Saudi Arabia calls for equitable climate financing at UNHRC    NCM Forecast: Dust storms expected across Saudi Arabia until next week    SR200,000 fine for Saudi and Egyptian in cover-up case    PIF assets soar to $1.15 trillion in 2024    Saudi Arabia advances 14 places to 13th rank in IPR Enforcement Index globally    Hundreds of families displaced by wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, witnesses say    Republican Senator Thom Tillis to leave Congress after clash with Trump    Car bomb attack in Pakistan kills at least 13 soldiers    One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands    Saudi Arabia imposes final anti-dumping duties on imports of steel pipes from China and Taiwan    Iranian Army Chief calls Saudi Defense Minister to discuss regional stability    Saudi Arabia's net FDI jumps 44% to SR22 billion in Q1 2025    Historic Jeddah's visual identity re-imagined through global art installations at Al-Arbaeen Lagoon    Saudi Arabia exit Gold Cup after quarterfinal defeat to Mexico    Al Hilal land in Orlando ahead of Club World Cup clash with Manchester City    Cristiano Ronaldo says the past is over and this season will be Al Nassr's    Al Hilal suffer injury blows ahead of Club World Cup match with Manchester City    Brad Pitt's Los Angeles home 'ransacked', police say    Tehran Symphony Orchestra holds free concert to honor Iranians killed in conflict with Israel    49% of Saudi internet users spend 7 hours a day online    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Gamers Without Borders makes Saudi Arabia as a key player in global gaming
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 15 - 06 - 2020

RIYADH — COVID-19 esports fundraiser Gamers Without Borders worth $10 million has helped solidify Saudi Arabia's standing as a key player in the global gaming community, says the Kingdom's leading authority on esports.
Held over seven-weeks, Gamers Without Borders became the biggest ever event of its kind when it united more than 300,000 gamers from 82 countries — including the world's best elite players and a host of superstars from sports and entertainment — on many of the most popular online multi-platform titles, including Fortnite, FIFA20 and Call of Duty.
Between them, quarantined gamers played over 200,000 competitive matches, while GWB's charity prize fund International Elite tournaments drew a global streaming audience of 15 million people — and saw $10million donated to seven organizations leading the world's fight against the spread of coronavirus.
This was organizer SAFEIS' — the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports — the biggest event to date and preceded the federation's sponsorship of the Virtual Le Mans 24 race held last weekend.
Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan, the chairman of SAFEIS, Gamers Without Borders will have a long-lasting and considerable impact on the Kingdom's status as an esports hub going forward.
He said: "Gamers Without Borders was so special in how it brought together millions of gamers across geographies with two shared passions: one for gaming, and one for contributing to a truly global issue. We united a genuine community to support in what continues to be a real crisis.
"With such a young population and clear, government-backed ambitions under the remit of Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom was and remains uniquely positioned to be able to take the lead on esports events on the scale of Gamers Without Borders, and it is our pleasure to do so. To be able to orchestrate Gamers Without Borders at the speed and size that we did paid testament to the passion we have for gaming here in the Kingdom, and our ability to work well with our many partner agencies around the world.
"It was a great honor to handover $10million to our seven partner charities, to bring so many gamers together, and to be a force for positivity amid these turbulent times. We now look forward to growing our standing within global gaming, even more, going forward."
Gamers Without Borders saw $10million donated to seven global charities tackling COVID-19: GAVI, UNICEF, Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRELIEF), Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Telecommunications Union.
Gary Stahl is head of partnerships at UNICEF. He explained exactly how the $3.95million the charity received from the tournament will be used to help in the battle against coronavirus.
He said: "We're really excited to have been working with Gamers Without Borders. This young age group — where the gamers are — is a new demographic for us, so we're really happy that we've been able to collaborate.
"What we're doing right now is buying massive amounts of protective gear and equipment, and we're working with countries around the world to make sure their healthcare staff actually have that protective gear so they don't get sick and can continue to treat everyone.
"We're working to make sure children who depend on school lunches have access to school lunches despite not having access to school. We're working to make sure routine vaccination continues, because in some countries routine vaccinations have stopped, so we could see as many as 6,000 children a day start dying from preventable causes because regular healthcare system are on a pause while we deal with COVID-19."
Olly Cann is Director of Communications at Gavi. He said: "Thanks to the gaming community for this remarkable initiative — we're so grateful because every little helps. Every dollar makes a real impact on a child somewhere around the world.
"We are overwhelmed and overjoyed by such a phenomenal response. To have people aware of what we do is really heartening. There's a huge psychological impact on our moral as an organization. It's great that the gaming community knows about us and it really lifts us to know that there are people out there cheering us on."
The Gamers Without Borders International Elite tournaments were supported throughout by the world's largest esports company, ESL. They saw the world's best gamers from 56 different countries take part, and also hosted superstar names including Dele Alli, Paulo Dybala, Trent Alexander-Arnold, João Félix, Andre Silva, Liam Payne and Snoop Dogg.


Clic here to read the story from its source.