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RIYADH: As the global spotlight turns to Riyadh for the 2025 New Global Sport Conference, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, president of the Saudi Esports Federation, sat down with Arab News for an exclusive interview outlining how the Kingdom is rapidly shaping the future of gaming, esports and traditional sports.

Held alongside the largest esports tournament on the planet, the Esports World Cup, NGSC 2025 — which Arab News is an official media partner of — is more than a high-profile gathering; it is a strategic inflection point for an industry undergoing unprecedented transformation.

The event is being held under the theme of “The Next Game - Building the Future of Gaming, Esports, and Sports.”

AI, athlete well-being and education: The three pillars of evolution

According to Prince Faisal, the evolution of the global esports landscape is being driven by three transformative forces: AI integration, the professionalization of esports athletes and the fusion of gaming with education.

“We’ve seen that in traditional sports, and we’re seeing it now in esports, where instead of the team spending so much time breaking down the data, that data can be broken down by AI very quickly,” he said. “(Now), they can spend more time working with the team and adjusting, and doing different things.”

Equally important is the growing focus on holistic player care. Esports athletes today are increasingly supported like their traditional sports counterparts — with attention to physical health, mental well-being and career sustainability.

He added that support infrastructure is already visible at the EWC: “We are seeing physiotherapists, psychologists and support staff built around teams — not just for performance, but for longevity.”

Esports teams and leagues are focused on building athletes, not just gamers, Prince Faisal said.

Education, too, is becoming a cornerstone. �������� is rolling out esports programs across schools and universities, including initiatives like DigiPen at King Saud University and game art programs at Princess Nourah University.

“You see games like Fortnite being used as a tool for game development and education, where they’re simplifying the idea of coding by playing the game and building within the game,” Prince Faisal said. “Minecraft is another example of that.”

A rising global capital for gaming and esports

With more than 2.6 million visitors last year and a $70 million prize pool, the Esports World Cup is a landmark achievement for ��������’s national gaming and esports strategy. But Prince Faisal said that events like NGSC 2025 are part of a larger vision: Positioning Riyadh as the premier global hub for the gaming and sports industries.

He said that the Saudi capital is hosting the world’s largest esports tournament while also bringing in top CEOs from gaming, as well as global sports legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianni Infantino.

��������’s location between East and West is more than geographic — it is symbolic, said Prince Faisal, adding that the Kingdom is becoming a meeting point where ideas, cultures and industries converge.

“I think 70 percent of the world is within an eight-hour flight from Saudi — (we are) using that positioning not just geographically, but also politically, to say we are a central area where everyone can come in,” he said.

This convergence is particularly visible at NGSC, where boundaries between gaming, traditional sports and entertainment are intentionally blurred.

Actors like David Harbour and athletes like Nick Kyrgios are part of this world now, Prince Faisal said. You will also see influencers, film stars and esports players in the same room — because at the heart of it, these are all forms of human connection and passion.

From launchpad to legacy: Driving cross-sector innovation

Beyond spectacle, NGSC and the Esports World Cup are laying the foundation for long-term collaboration. Prince Faisal sees the events as launchpads for investment, cross-sector partnerships and grassroots development.

“There are a lot of introductions that were made last year at NGSC that are coming to fruition this year,” he said. “So, you’re going to see some memoranda of understanding signed, some announcements made, whether it be funds or whether it be different investments or different things that are happening not just in ��������, MENA-wide, but also international.”

A major emphasis is on Saudi youth. New partnerships with the Ministry of Education will expand esports leagues and curricula nationwide. The Saudi Sports Academy and university programs aim to create a talent pipeline not only for esports athletes, but also for game developers, analysts, marketers and entrepreneurs.

Prince Faisal said that the ambition to create a sustainable industry lies at the heart of the federation’s work.

Shaping the narrative, inspiring a generation

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of this new esports frontier is its cultural resonance. Prince Faisal shared the story of an 11-year-old chess prodigy who met Magnus Carlsen at the Esports World Cup — a moment he described as emblematic of ��������’s ambition.

“When you talk about the next generation, this is a young boy who knows the moves. He was arguing with the players, saying ‘you opened up with this,’ and ‘you should have done this more often,’ and ‘you use this your whole career,’ and it was so much fun to see.”

That young boy walked away inspired and determined to carve his own path in the world of chess, Prince Faisal said, adding that the federation hopes to build that kind of inspiration across gaming, chess, esports — whatever the field.

By 2030, �������� aims to be top of mind for anyone pursuing a career in gaming or esports — on par with the traditional tech or sports capitals of the world.

Prince Faisal said that he wants people to come to the Kingdom not just for oil or finance, but because this is where esports lives. And more than that, he wants to help esports athletes reach the same iconic status as traditional sports legends.

“If we can help position an esports athlete to be in a similar position to someone like Michael Jordan in the NBA, where he transcended basketball, and he has sneakers that have become a cultural icon.

“When we have an esports athlete that has something outside of esports that transcends esports (like Jordan did for basketball), that’s where esports will have made it for me at the same level as a traditional sport.”

Looking ahead

From its rapid infrastructure buildout to its human-centric investments, ��������’s gaming and esports vision is bold, inclusive and forward-looking. With NGSC 2025 and the Esports World Cup as its flagship platforms, the Kingdom is not merely taking part in the global esports boom — it is helping define what comes next.

“Having all of these people be a part of what we do at the NGSC and the EWC is a showcase that at our core, all of these different activities come down to people,” Prince Faisal said. “That’s what blurs the boundaries between traditional sports, esports and entertainment.”

RIYADH: Walking onto a stage to thousands of people cheering and screaming is something most of us can only dream of. But for musicians, athletes, and esports players, it is part of the job.

British singer-songwriter Tom Grennan, visiting Riyadh for the first time for Esports World Cup 2025, said he was blown away by the support of the fans cheering on their favorite players.

“I watched people playing Call of Duty today. My experience of Call of Duty is sitting on an Xbox in my bedroom — their experience is sitting in front of 2,000 people,” he said. “They’re singing like football fans. There are flags everywhere. It’s crazy. It’s beautiful, it’s wicked to see a new thing bubbling and I can already tell it’s going to be massive.”

The scale of the Esports World Cup can be overwhelming for first-time visitors, with state-of-the-art arenas, numerous activities and entertainments, and thousands of fans from all over the world buzzing with excitement.

“I’ve walked into a playground full of exciting, amazing new technology. To be honest I am gobsmacked by the scale of it,” said Grennan. “Seeing fans walking around with different teams’ shirts on, there are conversations going on between fans about who’s the star player.

“I think it’s amazing to see the people playing, who love it, who probably started in their bedroom and didn’t think this was going to happen, now they’ve got thousands of other kids who aspire to be them. It’s cool.”

Esports has caught the world’s imagination partly because of the players’ authenticity and accessibility of the platform. While elite athletes now compete in packed arenas, their journeys began at home, driven by a love of the game.

Grennan experienced a similar journey, progressing from humble beginnings to the top of the charts.

“I started when I was playing pubs in front of nobody and I was doing open mic nights,” he recalled. “I was doing it because I loved it. I wasn’t thinking about a record deal, I wasn’t thinking about selling records, I was doing it because that was my release, that was how I could communicate with people.

“These players … probably didn’t think all this was possible five years ago, and now obviously it is, they must just be like ‘wow’. All the hard work, the arguments with parents, telling them ‘this is what I want to do, this is what I love to do’ — it’s all paying off for them. It’s amazing.”

Music has become a huge part of the Esports World Cup, uniting communities from around the world and providing a soundtrack to the summer as the tournaments unfold.

The Esports World Cup 2025 Song of the Year brought together artists from diverse genres to create “Til My Fingers Bleed,” a collaboration between Dino from SEVENTEEN, Duckwrth, and Telle from The Word Alive.

Grennan said he was impressed by the ambition of the artists and said the track perfectly suited the event, getting fans and players amped up and ready to compete.

“Bringing three genres in and mixing them up is very creative,” he said. “K-Pop is one of the biggest, if not the biggest genre of music, and I think that when you’re listening to the song, you feel like you’re going to war. You feel like you’re about to go into battle, and that’s the aim of the game isn’t it? You’re battling and you want to feel that pump and that hype. I’m really into it and I think bringing those genres together and that mixture is really cool and hits three different fanbases, so it’s smart.”

Many video game franchises integrate music into the playing experience, offering players immersive soundtracks. In a full circle moment, Grennan’s song “Found What I’ve Been Looking For” was included on the FIFA 18 soundtrack, a franchise he remembers playing from an early age.

When pressed to pick five of his songs he would like included on an EA Sports FC soundtrack, Grennan is reluctant to sing his own praises.

“I’d put a different range of music, I’d put some hip hop on there, some indie classics, some heavy metal to get people in the mood. I listen to so much different music,” he said.

“If I had to put five of my own songs on the soundtrack I’d take it back to 2018 with ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking For’. For the rest, I’d choose ‘Sober,’ ‘Little Bit Of Love,’ ‘Lonely Dancer’ and ‘Shadows on the Ceiling’.”

The Esports World Cup 2025 continues until Aug. 24, with upcoming tournaments including Call of Duty: Warzone, Rocket League, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and EA Sports FC 25.