His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud is the chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) and the Arab Esports Federation since their establishment in 2017. He is also the President of International Esports Federation, Vice President of the Global Esports Federation, and the Vice Chairman of Savvy Games Group since its establishment.

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Under his leadership, the federation quickly grew the range of its activities to become the leading Saudi entity in charge of growing the Saudi esports industry. Initially, the federation focused on providing gamers with platforms to become athletes. Now, the SEF lives at the center of the Saudi esports ecosystem, to open doors and enable all that want to grow it.

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His vision for the federation is to create an impact that generates a ripple effect, evolving sectors and services that were traditionally thought to be unrelated to esports. He moved the federation from its original model of one-time large events to a sustainable and long-lasting model of creating IPs that will grow with time and provide a stable career path in the many disciplines that surround professional competitive gaming.

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As a result, today the Saudi Esports Federation is seen as the subject matter expert in gaming and esports that is coordinating government action, guiding investors, and providing gamers with platforms to compete and socialize in Saudi Arabia. It was Prince Faisal who envisioned Gamers8, the world’s biggest gaming and esports festival, and successfully brought the virtual world of esports and gaming to Riyadh, as he pays close attention to the local and global gaming communities.

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HRH Prince Faisal is a believer in the power of esports and aims to show the world how it can be a force for good. In 2020, he led the federation in designing the first-ever partnerships between UN-humanitarian aid organizations and a gaming event, Gamers Without Boarders, which became the world’s largest gaming esports charitable event. The partnership resulted in donations of $20 million for organizations such as UNICEF, GAVI the Vaccine Alliance, and the International Medical Corps in its two editions.

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Yet, long before his official role as the leader of the Saudi gaming and esports movement, HRH Prince Faisal has always had a passion for the industry. An avid gamer from youth and a believer in the power of storytelling in video games, HRH always believed that the Arab world could be the source of some of the best stories to be told through this medium.

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As the son of HRH Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States of America from 1983 – 2005, Prince Faisal spent much of his early years in the US, where he graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in 2003 with BA in telecommunications.