Sports | Tuesday 24 April, 2018 12:30 am |

The prize pot is SAR1 million but the dream is priceless for 64 competitors from across the Gulf who go head to head in Saudi Arabia to win just one of two seats at the FIFA 18 eWorld Cup and chance to battle for global glory.

 

The GSA FIFA 18 Cup World Cup kicks off on Tuesday April 24 and is being held at the Bay X conference center at the King Abdullah Economic City in Jeddah. 

 

Organized directly by the Saudi Federation of Electronic and Intellectual Sports, this is one of the biggest regional eWorld Cup Qualifiers with 64 finalists from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.

 

More than 6,000 players participated in the preliminary qualifiers for the FIFA18 General Sports Cup players from 28 March to 15 April, with nationals and residents from the four GCC countries fighting their way to the finals. 

 

They battle for two prized seats at the FIFA 18 eWorld Cup and the spoils of a SAR1 million prize fund, with first place receiving SAR375,000 second place SAR250,00 and third place on SAR125,000. The next 10 best players will share SAR125,000 between them.

 

The tournament is one of the championships owned by EA SPORTS ™, the company responsible for the FIFA18 FIFA World Cup in collaboration with the FIFA, which brings together the best players in the world to participate in the eWorld Cup.

 

This major rise in eSports comes at time of great change in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on all fronts. Starting with its first eSports competition and now with a world cup qualifying FIFA 18 tournament, the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) promise that they committed to growing the eSpsorts community and industry.

 

The President of the federation, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan said, “Our goal is to grow not just the economy but the community as well. We have great talent and skill in Saudi, from the gamers all the way to the designers and coders. Our vision is to have skill be the only characteristic that differentiates our champions.”     

 

This all comes after an agreement between SAFEIS and Global eSport Resources (GER) that was signed in February 2018. Where Global eSport Resources (GER)will live stream the event to showcase the first ever qualifying Saudi Arabian FIFA eSport tourney to be held in Jeddah. Using state of the art technology provided by Phoenix TechnologyGER will provide split screen narrated live streaming on its website www.GER.FYIand on the SAFEIS website www.safeis.sa.  

 

“We envision our eSports industry encouraging the youth of the Kingdom through entertainment and competition to acquire the new skills needed for the 21st Century,” said HRH Prince.

 

“It is the perfect vehicle for empowering women as they compete as equals within the eSport world. We are excited to partner with GER to develop this industry. 

 

“We welcome their expertise and their significant investment in Saudi Arabia and the future of this sector. By attracting foreign investment, creating jobs and non-oil revenues eSports fulfills the Crown Prince's 2030 vision for the future of the Kingdom.”

The agreement calls for the development of ongoing local competitions, integrate possible eSport international franchises, develop a Saudi national team, conduct a FIFA tournament in April, and create a marquee Saudi international tournament in late 2018 with a multi-million-dollar prize pool hosted by the Saudi National Team and broadcast live to a worldwide audience. 

 

HRH Prince Faisal added: “The Kingdom plans to build eSport facilities to include Federation Headquarters, a world class eSport Arena with broadcast facilities and a state of the art training facility for the mental and physical training of eSport athletes.”

 

To follow the details of the GSA FIFA 18 Cup and more; the SAFEIS twitter and Instagram accounts (@SAFEISKSA) will be sharing timely updates, streaming links, stingers and other great content.   

 

The GSA FIFA 18 Cup is an accredited official EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier as EA brings competitive FIFA to millions of fans around the world through the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series on The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 in August 2018.