Two UK Street Fighter players representing Wolves Esports were at the grand opening of Sandwell College’s new esports hub this month.
Kim ‘The4Philzz’ Badiabio (pictured left) and Shivan ‘Shivs’ Dass (right) from Wolves’ Street Fighter League Pro Europe 2023 team made an appearance at the opening, took part in a Q&A session and played some games against students.
The visit is part of a partnership between the esports arm of English Premier League football club, Wolves Esports, and Sandwell College, which is based in West Bromwich. It’s the latest in a string of partnerships between the games industry and education.
Students at the college have access to the esports team at Wolves, including work placement opportunities, talks and tours at Wolves’ football stadium.
Sandwell College currently offers two BTEC courses in esports, and has invested in gaming rooms, editing suites and enterprise pods.
“This is a hugely exciting time for Sandwell College to be partnering with one of the biggest esports teams in the country.”
Scott Thomas, Sandwell College
Kim ‘The4Philzz’ Badiabio, who won a silver medal for Great Britain at the Global Esports Games this time last year, said: “I think that if you’re someone who wants to study esports, now is probably the perfect time to do so. There are a lot of opportunities out there that weren’t there a long time ago, so 100%, chase your dreams if that’s what you want to do.”
Fellow Wolves Street Fighter player Shivs added: “I got into esports at university because I was a very competitive person. Belief started growing. Esports is such an emerging and developing industry, it’s the dream for us younger people.
“It’s so broad because it’s so much more than being a player, and I would definitely recommend it if you have that passion for it.”
Scott Thomas, Head of Sport at Sandwell College, commented: “Esports is a rapidly growing industry around the world and within the education sector. This generation of students have grown up online and their sights are set on a digital future. Many UK universities now offer esports as a degree course. This is a hugely exciting time for Sandwell College to be partnering with one of the biggest esports teams in the country.”
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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.
