For transparency: Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco used to work full-time for British Esports between September 2016 and February 2021, and currently does some freelance work for them, producing their weekly email newsletter.
May 2022: Guild Esports and Man City Esports have also joined the UKETC.
December 2021: A host of well-known esports organisations have joined the UK Esports Team Committee (UKETC), a not-for-profit group set up to grow the UK esports industry.
Five organisations based in the UK have joined – FIFA-focused Futwiz, World of Warcraft raid guild org Method, the esports arm of football club Wolves and growing UK organisations Resolve and LDN UTD.
The UKETC was set up in the summer, with seven initial organisations: Endpoint, Excel, Fnatic, MNM Gaming, London Royal Ravens, London Spitfire and Vexed Gaming. Other teams are able to apply to join the committee.
Resolve operations director Jeff Simpkins said the committee will focus on positive change:
Michael Moriarty, esports manager for Wolves, added: “We’re extremely bold about the future of esports here at Wolves, and the impact it can have not just on the club but also the potential it has here in the local area.
“Joining up with these 11 other esports organisations, we look to work together to help professionalise the space and work to improve opportunities for all involved.”
The UKETC said in a press release: “These valuable additions to the group will provide additional support in contributing to the efforts of the collective and will support our position to spearhead the initiatives of the UKETC going into 2022.
“The journey so far has been fruitful and while we aren’t quite ready to share details of our first major step and initiatives, we will all continue to work hard to deliver improvements to the UK Esports scene as a whole.
“Taking on the new members will aim to improve the quality and speed at which we are able to deliver our objectives, which are improving sustainability, credibility and the ecosystem for UK esports organisations as a whole.”
“These valuable additions to the group will provide additional support in contributing to the efforts of the collective and will support our position to spearhead the initiatives of the UKETC going into 2022.”
The UKETC
The committee is supported by the British Esports Association, which runs tournaments in schools and colleges and also launched the Esports BTEC qualification with Pearson in 2020.
Reaction to the initial launch of the UKETC was mixed, with some hopeful of the committee’s aims, and others describing it as ‘gatekeeping’ UK esports.
The UKETC says other UK-based esports are welcome to join the committee, with applications being reviewed throughout the year.
There’s more info on the UKETC website.
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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.
