The potential, Deputy Presiding Officer, is clearly vast, yet Wales is yet to play its full role or the role it is capable of performing, despite some commendable activity, which I'm sure the Minister will refer to later. But this is an industry that is yet to really take off, and if we get in there now and really capture these trends, then we can be a real leader.

Other UK cities are capitalising on the industry's potential with both Birmingham and London, for instance, hosting major competitive gaming tournaments this year that are expected to draw crowds of 21,000 and 30,000 respectively. It's astonishing the level of spectator interest in these competitions. Imagine the impact that this could have on local economies and business in Wales if we were drawing on these spectators and seeing them come from all around the world, potentially. I just think, to put this in historical terms, in the late nineteenth century, I'm sure there were many stick-in-the-muds who said, 'Oh, these new recently regularised sports of rugby, cricket and football, it's just a fad and we shouldn't be building stadia for 30,000, 40,000 people because we won't know what to do with these places in 10 years—we'll be growing potatoes there.' But happily, we did not take that attitude and we captured the enthusiasm that the late Victorians and Edwardians had for spectator sports. It's been a massive part of our culture and our economy as a result.

Indeed, the world of e-sports and traditional physical sports is now converging. There are many examples of sports teams getting involved in the e-sports, including Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, West Ham United, AS Roma and Formula 1 brands like McLaren, to name just a few. And, indeed, there are initiatives like the ePremier League that will launch later this year—a FIFA e-sports tournament featuring Premier League clubs playing virtually against one another—and the Formula 1 Esports Series, the champion of which, at the moment, is the British e-sports professional Brendon Leigh.

The International Olympic Committee is also looking into e-sports, and even some of our universities across the UK have now begun to offer e-sport courses, such is their technological innovation and economic potential. If we look around abroad for international comparisons, we can see that other countries are some way ahead of us in developing this sector. E-sports are now part of mainstream culture in South Korea, with the country leading globally in games development, e-sports and the marketing of e-sports. Forty thousand people recently attended an e-sports world championship that was played inside a football stadium used in Korea during the 2002 World Cup semi-final, whilst a gaming culture has been built through the establishment of gaming cafes. In response to the growing popularity, the Korean Government became actively involved in promoting e-sports, creating the Korea e-Sports Association to drive growth in games development and participation in online gaming. And only last week, the Danish Government released an official e-sport strategy to foster domestic and international growth of the sector with a focus on healthy environments and communities.

The UK Government has recognised the opportunities that the e-sports industry presents for our economy. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently undertaking an inquiry to explore the potential of this sector in the UK among other technological trends, so we too need to get ahead. Dirprwy Lywydd, our motion today requests that the Welsh Government examines the potential economic benefits of the e-sports industry to Wales, consult with suitable stakeholders to organise and host an international e-sports competition in Wales and report on its progress to the Assembly no later than 1 October. If we're going to put Wales at the forefront of this developing trend, we need to do it now.

We are seeing new studies that look into the influence that performance in e-sports has, such as increased cognitive functions correlated with gaming and the positive effects on mental health. Now, it has to be said that there are some concerns out there about how gambling gets associated with e-sports, but it's not core to the activity; the activity is one of great innovation and invention on the people that play these games, particularly the professionals, and then the spectators that get involved in following them.

Can I say, Dirprwy Lywydd, that I am disappointed with the Government's amendment? It deletes point 4, which I just quoted, in terms of the action we require, and I think it does weaken the motion slightly. And then it replaces item 4 with a fuzzy, slightly self-congratulatory amendment of its own. However, such is the importance, I think, of us sending a unanimous message today that if I'm able to persuade the Assembly to support our motion without amendment, and assuming that the Government's amendment, then, does carry, because it still leaves the motion largely intact—and, as I said, there's the need to send this unified message—I would still ask Members to support the motion if it's amended. I look forward to contributions to what I hope you will agree is an important discussion this afternoon.