IOC and Saudi Arabia agree on 12-year deal for video gaming Esports Olympics

Saudi Arabia and the IOC are teaming up for their first commercial deal together with the oil-rich kingdom set to host the Esports Olympics that launch next year.

The gaming partnership will be for 12 years “with Olympic Esports Games held regularly,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement Friday. The value was not stated.

The announcement was made during the two-month Esports World Cup being staged in Riyadh.

The first formal hosting or sponsorship deal between the IOC and Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the kingdom’s sprawling portfolio of sports events, including confirmation due in December to stage the 2034 World Cup in men’s football for FIFA.

Sports and entertainment events are a key part of the Vision 2030 program driven by Prince Mohammed bin Salman that aims to move the Saudi economy away from dependence on oil and to modernise its society.

Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said the country “has become a global hub for professional esports.”

“This is a natural next step for our young athletes, our country and the global esports community,” said Prince Abdulaziz, who also heads the Saudi national Olympic committee.

The IOC said last month it planned to launch video gaming Olympics to try to attract and retain young fans and audiences.

The Saudi deal must be signed off by the IOC membership which meets July 23-24 in Paris on the eve of the Summer Games. That approval is typically a formality for projects proposed by the Olympic body’s leadership.

“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great — if not unique — expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders,” the IOC’s president Thomas Bach said.

Last month, Bach said the video gaming event would have a financial model separate from the Summer Games and Winter Games which share revenue with governing bodies of sports on those programs.

Saudi Arabia has hosted a swath of top-tier boxing events including heavyweight title fights in recent years and created the LIV Golf project as a disruptive rival to the PGA Tour in the United States.

The kingdom also will host the 2027 Asian Cup in men’s football, the 2029 Asian Winter Games centered on a ski resort being built for it, and the multi-sport 2034 Asian Games in Riyadh.

Critics of Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights have said the push into international sports is effectively “sportswashing” to improve that reputation.