Lausanne – Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural Esports Olympics in 2025, which will be held regularly for 12 years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said last week.
The Saudi deal must be signed off by the IOC membership, which meets on 23 and 24 July in Paris.
This comes at a time of significant growth of sport overall in Saudi Arabia, which has been entrusted with delivering some of the biggest global sports events, including esports, football, motorsports, tennis, equestrian and golf.
Saudi Arabia’s expertise
“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great –- if not unique -– expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement. Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said the country is “a youthful nation, with over 23 million gamers.”
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Following the announcement, “work will begin on selecting a city and venue for the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games, the specific timing of the event, the titles to be included, the qualification process for the players and further details,” IOC said, emphasizing that International Federations already engaged in an e-version of their sport that is considered for inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games will be the its first go-to partners.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
