UK esports organisation LDN UTD has teamed up with League Two football club Leyton Orient FC for a new campaign celebrating diversity.
The event, known as UTD Against Racism (UAR), will take place on September 17th.
Team GB triple jumper Daniel Lewis will be joined by Dermot Bailey (Team GB Wheelchair Tennis), YouTuber Joel ‘JMXFifa’ Morris, Leyton Orient goalkeeper Sam Sargeant and footballer Ouss Cisse on the talent line-up for the event, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
The broadcast will be the first in the UK to use Sport Buff’s fan engagement technology. Viewers will have the opportunity to take part in quizzes, polling and competitions to gain points and win a selection of prizes during the broadcast.
“Leyton Orient have always stood for equality, so for us to be involved with this event was a no-brainer. We’re excited to take more steps into the esports world, and to do so for such a worthy cause is brilliant.”
Danny Macklin, Leyton Orient FC
Fans will be offered the opportunity to compete in open qualifiers across PUBG, Rocket League and FIFA on Sunday September 13th. The winners of the open qualifiers will receive prizes and the chance to compete with a line-up of sportspeople and gamers in the final bracket, broadcast live on LDN UTD’s Twitch channel and other platforms on Thursday September 17th from 5pm BST.
The news comes after LDN UTD announced a new investor and hired Jacob Harrison as chief gaming officer. The org also field a team in the League of Legends UKEL in the UK.
Oliver Weingarten, founder and CEO of LDN UTD, said: “We’re excited for UAR and continuing to showcase our vision of uniting esports with social responsibility. However it is not about us – it is about celebrating diversity within the gaming community. We look forward to working with Leyton Orient and the talent involved to fulfil this remit.”
Danny Macklin, CEO of Leyton Orient FC, added: “Leyton Orient have always stood for equality, so for us to be involved with this event was a no-brainer. On the back of our Ultimate QuaranTeam success, we’re excited to take more steps into the esports world, and to do so for such a worthy cause is brilliant.”
Registration for the qualifiers can be made via the LDN UTD website.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
