IOC: cancellation of the partnership with Saudi Arabia for the organisation of the Olympic Esports Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) have "mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games," announced the IOC, which said it wanted to "pause and reflect" on 30/10/2025.

The IOC had initially entrusted the Saudi Olympic Committee with the organisation of the first Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh in 2025 (agreement on 12/07/2024), before officially postponing it to 2027, on 11/02/2025. This initial 12-year partnership (2025-2036) provided for the "regular" staging of the Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia.

The IOC and the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee even created a joint committee "set up to manage the Games", which joined forces with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), a non-profit organisation founded by the Saudi government and organiser of the Esports World Cup (EWC), the "founding partner" of the Olympic Esports Games. The IOC and the EWCF had planned to work together "to align the national esports ecosystems with broader global standards."

"There is now a very clear roadmap to…