Saudi-backed Esports World Cup to give six-figure stipend for club orgs

The Saudi-backed Esports World Cup was first announced in October 2023 with a view on making Saudi Arabia and especially Riyadh a capital for esports as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program which aims to diversify the country's economy away from oil. As part of their efforts to further entice organizations to participate in the EWC, today the organizer has announced the creation of the Esports World Cup Program, which is set to offer a major stipend to participating organizations.

This program will have 28 members, 22 of which will be directly invited and six will have to apply. Each member will be given a six-figure "stipend" that is intended to help support organizations and reward them for competing in the EWC. Additionally, in 2024, a one-time stimulus is available to teams that want to enter into new esports titles to compete in the cross-game tournament.

In a press release about the stipend, EWC CEO Reichert states that, "the EWC Club Program enables clubs to build a sustainable pipeline for growth of both their existing teams and additional programs."

The 22 members directly invited into the program will be chosen based on their history within esports, long-term strategy, and their ability to build teams in multiple titles. The six others will be given to applicants through what the EWC defines as a "comprehensive process" that can be found on their website.

The application process on the website asks for social media followers, where the majority of their fans are from, notable players, achievements, titles with teams, and what they are looking to accomplish in the future.

Organizations that are part of the program however, will not automatically gain entry into the Esports World Cup as each entrant will need to qualify for the tournament through traditional qualifiers.

The stipend program comes amidst a massive spending spree by Saudi Arabia in the esports and traditional sports spaces, which critics have criticized as a clear case of "sportswashing". Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its historic and ongoing mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community, women, religious and ethnic minorities, among others, and its reactionary and regressive positions on human rights.