On May 11, “Mahjong International League Establishment Ceremony” was held in Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Jose Damiani, honorary Chairman of International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), Tina Christensen, Chairman of European Mahjong Association (EMA), Li Wenlong, Secretary of Preparatory Committee of Mahjong International League and other distinguished guests and representatives from over 20 countries and regions attended the ceremony. Besides, several experts in sports circle were also invited to give guidance on the ceremony.

As one of the national essences in China, Mahjong has spread all over the world, the fans of which also got a burst of growth. MIL aims to plan and manage global mahjong projects, and formulate world-wide competition rules so as to boost the development of mahjong to the trend of standardization and professionalization in mind sports. 

On the ceremony, Jose Damiani pointed out that, IMSA had already noticed wide-spread popularity of Mahjong around the world. IMSA thought that mahjong is a mind sports event with interest and enlightenment, hoping that mahjong could be a member of IMSA as soon as possible.

Wu Guoliang, CEO of Ourgame, expressed that, Ourgame was a world-leading enterprise, which was dedicated in operation of chess and card game and competitions. He was glad to see that mahjong got a rapid development all over the world and would have an international organization soon. Ourgame will give a full support to the development of MIL and promote it to be a project of mind sports.

The establishment of the Preparatory Committee of Mahjong International League symbolized that mahjong sports had entered a new era.

Note: Mahjong, also spelled majiang, mah jongg, and numerous other variants, is a game that originated in China. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in South Korea and Japan). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have a small following in Western countries. Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance. (Wikipedia)