The International Esports Federation (IESF) announced on Tuesday that its 2025 Presidential and Board Elections will take place on Dec. 6, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the 17th IESF General Assembly. The election will decide the next IESF president and its board.
Only two people appear to be putting themselves up for a vote this year: former IESF president (from 2020 – 2023) and vice president (2019 – 2020) Vlad Marinescu and long-time IESF executive board member Samart Benjamin Assarasakorn. It would appear that the current president, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (who is also the founder and president of the Saudi Esports Federation), will not seek another term.
In addition to his time as a leader of the IESF, Marinescu recently ended a six-year stint at the International Judo Federation, where he served as director general and chief media & marketing officer. In addition to being an IESF board member, Assarasakorn acted as general secretary of the Southeast Asian Esports Federation, vice chairman & CEO of Thailand-based Kabinburi Industrial Zone, and executive chairman & CEO of Benjamins International Group Co., Ltd.
Those seeking a board seat include:
- Duane Mutu – New Zealand
- Hayder Alkaales – Iraq
- Clint Kennedy – United States
- Flip De Bruyn – Namibia
- Constantine Surkont – Argentina (see our editor’s note at the end of this story)
- Lokesh Suji – India
- Afiq Fadhli Bin Narawi – Malaysia
- Filip Soc – Montenegro
- Kaung Myat San – Myanmar
- Daniel Paulus – Germany
- HRH Prince Omar Bin Faisal – Jordan
- Yoav Sochen – Israel
- Elin Yoojung Moen – Norway
- Doniyor Djuraev – Uzbekistan
“IESF sets the standard of world esports governance — one built on trust, collaboration, and accountability,” said Boban Totovski, IESF general secretary. “With the upcoming elections, the Secretariat and the Board will once again ensure a fair and democratic process that reflects the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Our mission is to safeguard the credibility of esports governance and to guarantee that every member federation has an equal and respected voice in shaping the federation’s future.”
Whoever takes up the reins of leadership has a challenge ahead, as the organization has been rumored to be out of funding and is struggling to secure events, per our previous reporting.
Earlier this month, IESF announced that the World Esports Championships 2025 in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang would be hosted by the Malaysia Esports Federation in Kuala Lumpur from Dec. 1 – 7. IESF also revealed that other official WEC competitions for titles would take place sometime in “the first half of 2026, with host city and dates to be announced soon.”
In May, The Esports Advocate reported that the IESF was negotiating with officials in Lviv, Ukraine, to host its flagship event later this year, but that deal fell through. Sources told us at the time that the organization was facing concerning financial challenges and that it was struggling to secure a host city for its flagship championship event in 2025.
Editor’s note: The IESF listed Constantine Surkount as representing Argentina, though he resides in Russia, and is currently an advisor to the president at the Russian Esports Federation, as well as a former secretary general of the Russian Esports Federation.