The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced on Monday the first details of the New Global Sport Conference (NGSC2025), an annual gathering of leaders from the world of esports, gaming, entertainment and sport. The theme of this year’s business to business conference (B2B), which takes place following the Esports World Cup in August, is “The Next Game – Building the Future of Gaming, Esports, and Sports.”
This year’s speakers include executives from the world of gaming and sports from such companies as Activision, Sega, Disney, CBS, BITKRAFT, and more:
- HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan – President, Saudi Esports Federation (and president of the International Esports Federation)
- HRH Prince Fahad bin Mansour bin Nasser Al Saud – President, Saudi G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance & Founder of Entrepreneurship Vision (NGO)
- Ralf Reichert – CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation
- Casey Wasserman – Chairman, LA28
- Peter Moore – Owner, Santa Barbara Sky FC & Former Liverpool FC CEO (former gaming executive as well)
- Toshimoto Mitomo – CSO, Sony
- Brian Ward – CEO, Savvy Games Group
- Joshua Taub – COO, Activision
- Shuji Utsumi – President, SEGA
- Katsuhiro Harada – Executive Game Director & Chief Producer, Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Magnus Carlsen – World Chess Champion
- Danny Tang – Co-Founder & CEO, Hero Esports
- Taewon Yun – Senior VP & Head of Game Strategy, NCSOFT
- Jan Alessie – Co-Founder & Managing Director, World Football Summit
- Je Alipio – Director & Head of Business Development (Games) APAC & MENA, Disney
- Marat Karpeko – Partner, NVO Capital
- Jens Hilgers – Founding General Partner, BITKRAFT Ventures
- Pete Radovich – VP of Production & Senior Creative Director, CBS Sports
- Bruce Stein – Co-Founder, aXiomatic (which holds stakes in Team Liquid, Epic Games, and more)
- Kartik Prabhakara – Founding Partner, Aream & Co
- Michael Murray – Producer, Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Mike McCabe – COO, Esports World Cup Foundation
- Faisal Bin Homran – Chief Product Officer, Esports World Cup Foundation
- Fabian Scheuermann – Chief Games Officer, Esports World Cup Foundation
- Mohammad Al Nimer – Chief Commercial Officer, Esports World Cup Foundation
NGSC2025 will take place Aug. 23 – 24, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event is facilitated by EWCF, which is funded by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, or PIF. More details about the event can be found at www.newglobalsportconference.com.
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as Esports World Cup and the NGSC2025 are often criticized for helping the government engage in so-called “sports washing,” or using various forms of sport and entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.