The Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF) has assumed control of the United States Esports Federation (USEF), NASEF has announced.
The Board of Directors of the International Esports Federation (IESF), of which USEF is a member, voted for NASEF to manage USEF going forward. USEF is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of NASEF.
Founded in 2017, the United States Esports Federation is a body that helps organise opportunities for players to represent the US in international tournaments. It is the official US member of the International Esports Federation, though other US-focused esports associations exist.
NASEF is a non-profit body that promotes esports at the scholastic and collegiate level. It was previously known as the North American Scholastic Esports Federation before rebranding on April 6th.
The transfer and acquisition of the Federation by NASEF was not a sale, but rather a leadership transfer that was voted on by IESF executive leadership, NASEF’s Chief Marketing Officer Claire LaBeaux told Esports Insider.
“IESF felt that there was more potential in the US than was previously being met by the USEF,” LaBeaux said. “Simultaneously, NASEF had been demonstrating our leadership and exceeding expectations.”
NASEF has previously worked with IESF and was already the esports body’s worldwide education partner. NASEF’s Executive Director Gerald Solomon is the Chair of IESF’s Education Commission, and the two organisations have worked together to launch esports courses in the past.
It was due to this close relationship, NASEF said, that the IESF Board voted to transfer USEF leadership to them — and NASEF now plans to restructure the organisation internally.
“It made sense to retain the name of the org as United States Esports Federation, but outside of that, it’s a completely different management structure, new website and social media,” LaBeaux clarified. USEF’s website is currently down for maintenance following the acquisition.
The leadership change has taken effect immediately, with NASEF Board Member Clint Kennedy acting as Managing Director. Under its new leadership, USEF will send teams to the upcoming IESF World Esports Championships in Romania.
Vlad Marinescu, President of IESF, commented in a release: “IESF has great confidence in NASEF as it takes charge of USEF and leads the way for U.S. athletes in our world esports (WE) competitions.
“There is great potential in the United States to build highly competitive esports teams and generate excitement for worldwide events.”
