Earlier this week, the British Esports Federation announced that it’s partnering with the Saudi Esports Federation, making a “significant step towards advancing the global esports industry”. The partnership’s key initiatives are to “cultivate esports talent” through “cultural exchange programmes, internships, mentorship, bootcamps, esports training programmes, educational initiatives and collaborative research projects”. The two federations will host home and away matches with top UK and Saudi athletes.
On its face, this is a normal, fine thing. Yay, esports! But British Esports immediately caught heat for the collaboration, largely because of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, including the criminalisation of homosexuality, diminished rights for women and the death penalty. It’s all the more egregious considering the British Esports Federation has previously and publicly celebrated pride month.
I can’t help but laugh readingthis tweetBritish Esports posted in June, where it said, “It’s not just a month or a marketing ploy. It’s not a new profile picture or a fancy graphic. Pride is every single day. Every single month. It’s not just for June.” I really have to wonder where the politics of Saudi Arabia fits into “creating spaces where LGBTQ+ voices are valued, heard, and empowered every day of the year, not just during Pride Month”.
British Esports laterreleased a statementsaying that it was aware the community had concerns and clarified that it had not “received any monetary contributions of any kind” from the partnership and that it intends to “lead by example” when it comes to inclusivity in esports. It also said, “We recognise that there are many cultural differences around the world and we firmly believe in the power of dialogue to overcome these challenges”. It seems it intends to continue its partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation despite the backlash.
Yes, there’s nuance to this issue – I come from a country that until recently criminalised homosexuality, though it never enforced that law, and my country still has the death penalty and executes several people every year. I would not want esports athletes from my country to be penalised for the actions of my government. My country, however, has never been blamed for the assassination of journalists, as Saudi Arabia was for the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And tonotpartner with Saudi Arabia would not actually be penalising the country, it would simply be the absence of a partnership. Partnering with it, however, flies in the face of the ideals British Esports claims to espouse. Continuing that partnership despite heavy backlash from the very communities it claims to support says much more than a Tweet for pride month.
We don’t know yet what material impacts this will have on queer and women British Esports players, but the fact remains that the partnership is in direct opposition to the federation’s stated values. It’s blatant hypocrisy, and I’m hoping that the federation will still reconsider its decision. I’m not sure if it’s worse that money wasn’t involved – accepting money to turn your back on your values is gross, but doing it for free might be worse.
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