British Esports Association appoints Ed Vaizey as Vice Chair

British Esports Association appoints Ed Vaizey as Vice Chair

Dominic Sacco
4 min read | 12 Oct 2017

The British Esports Association, the not-for-profit national body set up to support grassroots esports, has appointed the Rt. Hon. Ed Vaizey MP as Vice Chair.

Ed worked as Culture Minister between 2010 and 2016, and is currently the Member of Parliament for Didcot and Wantage.

He is a big advocate of the video games industry in Britain, having secured tax breaks for game development studios, and was recently recognised by GamesIndustry.Biz as one of the 100 most influential people in the British games industry.

He will now also be helping to push British Esports’ initiatives moving forward.

“I joined the British Esports Association as Vice Chair because I passionately believe that esports has a great future – in the UK and all across the world,” Ed Vaizey said.

“It’s one of the fastest-growing industries we’ve seen. And as a British MP I want British esports to be at the forefront.

“We’ve got a real opportunity here, even though the industry is growing and hundreds of thousands if not millions of people participate, it’s still a young industry and I think we can really put the UK on the map.

“The British Esports Association is there to promote, inspire and improve young players and promote esports, it’s fantastic.”

The Association is currently working on a number of initiatives, including a membership offering, and is reaching out to parents, teachers and children in schools and libraries, as well as continuing to educate the media, government and others around the benefits of esports.

Ed added: “What I want to do with British Esports is some of the work they’re already doing, for example going into libraries and teaching kids about esports. So getting in with young people and their parents and explaining how esports works, and showing it’s not this scary thing or a waste of time, but has great benefits in playing.”

“It’s an industry and you can make a career in it. And even if you don’t make a career in esports, you can use the skills you learn in esports to do other things.

“And also, I’d like us to attract more esports tournaments to the UK and I’d like to see British players and teams winning some of these leagues that are now springing up.

“So there’s a lot of work to be done and I think the British Esports Association is going to an absolutely vital organisation to communicate the benefits of esports and the opportunities that exist in the UK for esports.”

Andy Payne OBE, Chair of the British Esports Association, added: “We are delighted that Ed has joined us. We have a dedicated and experienced Advisory Board and so with Ed’s appointment this reinforces our aims to make Britain a great esports nation.”

ENDS


About the British Esports Association

The British Esports Association is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2016 to support and promote esports in the UK.

As a national body, its aims are to foster future British talent, increase the awareness of esports and provide expertise and advice. It’s focused on the grassroots level of esports.

The Association hopes to help educate the masses, including:
parents, teachers, media and government – around what esports is and its benefits.

Its three goals are to Promote, Improve and Inspire.

www.besports22.wpengine.com


Contact

For press enquiries or for more information please contact British Esports Association at info@britishesports.org

Dominic Sacco, content director 07834 793627 ds@britishesports.org

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