The Israeli Esports Association (IESA) recently revealed some behind-the-scenes details on the Gaming Fund—launched in April of this year to promote grassroot esports initiatives and programs in Israel. The fund is backed financially by Maccabi Israel—in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Sport and gaming and office supply retailer Kravitz.
The Gaming Fund’s main goal is to provide financial support for grassroot esports programs and initiatives in Israel by paying for prizes. Those grassroots organizers include gaming communities formed primarily on Discord servers, academic institutions within the country, or small for-profit tournament organizers.
The idea is that the IESA provides support for these efforts without facilitating or producing tournaments. This support also includes giving selected organizers the rights to host qualifier competitions for events in which IESA sends Israeli National teams such as International Esports Federation, Global Esports Federation, and eFIBA events.
In general, the fund provides prizes ranging from $100-$250 per tournament, paid by the IESA directly to winning players. The organization also gives what it calls “persistence prizes” to any player in the country that completes in at least four tournaments within a season supported by the fund. These four tournaments can be with different organizers, so long as they fulfill the IESA criteria (being affiliated with the group), and are tied to the player ID in the association. Once the player competes in four tournaments, they get an additional persistence prize worth up to $100, regardless of where they land at the end of any competitions. This is done to encourage active participation in tournaments and reward those who are actively committed to competitive play, not just the best players.
The IESA Gaming Fund is a trial period in 2024, and partly funded by the Ministry of Sport, with the hope of recognition and support for esports as an official sport. At the end of 2024, an evaluation will take place.
From what we understand, the Gaming Fund has seen around 1500 registered players and 25 registered organizers participate.
It is important to note that the Gaming Fund is backed by the government of Israel, which is currently engaged in a bloody war with terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and in other nearby regions in the Middle East. The military action by Israel followed a terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, at a music festival where approximately 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage. Since the launch of the war, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military actions. On Friday, the Israeli government submitted formal challenges to the International Criminal Court over its jurisdiction and the legality of arrest warrant requests against Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, according to a Reuters report. It should also be noted that the United States, a longtime ally of the Israeli government, supplies much of the military equipment currently being used in Gaza.
While the IESA Gaming Fund is backed by the Ministry of Sport, leaders at the top of the government such as Netanyahu, Gallant, or the Likud party have no direct control over who the Ministry supports with its funding because it is a parliamentary democracy, consisting of legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The IESA is a non-profit, member-owned association founded by esports industry veterans and professional players (such as Spinx and Shushan, among others). While it is government supported, it is not owned, operated, or controlled by the government.
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in our weekly newsletter.