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.



Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
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Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv's game against Besiktas in the Europa League was played without incident before empty stands in Hungary on Thursday, with the stadium closed to fans over security concerns following attacks on Israeli supporters in Amsterdam this month.
Maccabi won the game 3-1 on a cold and rainy evening in Debrecen, Hungary's second-largest city. Groups of police patrolled outside the stadium but security levels did not appear overwhelming in the city of around 200,000 residents, The Associated Press reported.
After the match, Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic said playing in front of an empty stadium without fans is always a struggle for the team.
“We play football because of the fans, to give them some pleasure, some excite(ment) and to be together,” he said.
Israel’s soccer teams play domestic games at home despite the Israel-Hamas war. But European soccer body UEFA has ruled that the war in Gaza means Israel cannot host international games.
The Thursday match was Maccabi’s first in Europe since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands on Nov. 7 in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
Before that match in Amsterdam, a large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans, and later, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to the city's mayor.
Five people were treated in hospitals and police detained dozens of people.
Even before the Amsterdam attacks, the European soccer body UEFA announced that Thursday’s Europa League match, originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul, would be moved to a neutral venue “following a decision by the Turkish authorities.”
Hungary, which has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team since the war in Gaza began, agreed to host the game.