The Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) has officially announced the launch of the SEF Arena, located on Riyadh City Boulevard. The 25,000 sq m arena will serve as a flexible multi-purpose area for sports, entertainment and other events, EsportsInsider has reported. The venue was inaugurated in the presence of the Saudi Esports Federation’s CEO Turki Alfawzan, Chief Strategy Officer Maha Alufy and Executive Director of Esports Meshal Alqabbani.

Vision 2030

According to a post by SEF on LinkedIn, the arena will feature 11,000 sq m of flexible esports stages, a studio for live broadcasts and the SEF Academy, a dedicated section for developing young talent. In addition, the SEF Arena will be used by national competitive leagues such as the Saudi eLeague Elites, Women’s League, Fighting League and Challenger League. The SEF has also opened its Heritage Museum at this location, highlighting the federation’s role in the global gaming and esports industry since its inception in 2017.

The museum is open daily from 6:00 PM until closing on Riyadh City Boulevard and is free to visit. Guided by Vision 2030, the government’s program to increase economic diversification by generating new non-oil revenues, Saudi Arabia aims to become an international hub and a tourist destination in several sectors, including gaming and esports. In addition to investments made in companies such as ESL FACEIT Group and Hero Esports, Saudi Arabia is the host country of the eSports World Championship, which recently announced a $70 million prize pool for the 2025 tournament.

First-ever eSports Olympics

Earlier last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) teamed up with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia for the first-ever eSports Olympics. The event was originally scheduled to take place in 2025, but was later postponed to 2027 due to ongoing concerns about the format and a lack of details on key aspects of the program by game publishers. Despite the industry’s efforts, the Saudi Arabian government has often been criticized for human rights abuses in the country against women and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as claims of “whitewashing esports.”