Kuwaiti mobile telecommunications company Zain Group has launched Zain Esports, a brand that will host a range of competitive gaming tournaments in the Middle East.
The brand will begin its esports endeavours by hosting a FIFA 21 tournament in collaboration with publisher EA Sports.
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The qualification stages for the FIFA 21 Middle East Challenge began on December 1st, with the finals of the competition taking place from December 15th-16th. Finalists will have the chance to compete for a share of $6,000 (£4,450) in prize money and a year’s supply of Zain broadband.
Malek Hammoud, Chief Investment Officer and Digital Officer at Zain Group, spoke on the launch of Zain Esports: “We are extremely excited with the launch of Zain Esports, which marks a significant achievement in Zain’s diversification strategy and investment outside of areas related strictly to telco. This initiative meets a number of different goals for Zain, including youth development, enriching the brand, fostering innovation and digital opportunities on our 4G, 5G and Fiber networks, and creating shareholder value.”
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Alongside tournament organisation, Zain Esports intends to cultivate talent from the local area by hosting scouting competitions to find commentators to provide Arabic commentary over the tournaments.
Hammoud commented further on the ‘phenomenal opportunity’: “The global pandemic has changed life as we know it and has created further demand for online connectivity and access to digital content. We are confident that the variety of esports games and attractive prizemoney offered by Zain to the wider regional community, will act as a catalyst to drive our progress in this domain further.”
Esports Insider says: The young demographic of the Middle East makes the esports industry an extremely attractive prospect for brands to enter. With its launch, Zain Esports has the potential to become a major player in the region.