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Olympics ends Esports plans with Saudi Arabia after just one year
The IOC says it decided to end an announced partnership with Saudi Arabia, following a review3rd Nov 2025 / 12:38 pm
Posted by
Andy Robinson
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ended its partnership with Saudi Arabia and cancelled plans to hold the Olympic Esports Games in the country.
In a statement, the IOC said that, just a year after it announced a 12-year agreement with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), the pair have decided to end their partnership, following a recent review.
According to the IOC, “both parties are committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths”. The IOC will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, it said.
“This approach will be a chance to better fit the Olympic Esports Games to the long-term ambitions of the Olympic Movement and to spread the opportunities presented by the Olympic Esports Games more widely, with the objective of having the inaugural Games as soon as possible,” a statement reads.
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/olympics-ends-esports-plans-with-saudi-arabia-after-just-one-year/