skills,’’ said Mfamadi.
Andiswa Zwelibanzi, USSA E-Sports Executive Committee Secretary shared how happy she was with success of the tournament. She also reflected on the massive growth of the sport and the huge interest from the students.
“I am super happy; this is a fourth year of the USSA E-Sports. I can safely say this was one of the best venues, everything went well. The opening ceremony was good. We now have over 50 females compared to when we started in 2019, where we only had one is very massive,’’ said Zwelibanzi.
The overall winner of the tournament was the University of Cape Town (UCT), the runners-up were Stellenbosch University (US), in third spot was DUT.
Pictured: DUT student Jawaad Omar who won the USSA EA FC 24 championship.
Vukani Langa
