![Esports World Cup Podcast Sporticast Ralf Reichert Saudi Arabia](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.sportico.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-09-at-11.37.35-AM.jpg?w=1600&h=901&crop=1)
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, about the ongoing event in Saudi Arabia. The eight-week Esports World Cup kicked off in Riyadh on July 3, drawing participation from many of the world’s biggest game publishers and esports orgs.
Reichert discusses the genesis of the event. The World Cup is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a government backed initiative to spend tens of billions to both diversify the kingdom’s economy and begin to reshape its arts, culture and entertainment scene. The event has a $60 million prize pool, big by esports standards, and is being held at a relatively new mixed-use development called Boulevard City.
Reichert is an esports veteran, so he’s had a front row seat to the industry’s rapid rise and fall in the past decade. They talk about the rush of money into competitive gaming in 2017-19, and hard times that followed. It’s one thing that sets Saudi interest in esports apart from its interest in other sports like MMA, boxing, tennis and golf—those sports have other backers spending billions to promote and support the sport. Esports doesn’t.
The group talks about the concept of ‘esportswashing’—a relative of sportswashing—where some accuse the Saudi government of trying to rehab its public image through spending on popular entertainment touchstones. Reichert talks about conversations with orgs, publishers and a sponsor list that includes Pepsi, Adidas and Sony.
They also talk about how the Esports World Cup’s revenue breakdown differs from that of more traditional sporting events, like the FIFA soccer World Cup. While the soccer event relies on media rights as its biggest revenue driver, esports events tend to rely most on sponsorships and licensing. The event has more than two dozen media partners, Reichert says, but the economics of those deals and the expectations from gaming fans are different than in more traditional sports. He talks about the crowd on hand for early matches in Riyadh, and how he expects the tourism benefits to grow as the event gains more recognition.
They also talk about how esports differs culturally from other forms of sports and entertainment. Those differences matter greatly to anyone looking to make money off the endeavor, and they are often misunderstood.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)