KUALA LUMPUR: An e-sports centre developed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) is scheduled to commence operation next year.

Youth and Sports deputy minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim said details on the operation of the e-sports centre are expected to be announced in September.

"It is currently still in the process of issuing tender and so on; we do expect it to be used in 2026.

"This e-sports centre is not limited to just one component but can also be used as a multi-purpose hall. We want to ensure that the resources we have are used optimally," he said.

He told reporters after the closing ceremony of the Asean Youth E-Sports Championship (AEYSC) 2025 near Puchong today.

Also present were Youth and Sports minister Hannah Yeoh, KBS secretary-general Dr K. Nagulendran, and Malaysian Electronic Sports Federation (MESF) president Muhammad Naim Al Amin Saharudin.

In December, Hannah announced that no new stadium would be built; instead, one of the facilities at KL Sports City, Bukit Jalil, here, would be converted into an e-sports centre.

Meanwhile, Adam said his ministry was satisfied with the organisation of the AEYSC 2025 by MESF, which had successfully gathered players and e-sports stakeholders from Southeast Asia.

Although only one game was offered, namely eFootball Mobile, Adam Adli hoped that the organisation of the tournament could be the starting point for a bigger competition organised by other Asean countries in the future.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian team emerged as the overall champion of the AEYSC 2025 by sweeping all three gold medals on offer, namely the men's singles, women's singles, and mixed doubles.

Malaysia took home two silvers, followed by Thailand with one silver and two bronze medals, while Myanmar won one bronze