British esports organisation Guild Esports has appointed Kit Brunswick, formerly of English football club Cambridge United FC, as its Safeguarding and Wellbeing Lead.
Brunswick will be responsible for leading the holistic care and safeguarding of Guild’s esports athletes, academy players and other figures. This includes implementing and building specialised training programmes, safeguarding audit processes and wellbeing care.
One of the role’s key focuses will be helping Guild create viable ‘Path to Pro’ opportunities for aspiring players.
As such, Brunswick will look to build relationships with parents and guardians to ensure that safety and security of the players are achieved, Guild announced. This will range from day-to-day practice to competitive tournaments and events.
In May 2021, the Beckham-backed esports organisation launched Guild Academy, an esports training programme for young gamers. Initially, the Academy was an online-only service, however, earlier this year Guild signed a ten-year lease for its physical Guild Academy and global HQ.
In a release, the organisation claimed that Brunswick is esports’ first ever safeguarding and wellbeing lead. However, other esports organisations already have similar roles and schemes to safeguard players and staff.
Brunswick joins Guild following a spell at Cambridge United FC, where he was recently the club’s Assistant Academy Manager. Prior to that, he worked at another football club Arsenal running football operations for its graduate scheme.
Speaking on the appointment, Kal Hourd, CEO at Guild Esports, stated: “The work that Kit is doing is revolutionising the world of esports and pioneering the way that organisations can — and should — be working with their talent.
“Throughout the esports industry, there is a real need for organisations to show a duty of care to the people they work with, and I couldn’t be prouder of the impact that Kit is already having across our structure.”
2022 has been an eventful year for Guild Esports on a number of fronts. The company has signed notable partnerships with Bitstamp and Razer, however, Guild has also undergone some significant leadership and staff changes.
Additionally, the company recently announced a six-month loss of £4.96m and saw a significant reduction in its staff numbers from 45 to 30.
