The International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC) and performance group Akolyte Esports have closed down.
The UK-based federation, set up to focus on the professional development for coaches and staff in esports, hosted an Esports Coaching and Performance Summit online last year.
It previously teamed up with the University of Portsmouth for a planned esports coaching degree course, however the uni closed the course before it had a chance to start. This was due to it not meeting the ‘expected threshold to make the course viable’, despite receiving more than 50 applications.
The IFoEC has closed due to esports teams ‘facing financial challenges’ and showing ‘a lack of commitment to coach support and development’.
Mark Hatter, owner of the IFoEC, said in a statement sent to Esports News UK: “Due to ongoing financial difficulties the decision has been taken to close IFoEC.
“Given our primary business model was to support teams and coaches, we were seeing an increasing number of teams facing financial challenges, which in turn impacts on our ability to provide a service.”
Mark Hatter, International Federation of Esports Coaches
“We have continued to see from some teams, including those from some topflight teams, a lack of commitment to coach support and development, and a continuing lack of them prioritising the welfare of their players and a failure to implement robust safeguarding and child protection measures.
“Given this, we have decided to leave the esports industry.”
Matthew Watson, who was Director of Learning & Development at the International Federation of Esports Coaches, and Performance Coach at Akolyte, told Esports News UK he’ll continue on his mission to support coaches, supporting the staff at G2 and also working on his PhD.
He said in a tweet below:
Earlier in 2024, Akolyte had partnered with G2 Esports for another year after first collaborating with the organisation in March 2023.
Akolyte also partnered with sim racing team Burst Esport last year.
The news comes a few months after the International Federation of Esports Coaches announced its Level 1 Educator and Esports Coaching courses were CPD certified.
The IFoEC is the latest esports entity to close during the ongoing market correction dubbed by some ‘the esports winter’.
Last week, staff at Player1 Events, the UK-based organiser of Insomnia Gaming Festival, were made redundant, with the business closing down.
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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.
