Olympic games to make room for esports, Vodafone wants to encourage more women

It has been a fairly quiet week in the realm of esports, but we could be seeing the foundations of what may become esports as part of the Olympic games. It makes sense for the electronic sport to make the rounds with recognized disciplines.

Olympic Esports

The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic games are in talks with the International Esports Federation (IEF) about hosting professional gaming tournaments. Already, esports will have medals at the 2022 Asian Games, as reported by the BBC, so this isn't such a stretch to see the scene make it to the worldwide athletic event.

Interestingly, IEF acting secretary general Leopold Chung stated it wouldn't be possible to have esports as an official discipline but it would be a demonstration title within the Olympics. Thomas Bach from the International Olympic Committee has revealed there will be restrictions in place for what games will be accepted. Games with the promotion of violence will not be permitted.

Big brands get involved

Esport tournaments have not been short of sponsors, even some well-known and established brands, but more big names are signing up for teams and events. Vodafone is sponsoring major ESL events, and will work with event hosts to run diversity and female-focused initiatives — not quite what the industry requires.

North, the result of a partnership between F.C. Copenhagen and Nordisk Film, will compete in Adidas jerseys. The organization currently has two CS:GO teams and will see players roll out in the new kit. In the UK, G Fuel has partnered with the UK Esports Awards for the upcoming show on June 30th.

Rockets fired from London

Rocket League Esports organizers have announced the Rocket League Championship Season is heading to Europe, specifically London on June 8 - 10. The tournament will be held at the Copper Box Arena. It's the first time Rocket League esports has made its way to the UK.

The prize pool is a whopping $250,000. We'll have broadcast details at a later date.

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