Esports Olympic Games opening ceremony (X)
In the last two years through major international tournaments, including the inaugural Esports World Cup, Saudi Arabia has hosted over 1,700 elite players from over 80 countries.
In a move aimed at promoting ESports globally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has entered into a partnership with the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural edition of Olympic ESports Games.
This comes after the Olympics Executive Board proposed the creation of the ESports Games.
Abhishek Issar, Founder, UNIV Sportatech and Founding Member, FEAI (Federation of ESports Associations India), said, “Today, every country will look at ESports as an Olympic medal winning opportunity – this is a game changer for the industry.
“As India witnesses a strong performance at the Paris Olympics, our appetite for growth in the sector corresponds the country’s highly commanding Geo-economic status in the world.”
Players in the ESports category grew four-fold between 2021 and 2022 (from 150,000 to 600,000) and future projections estimate this number to reach 15,00,000 by the end of 2027.
In the last two years through major international tournaments, including the inaugural Esports World Cup, Saudi Arabia has hosted over 1,700 elite players from over 80 countries.
Further underlining its hosting credentials, esports events in Saudi Arabia have welcomed nearly four million fans to enjoy live experiences in the Kingdom, with a further 1.3 billion views from across the globe on a variety of streaming platforms.
As many as 67 per cent of the Saudi population consider themselves to be gamers, with an ever-increasing number, currently 100, of pro esports players pursuing full-time careers.
The partnership between the IOC and the NOC of Saudi Arabia comes at a time of significant growth of sport overall in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has staged over 100 international events for both male and female athletes, including esports, football, motorsports, tennis, equestrian and golf, attracting over 2.6 million sports fans.
Overall sports participation levels have more than tripled since 2015 to almost 50 per cent of the country’s population. The number of sports federations has also increased threefold during this time, from 32 to 98.
(with agency inputs)
