As of October 9th, British Esports announced on its official Twitter/X account that it will be entering a partnership agreement with the Saudi Esports Federation. Usually, a partnership like this would mean a positive response from the gaming community, as it would usually help to gain more attention for the community.
Unfortunately, this partnership has received a lot of negative responses from the gaming community over the past couple of days. The reason behind this is the poor human rights record within Saudi Arabia, which goes against women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have suffered throughout the years.
After receiving backlash from this partnership deal, the British Esports Group has issued a statement defending its decision to partner with the Saudi Esports Federation.
What Has the British Esports Group Mentioned in Its Statement Regarding This Backlash?![]()
The statement was made on the official British Esports X account, and as it usually is on the platform, people had a lot of opinions. When it comes to the partnership between British Esports and the Saudi Esports Federation, there have been a few issues that have been raised by the general public. A majority of the issues that have been raised are regarding women and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Within the British Esports statement, it has been made clear that it does not share the views of Saudi Arabia’s human rights and that there will still be a place for all members of the community to be involved and thrive in the Esports community.
To help battle these issues, the British Esports Group, as part of its statement, has mentioned that it will try and focus on an open dialogue to help influence change and improvement within the situation.
Even though this deal has received a lot of backlash from the gaming community, the British Esports group has made it clear that this partnership wasn’t made due to any monetary deals and has been made to help benefit the gaming community while also allowing it to showcase the women in gaming initiative while highlighting the diverse nature of the community.
What Has the Gaming Community Said Regarding This New Partnership?
When this news was released, many members of the gaming community began to leave comments on the Twitter/X post on the British Esports page in response to this news. The majority of the gaming community is heavily against this partnership, as it goes against many beliefs.
This has also been poorly announced news, as recently the British Esports group released a post back during Pride Month in support of Pride. During this post, many members of the community felt that their voices were heard and that they had support, but now, due to this deal, many members of the LGBTQIA+ community will most likely feel betrayed by this decision.
Unfortunately, even though this partnership has been created to bring forward inclusivity and help improve the relationship between these diverse groups, it has unfortunately done the opposite and generated even more hate in the community, as many gamers are dissatisfied with this decision.
For now, this partnership seems to be progressing and will most likely continue, which will leave the British Esports group in a difficult position. Many in the gaming community will be dissatisfied with this decision to carry on with the partnership, but the ultimate goal of inclusivity and diversity is important for all genders, religions, races, or sexual orientations, and this is the goal that is being aimed for.
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