Saudi Esports Federation President: We Seek to Establish the Kingdom as Global Hub for the Industry

Saudi Esports Federation President: We Seek to Establish the Kingdom as Global Hub for the Industry
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Saudi Esports Federation President: We Seek to Establish the Kingdom as Global Hub for the Industry

Saudi Esports Federation President: We Seek to Establish the Kingdom as Global Hub for the Industry

Saudi Esports Federation President Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz highlighted the strong connection between esports and traditional sports in terms of engagement, spectatorship, and participation.
Prince Faisal made these remarks during a plenary session titled "How Will Esports Create a New Global Olympic Arena" at the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII8) conference, currently underway in Riyadh.
He also emphasized the importance of establishing key performance indicators to position Saudi Arabia as a global esports hub.
Prince Faisal stated: "We have a number of initiatives that contribute to facilitating dialogue between the public and private sectors and the growth of the businesses we seek. These include a company affiliated with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) that leads our investments, a fund within the National Development Fund, and a federation that works with professional players in local competitions and competes in international competitions."

He emphasized the importance of establishing an esports authority to establish the national policy for esports.
The president of the Saudi Esports Federation discussed the growth of the esports sector and the integration of esports with artificial intelligence.



Brazil's Botafogo Advances to its 1st Copa Libertadores Final

John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024.  EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024. EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
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Brazil's Botafogo Advances to its 1st Copa Libertadores Final

John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024.  EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024. EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ

Brazil’s Botafogo advanced to its first Copa Libertadores final on Wednesday despite a 3-1 loss at Uruguay's Penarol. The Rio de Janeiro side had won the first leg of its semifinal 5-0.
Botafogo's rival in the Nov. 30 decider in Buenos Aires will be fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, which reached the final after a 0-0 draw at Argentina’s River Plate on Tuesday and after a 3-0 win in the first leg.
Botafogo rested many of its starters because of the big advantage, including national team strikers Luiz Henrique and Igor Jesus, The Associated Press reported.
Jaime Báez scored Penarol's first two goals. The first came from long distance in the 31st minute and the second in the 66th from the edge of the box. By then, the hosts were one man down due to an unusual red card.
Goalkeeper Washington Aguerre was sent off during the break after intentionally stepping on the foot of Botafogo goalie John. Botafogo lost a player in the 69th minute when Mateo Ponte received his second yellow only seconds after he got his first.
World Cup champion Thiago Almada was brought in by Botafogo in the second half and scored for the visiting team from close range in the 88th minute. One minute later, also from close range, Penarol's Facundo Batista netted the third goal for the Uruguayan team.
Brazilian teams have won the tournament for the past five years. The final will be played at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires.
Atletico’s win on Tuesday also affected the race to be the last South American qualifier for the 2025 Club World Cup, as it eliminated Olimpia of Paraguay from contention.
Olimpia would have advanced to the 32-team tournament in the United States had River Plate won this Copa Libertadores edition. River Plate already qualified based on its consistent results in the continental competition across four seasons.
FIFA will make the draw for the June 15-July 13 tournament on a date in early December it has not yet confirmed.
Also on Wednesday, Brazil's Cruzeiro advanced to the Copa Sudamericana final with a 1-0 win at Argentina's Lanus. Their first leg ended 1-1 last week.
Cruzeiro could face another Brazilian team in the decider of South America's second most prestigious club tournament.
Corinthians, the club of Dutch striker Memphis Depay, will take on Argentina's Racing in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Their first leg in Sao Paulo finished 2-2.