According to a recent report on Consumer Insights and the state of gaming in South Africa by NewZoo, the country’s population of about 20.3 million gamers spent a whopping $210 million in 2019.

That figure was an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous year and apart from illustrating the country’s penchant for gaming on mobile, it also highlighted South Africas love affair with sports games.

According to findings by NewZoo, around 57% of gamers in South Africa played FIFA. Unsurprising for an African country with football being the dominant sport across the continent. The data shows that almost two-thirds (65%) of the urban online population watched professional sports in the six months before May 2020. This share is significantly higher than almost every other market globally.

Despite South Africa’s relative success in the indie development scene thanks to developers such as Free Lives and Nyamakop, the esport scene looks set to be where it may finally leave an indelible mark on the games industry.

“With the market’s love of sports and competitive aspects of games, it’s easy to see why FIFA is so popular. At the time of writing, Electronic Arts’ top-100 player ranking includes three South African gamers: Thabo ‘YvngSavage’ Moloi, Mohamed ‘KingCJ0’ Alioune Diop, and Kaylan ‘MBCKaylan.“

A detailed breakdown of the analysis can be seen here.