One of the hardest journeys in life is going from amateur to elite. It’s difficult to do in several years, let alone in under eight months.
Since October 2017, when The Ƶn Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) was initiated, the federation has already held two major eSports events and now its president, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ƶn Football Federation President Adel Ezzat to develop the first Electronic Saudi Professional League (ESPL).
The prince said: “Here in the Kingdom we have great talent, and our duty toward (it) is providing these platforms where the best come to shine. We are also on a mission to grow the eSports economy and industry.
“This is a major step toward positioning the Kingdom as a main eSports hub in the Middle East and the world.
“My message to all the gamers: Today you might be an amateur, but if you work hard and compete you can become an athlete.”
Vowing his support to both the federations, the vice president of the General Sports Authority, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, said: “This is a major leap in sports in the Kingdom and I am proud to see such collaborations between the federations.”
This MoU comes on the final day of the GSA FIFA 18 Tournament, where eight finalists are competing for one of the two seats at the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier. Abdullah Al-Judi won the Xbox seat to the eWorld Cup qualifiers and Abdulrahman Al-Masri won the PlayStation.
The two champions then battled it out for the Inter-Console Super Cup and a grand prize of $100,000. Al-Masri emerged as the victor.
To follow the details of the GSA FIFA 18 Cup and more tournaments and developments, the SAFEIS Twitter and Instagram accounts (@SAFEISKSA) will be sharing updates, streaming links, stingers and other content. EA is brings competitive FIFA to millions of fans around the world through the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 in August.
