British Esports announced Tuesday that its Women in Esports Committee has added members from ESL FACEIT Group, Durham University, Ear to the Ground, OG, and Tech Her Out. The new members include ESL FACEIT Group Partnerships Manager Tracy Luseno; Tech Her Out creator and founder Leila Gregory; Durham University Technical Specialist: Esports Kylie Kendrick; Ear to the Ground Gaming, Esports and Cultural Strategist Savannah Ross; OG Team Manager Vladyslava ‘Vlady’ Zakhliebina; and esports host Keltoum ‘Giniro’ Baddaje.
The new members join of the committee join British Esports Head of Operations Alice Leaman, British Esports Project Development Lead Billie Purdie, Tundra Esports Account Manager Seriera Lavasani (Sue), Swipe Right PR Founder & Director Kirsty Endfield, Belong VP Customer & Strategy Mary Antieul, Capcom HR Assistant Jasmine Hong, streamer Leah Alexandra, Story Mob Managing Director Karen Low, DotX Talent Manager Becks Donaldson, NSE Senior Partnerships Manager Becky Wright, and Nox Lumina Director Cassie Hughes.
Morgan Ashurst, Bryony-Hope Green, Milly Clay, Freya Spiers, Giulia Zecchini, Tasha Jones, and Dominika Szot have exited the committee.
British Esports describes its Women in Esports effort as “an equity, diversity, and inclusivity initiative designed to empower women and marginalized genders in esports” through key pillars such as education, engagement, empowerment, and expertise. The initiative is led by British Esports Project Development Lead Billie Purdie and Head of Operations Alice Whorley, as well as Tundra Esports Account Manager Sue Lavasani, who serves as committee chair.
The Women in Esports Committee might be considered at odds with another initiative announced at the end of last year by British Esports, and recent activities of its CEO Chester King, as both are tied to the Saudi Arabian government, which has been criticized by international rights groups for its treatment of women.
In October 2023, British Esports announced a partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation, claiming at the time that it would “foster connections” and explore “opportunities in the Saudi Arabian esports landscape.” The Saudi Esports Federation is run by HRH Prince Faisal, a member of the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia with direct ties to the government and its many controversial policies related to the suppression of free speech, sexuality, and equality for women, as alleged by watchdog groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. At the time British Esports CEO Chester King told The Esports Advocate that he and his staff “were shocked by the reaction” to the news and that the organization was not receiving any financial benefit from the collaborative partnership.
Last week TEA reported that King would be heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to take part in GREAT FUTURES, an event promoting cooperation between the UK business sector and the Saudi Arabian government. For his part, King will be giving a presentation on how the “Saudi Esports Federation and British Esports Federation” will be supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s gaming and esports strategy to “create over 35,000 jobs and contribute $13.3 billion to the country’s GDP by 2030.”