The International Esports Federation (IESF) has signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Chinese city of Qingdao, agreeing to set up an Asia-Pacific office and bring more international events to Asia.
This partnership aims to foster the growth, development and promotion of esports within the Asian region, and the city in particular, by hosting major IESF events and summits.
According to a release, these events aim to stimulate dialogue and cooperation among industry stakeholders.
Additionally, the partnership aims to attract esports enterprises and research institutions to Qingdao. This looks to help create a high-performance training centre for athlete training and development, becoming a ‘catalyst for innovation, learning, and excellence’ in the ecosystem.
Founded in 2008 by nine member nations, IESF is currently composed of 140 Member Federations across six continents. The federation aims to bring together esports stakeholders to create a united ecosystem for the development of sustainable and responsible gaming worldwide.
The entity has regularly hosted various esports tournaments over the years, most of which typically involved national esports teams. The 2023 IESF World Championship took place in Romania and featured events in CS:GO, Mobile Legends and Dota 2. Moreover, IESF also organises business events that gather industry stakeholders together.
IESF has been partnering up with various entities in the sector, including the esports tournament platform Challengermode as well as the Saudi Esports Federation for Gamers8, which was hosted in Riyadh in August.
Last month, IESF announced that its World Esports Championship will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2024.
