The not-for-profit British Esports Association joins the UK Interactive Entertainment trade body.
You might not have heard of the British Esports Association. That’s OK – neither had we, until just now. Here’s the boilerplate, from their press release:
The British Esports Association is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2016 to support and promote esports in the UK.
As a national body, its aims are to foster future British talent, increase the awareness of esports and provide expertise and advice. It’s focused on the grassroots level of esports.
The Association hopes to help educate the masses – including parents, teachers, media and government – around what esports is and its benefits.
Its three goals are to Promote, Improve and Inspire.
And now they’ve joined the UK Interactive Entertainment trade body, or Ukie for short.
There are already esports organisations in the UK, and there are also those that are already members of Ukie – including ESL, Multiplay and Gfinity – but the British Esports Assocation is distinguished by its not-for-profit status (while basically everybody else is in the esports game to make money).
“I am really glad that we have joined Ukie. At British Esports we are focused on supporting and promoting the grassroots esports scene, working with players and fans. Our projects around schools and libraries will support those communities by promoting teamwork, building confidence and inspiring the digital workforce of the future. Our aim is to help to make the UK a winning environment for the esports industry.”
Andy Payne, Chair, British Esports Association
Exactly what the membership will mean for the British Esports Association will mean remains to be seen, but being involved with the UK’s premier lobbying agency for video games and interactive entertainment can only be a good thing.
“Ukie looks forward to working closely with the British Esports Association to grow the sector from the grassroots, collaborating on building the profile of the sector in the UK and inspiring the next generation into esports.”
Ukie statement
Good. So everyone’s in agreement, then – collaboration is key, even if we don’t know what form it will take yet.
