Legal status not for profit | Headquarters Pinewood Studios | |
Formation June 30, 2016; 7 months ago (2016-06-30) Purpose national body for Esports Key people Andy Payne OBE, Dominic Sacco | ||
British Esports Association is the national body for esports and competitive video gaming in the United Kingdom. It was established in June 2016 to help develop the UK's grassroots esports scene and provide an infrastructure to nurture future talent. British Esports has five key areas of focus: 1. To fund and support grassroots esports. 2. To establish best practice. 3. To deliver courses and qualifications. 4. To increase awareness of esports. 5. To provide expertise and advice.
The organisation's chair is Andy Payne OBE, managing director of the Mastertronic software publishing group and board member of UKIE, the trade body for the UK games industry. The government of the United Kingdom, specifically through the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport are supportive of its aims. British esports will operate from Pinewood Studios.
In September 2016, Dominic Sacco joined the team, formerly of trade magazine publisher NewBay Media and Esports News UK.
In December 2016, the association announced its advisory board, consisting of:
It later added Sophie Goldschmidt, the Chief Commercial Officer at Chime and former Rugby Football Union and NBA executive, to the board.