British racing driver and winner of the third GT Academy, Jann Mardenborough, is one of several big-name speakers at the New Global Sport Conference 2024.
Jann, the main protagonist in last year’s Gran Turismo movie (played by actor Archie Madekwe), won the GT Academy in 2011, an initiative that saw the best sim racing gamers take to the physical track to race for a professional driver contract.
He will be heading out to Saudi Arabia later this month to speak at the New Global Sport Conference 2024 (NGSC), which will shine a global spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s gaming and esports journey ahead of the Kingdom hosting the Olympic Esports Games in 2025.
Other notable speakers include Joe Marsh, CEO of T1 Entertainment & Sports, as well as world chess champion Magnus Carlsen and Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, among others (listed at the bottom of the article).
Hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh At Kingdom Centre on August 24th to 25th 2024, NGSC’s second edition will discuss the work achieved and what is still required for the inaugural Olympic Esports Games.
The conference, being held under the theme ‘The Future of Fandom’, will focus on themes such as fan engagement in sports and esports, and challenges and opportunities in the industry, its future, and the art of storytelling in esports.
Held during the closing weekend of the inaugural Esports World Cup, NGSC 2024 will bring together over 60 global leaders in esports, sports, technology, investment and beyond.
The NGSC has also integrated the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Next World Forum under its umbrella.
It comes as the Esports World Cup is ongoing in Riyadh, and follows a new 12-year partnership between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to host the Olympic Esports Games.
“What Saudi Arabia will present next year is history in the making. What we will present in Riyadh at the end of the month during the New Global Sport Conference 2024 will help ensure its enormous potential is fully captured – and reflect our commitment to becoming a global hub for gaming and esports.”
HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Esports Federation
The news also comes as ESL Faceit Group (EFG) has today announced a multi-year partnership as the official operating partner of the Esports World Cup (more on that below).
HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “The first New Global Sport Conference in 2023 proudly unveiled the Esports World Cup – currently being hosted to global acclaim in Riyadh – so it is fitting that this year’s edition provides another momentous step on Saudi Arabia’s esports journey.
“The Olympic Esports Games announcement last month made headline news across the world, and the second NGSC provides the perfect opportunity for the global gaming community to converge in Riyadh for impactful ideation and discussion.
“What Saudi Arabia will present next year is history in the making. What we will present in Riyadh at the end of the month during the ‘New Global Sport Conference’ will help ensure its enormous potential is fully captured – and reflect our commitment to becoming a global hub for gaming and esports.”
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation (and founder of ESL), added: “The recent announcement of the Olympic Esports Games is a true testament to the global impact of esports and its status as a new and serious global sport. This historic milestone not only gives our players the recognition they truly deserve but also provides fans with another thrilling global championship to support their countries and teams.
“I can’t wait to see the Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia and witness how this historic moment will support the country’s ever-growing ambition to be the global hub of gaming and esports. I look forward to hearing our speakers discuss this exciting future during the New Global Sport Conference 2024.”
The announcement also aligns with Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, launched in 2022, when Saudi’s Savvy Gaming Group first acquired ESL and Faceit.
There’s more info on the New Global Sport Conference 2024 website.
Speakers at the New Global Sport Conference 2024
Some of the speakers on the website currently include:
- HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation
- Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation
- Andrew Chen, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
- Greg Norman, CEO, Liv Golf
- Joe Marsh, CEO, T1 Entertainment & Sports
- Sir Leonard Blavatnik, Founder, Access Industries
- Lisa Cosmas Hanson, CEO, Niko Partners
- Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion
- Maya Rogers, CEO, Tetris
- R.J. Cutler, Emmy Winning Documentary Filmmaker
- Dr. Songyee Yoon, Managing Partner, Principal Venture Partners
- Toshimoto Mitomo, Executive Deputy President and CSO, Sony Group Corporation
- Anna Rozwandowicz, CEO, The Story Mob
- Brian Ward, CEO, Savvy Games Group
- Jann Mardenborough, Professional Racing Driver
- Jens Hilgers, General Partner & Co-Founder, Bitkraft Ventures
- Maha Abouelenein, CEO, Digital and Savvy
- Mathilde Pignol, Co-Founder and CCO, Roboto Games
- Nate Morley, Founder of Works Collective
- Nicola Mizon, COO & Co-Founder, Kutur Runway, Vizta DGTL
EFG named official operating partner of the Esports World Cup with multi-year deal
In other similar news, ESL Faceit Group (EFG) has today announced a multi-year partnership as the official operating partner of the Esports World Cup.
EFG is responsible for the delivery of tournament operations and broadcast programming, and has also worked in collaboration with the Esports World Cup to support its product proposition and global marketing strategy.
And in the years ahead, EFG will continue to integrate Esports World Cup titles into ESL, DreamHack, and the Faceit platform.
“Esports World Cup is one of the most ambitious new global sports events to ever take place,” said Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG. “It’s a historic step forward for esports’ global growth, and the results so far are a testament to the collaboration of both teams, our deep-rooted relationships with industry stakeholders, and our unrivaled understanding of how gamers celebrate esports.
“As we approach the end of this life-changing tournament, we’re already looking forward to continuing to shape the future of sports fandom and entertainment powered by esports and gaming – not just through the end of August, but for years to come.”
Related article: Navigating through Saudi Arabia’s continued rise in esports and why it’s okay to feel conflicted – opinion
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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.
