With sedentary lifestyles becoming common place, especially amongst the youth, it’s good to see a new form of sport take shape. By combining traditional physical sport with digital gaming,  the World Phygital Community (WPC) is gaining traction around the globe, and has now launched a campaign in South Africa to promote phygital sports. Much like the name phygital is a portmanteau of “physical” and “digital”, the sporting types featured is a hybrid of physical competition and gaming.

The WPC initiative was highlighted at a mini Phygital Football tournament in Johannesburg, where teams first competed in a football video game (the FIFA series) before playing a five-a-side match. The final result was determined by the combined scores from both formats.

Phygital rules states that two members of each team battle it out on the virtual pitch, while then also being part of the five-a-side match. This can lead to different permutations in team selection, with skilled video game players having to combine their physical skills alongside strong football players on the pitch.

Phygital football is one of many “disciplines” within the WPC sphere. There is also phygital basketball (NBA2K and three-a-side basketball), phygital shooter (Counter-Strike and Lazer tag) and phygital dancing (playing the Just Dance video game), with ice hockey, fighting and BMX also mentioned.

According to Dan Merkley, chairperson and MD of the WPC, phygital sports are growing in popularity across the continent. The WPC now has representation in 23 African countries and has organised 16 tournaments over the past year, involving 240 clubs.

These events serve as qualifiers for the Games of the Future (GOTF) 2025, an international competition set to take place in the UAE this year, with Kazakhstan designated for 2026. Merkley noted that combining gaming and traditional sports could provide new opportunities. “By uniting our efforts, WPC members across Africa can drive economic growth, foster talent and create new opportunities for athletes and gamers alike – not to mention spearheading this opportunity to create a continental bloc of influence for the phygital movement,” Merkley stated.

Edgar Sandamela from Phygital South Africa said the format could help broaden commitment to sports. “Phygital presents an opportunity to engage new audiences, promote digital literacy and encourage physical activity among young people. With the right support, we can make phygital sports a key part of the national and continental sports landscape,” he said.

The World Phygital Community is a non-profit, international organisation that aims to promote phygital sport worldwide by uniting physical and digital communities globally. It is responsible for providing guardianship of the rules and regulations of phygital sport and hosting the qualifying rankings tournament tor The Games of the Future. Readers can go here for further information: https://worldphygital.org/