Saudi HRH Prince Faisal Appointed IESF President

Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Faisal Named International Esports Federation President. Credit: IESF

The International Esports Federation (IESF) announced that “Acting President” HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (Prince Faisal) has been officially elected as the permanent president of the International Esports Federation (IESF) during the organization’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Busan, South Korea on Sunday. IESF said in a release that he received 71 votes in favor from member federations (but did not disclose the full and final count), and that his presidential term will run through 2025.

As reported by The Esports Advocate in early October, HRH Prince Faisal was appointed acting president following the resignation of former president Vlad Marinescu. 

Prince Faisal said the following in a release:

“I am honored to lead the International Esports Federation into a new era of collaboration, innovation, and global recognition. Esports has the power to unite individuals from all corners of the world through a common love for gaming. Together, we will champion the values of integrity, inclusivity, and fair play, ensuring that esports continues to flourish as a dynamic and respected form of competition on the international stage. I look forward to working hand in hand to shape a vibrant and sustainable future for our industry.”

In addition to serving as the president of the IESF, Prince Faisal is also the founder and president of the Saudi Esports Federation, Arab Esports Federation, a VP of the Global Esports Federation, and is leading the efforts with the recently announced Esports World Cup (the new name of the multi-week esports and gaming festival formerly known as Gamers8).

This news also follows the announcement that the 2024 IESF World Championship will be hosted in Saudi Arabia.

With this news, the IESF finds itself directly connected to ESL FACEIT Group, which operates global tournament, tournament production, tournament platforms, and gaming and geek culture festival businesses through ESL, FACEIT, DreamHack, and Esports Engine. 

It also directly ties the federation to ESL FACEIT Group parent company Savvy Games Group, whose chairman of the board is Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz (Crown Prince MBS). In addition, it adds a direct connection to the Saudi government-controlled sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund, which owns all of these companies.