IOC partners with Saudi Arabia to host first Esports Olympic Games
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that through a partnership with the National Olympic Committe (NOC) of Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern nation will host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2025.
While the IOC has announced the partnership, the proposal for the project still needs to be made during the next IOC Session which is set to take place on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The partnership between the IOC and Saudi Arabia will last for the next twelve years, with the Olympic Esports Games to be "held regularly", which does not state whether it will follow the traditional four-year gap between events or be held annually.
The news comes as the Saudi Arabia currently hosts the Esports World Cup, a massive cross-title tournament with a focus on esports clubs participating against one another in a global event.
Esports insider and reporter Rod "Slasher" Breslau says that the IOC is currently in talks with several major game publishers to host games like League of Legends, Street Fighter 6, and Rocket League. It is unknown if Valve is one of the publishers that the IOC have spoken to about potentially including Counter-Strike.
The IOC still have to work on selecting a city, venue, timing, games, and qualification process for the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games.
“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports," said IOC President Thomas Bach in a release.
Since acquiring EFG for nearly $1.5 billion in early 2022, Saudi Arabia has kicked off massive spending in what critics call "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.
