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≡ OLYMPIC ESPORTS GAMES ≡
While not a complete surprise, the International Olympic Committee announced the rapid end of its agreement with the Saudi National Olympic Committee to create an “Olympic Esports Games” after just more than a year:
“In the last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) have discussed the concept of the Olympic Esports Games at length in line with the partnership they announced in 2024.
“Recently, the two parties and the Esports World Cup Foundation sat down again and reviewed this initiative. They mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games. At the same time, both parties are committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths. The IOC, for its part, will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, taking the feedback from the ‘Pause and Reflect’ process into account, and pursue a new partnership model.
“This approach will be a chance to better fit the Olympic Esports Games to the long-term ambitions of the Olympic Movement and to spread the opportunities presented by the Olympic Esports Games more widely, with the objective of having the inaugural Games as soon as possible.”
The July 2024 deal between the IOC and the Saudi NOC specified the “duration of the partnership between the IOC and the Saudi NOC will be 12 years, with Olympic Esports Games held regularly,” and the first event in 2025.
The 2025 start of the project was pushed back to 2027. The joint IOC-Saudi development committee included the Esports World Cup Foundation and IOC and Saudi representatives.
However, the deal unraveled by mid-year, The Esports Advocate reported:
“On Aug. 23, the Esports World Cup Foundation announced the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), a new tournament promising nations vs. nations competition, taking place every two years. The competitions are being co-developed along with Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft, according to the announcement. The ENC announcement was made at the New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”
That sounds a lot like what an “Olympic Esports Games” would look like, including the participation of major game publishers.
The Esports Advocate report also noted that the structure of the gaming industry has been a problem for the IOC, since there are no parallels to the “international federations” in sport. Instead, there are weak associations of publishers – the International Esports Federation and Global Esports Federation – which do not control the actual games (owned by publishers). The IOC has acknowledged this as a difficulty. And, according to the report:
“Ultimately, the Saudis put forward a proposal to the IOC to create a federation of its own, and then the IOC, under [ex-President Thomas] Bach, agreed to it, but when he was replaced by [Kirsty] Coventry, things shifted. She did not like the proposal because it would not provide a democratic process and would ultimately be under the control of the Saudi government in perpetuity, according to our sources.”
Now, the IOC will have to start over.
Observed: This could be an opportunity for the IOC, rather than a setback. World Rowing introduced its “World Indoor Rowing Championships” in 2018, now with both in-person and online versions. The Union Cycliste Internationale has been holding a “Cycling Esports World Championship” – first using the Zwift platform and then MyWhoosh – since 2020.
This week, World Athletics announced “RUN X,” the first “World Treadmill Championship,” to be held in the fourth quarter of 2026.
So, with several Olympic-sport international federations already involved in in-person electronic competitions, and at least a half-dozen more with true electronic games providing virtual versions of their sport, there is enough to start an “Esports Games” in 2026 or 2027.
The possibility to have an event which combines actual physical activity and electronic gaming underscores the IOC’s interest in exercise and sport, as well as integrating gaming. Further, UCI President David Lappartient (FRA) distinguished himself with his work during the Bach Administration as the Chair of the IOC Esports and Gaming Liaison Group and then Chair of the Esports Commission, a position he still holds, and could lead this effort (he was not the IOC’s delegate to the failed committee working with the Saudis).
Such an event could well be put together by 2027, and if the IOC wishes to make a further statement on building bridges between countries, continents and people, it could consider placing the event in one of the world’s major technology development centers: Israel.
No need to be concerned about whether the event will be financially supported by the Israeli government, which is busy with other matters at present. The event can be paid for, in full, by the Indonesian Olympic Committee, as restitution for preventing Israeli athletes from competing at the 2025 FIG World Artistic Championships.
Indonesian entries, of course, would be welcomed.
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