{"id":41092,"date":"2025-02-11T18:26:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T23:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/?p=41092"},"modified":"2025-02-11T18:26:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T23:26:32","slug":"ioc-announce-2027-olympic-esports-games-in-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/ioc-announce-2027-olympic-esports-games-in-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"IOC announce 2027 Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced that the first-ever Olympic Esports Games will take place in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>This landmark event marks a significant step in integrating esports into the global sports landscape.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement comes after delays from the original 2025 target due to concerns over event structure, qualification processes, and financial models.<\/p>\n<p>The IOC has partnered with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) under a 12-year agreement, covering three Olympic cycles.<\/p>\n<p>The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has been named as the Founding Partner, bringing its expertise in game selection, tournament organisation, and ecosystem development.<\/p>\n<p>Together, they aim to create a globally recognised competition with standardised qualification pathways and strong competitive integrity.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The first-ever Olympic Esports Games will be held in Riyadh in 2027, with the journey starting this year already!<\/p>\n<p>Find out more here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qhhOQ9KDWI\">https:\/\/t.co\/qhhOQ9KDWI<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EWC_EN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EWC_EN<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NtfC85gZLE\">pic.twitter.com\/NtfC85gZLE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Olympic Games (@Olympics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Olympics\/status\/1889260615182757966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the Road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality,&#8221; IOC President Thomas Bach said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This highlights the strength of our partnership with the SOPC and our commitment to the growth of esports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saudi Arabia\u2019s role as host reflects its growing influence in esports, fueled by significant investments and strategic partnerships.<\/p>\n<p>The country hosts the <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/esports-world-cup\/\" title=\"Esports World Cup betting guide\">Esports World Cup<\/a> in Riyadh and has invested heavily through its Public Investment Fund (PIF) in major esports companies like ESL FACEIT Group.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, a <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/valorant-set-to-make-esports-world-cup-debut-in-2025\/\" title=\"EWC &#038; Riot Games news\">partnership with Riot Games will bring competitions for popular titles such as VALORANT and League of Legends to Saudi Arabia.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>However, Saudi Arabia\u2019s involvement in global esports has drawn criticism.<\/p>\n<p>Human rights concerns, particularly regarding women\u2019s rights and LGBTQ+ issues, have led to accusations of \u201cesportswashing\u201d\u2014using high-profile events to improve its international image.<\/p>\n<p>These concerns are likely to persist as the Games approach, raising broader ethical questions about the intersection of sports, politics, and global business.<\/p>\n<p>A joint committee, co-chaired by IOC Member Ser Miang Ng and SOPC President Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, will oversee the Games&#8217; development.<\/p>\n<p>The event will be held every two years, unlike the traditional four-year Olympic cycle, reflecting the fast-paced nature of the esports industry.<\/p>\n<p>With the global esports market projected to grow from $4 billion in 2024 to nearly $6 billion by 2028, the Olympic Esports Games are set to become a defining event in the world of competitive gaming.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/news\/\" class=\"contentLinkBtn\">Esports news<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced that the first-ever Olympic Esports Games will take place in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3848,3679,3700,3849],"class_list":["post-41092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-esports-world-cup-foundation","tag-international-olympic-committee","tag-olympic-esports-games","tag-saudi-olympic-and-paralympic-committee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41092"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41095,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41092\/revisions\/41095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}