Saudi Esports president Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud to speak at Commonwealth Esports Forum in Birmingham

Prince Faisal Esports

President of the Saudi Esports Federation and Global Esports Federation (GEF) VP, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, will be talking at an esports conference in Birmingham in a few weeks’ time.

He will be speaking at the Commonwealth Esports Forum as part of a panel on business, technology and education in esports, and how tech is having an impact on esports fans.

Prince Faisal will be joined by four-time Olympian and GEF’s co-chair of the Istanbul 2022 Global Esports Games Coordination Commission, Angela Ruggiero, as well as Michael Chng, CEO of Refract Technologies.

He will be speaking before a panel on equality and inclusion, which will ‘discuss the rise and challenges for women in gaming, esports, and the digital space’.

Tickets to the Commonwealth Esports Forum cost £295.

The announcement comes a few days after Moist Esports declined to play at Saudi’s upcoming Gamers Without Borders Rocket League event, with UK coach Noah vowing “not to associate with a country that doesn’t recognise LGBTQ+ people as human beings”.

Saudi’s increasing involvement in esports has made headlines over the past year.

Savvy Gaming Group (SGG), which is 100% owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund – its government’s Public Investment Fund – acquired ESL and Faceit earlier this year.

What is the Commonwealth Esports Forum?

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The Commonwealth Esports Forum will take place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham on Friday August 5th 2022.

It will be staged in parallel to the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships in Birmingham, which run on the weekend of August 6th and 7th.

The forum aims to ‘spotlight thought leaders from esports, sport, academia, athletes and youth, government, technology and business, debating some of the most important issues, opportunities and challenges facing esports’.

“We’re bringing together thought leaders and idea shapers from across the Commonwealth and the
whole world to Birmingham to share views about the current and future progress of esports, the
opportunities at the intersection of sport and immersive technologies, and the great things we can look forward to in the future,” said Paul J. Foster, CEO of the GEF.

It’s organised by the Global Esports Federation (GEF) and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), and Commonwealth Esports Forum tickets are priced at £295.

Other speakers at the Commonwealth Esports Forum

More than 50 speakers from around the world will cover a range of topics.

Tory MP Ranil Jayawardena, UK Minister for International Trade, will kick off proceedings at the event, along with GEF president Chris Chan and CGF president Dame Louise Martin DBE.

The hosts for the Commonwealth Esports Forum are Professor Andy Miah of Salford University and TV presenter LJ Rich.

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There will be seven panels over the course of the day:

Panel 1: Esports’ role in a world connected

Chief Executive Officers from the CGF and GEF – Katie Sadleir and Paul J. Foster – will be joined by Philipp Müller-Wirth, Chief of the Sports Section at UNESCO and other speakers from across the world to discuss esports’ role in today’s world.

Panel 2: Esports – focus on Great Britain & Commonwealth

This features GEF VP and CEO of the British Esports Federation, Chester King, alongside Neil Rami, CEO of the West Midlands Growth Company, and Duane Mutu, founding board member of New Zealand Esports, where they will share views about ‘esports in the context of policy-making, program initiatives, and good governance in the Commonwealth’.

Panel 3: Business, technology and education

Four-time Olympian and GEF’s co-chair of the Istanbul 2022 Global Esports Games Coordination Commission Angela Ruggiero will be joined by GEF VP and president of Saudi Esports Federation, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, and Michael Chng, CEO of Refract Technologies.

Panel 4: World forum on equality & inclusion

GEF VP and chair of Canada Esports, Charmaine Crooks, and GEF’s head of esports operations Tammy Tang, will be among the voices at the World Forum on Equality & Inclusion, discussing the rise and challenges for women in gaming, esports, and the digital space.

Panel 5: Esports, sport, music and entertainment

This panel will feature three-time World Motorcross Champion, Stefy Bau, and esports director for the Americas at Populous, senior principal Brian Mirakian, among others.

Panel 6: Youth connected

Youth Connected will bring together two Forbes 30 under 30 recipients, Singapore’s Ming Wei Ng, founder of Boom Digital Media, and Kenya’s QueenArrow, both GEF commission members. They will be joined by Mark ‘Garvey’ Candella, director of student and education programs at Twitch, to discuss the future of work and youth leadership.

Panel 7: The future

MD and co-founder of Esports Insider, Sam Cooke, GEF’s chair of its Health and Wellness Commission, Dr. Melita N. Moore, and co-founder at Yunus Sports Hub, Yoan Noguier, will look ahead to the future of esports.

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