Norwegian, Canadian teams asking IESF on safeguards for LGBTQIA+ participants in World Esports Championship

Canada and Norway’s esports national federations are asking for safeguards from the Saudi Arabian government for the potential participation of LGBTQIA+ members in the 2024 World Esports Championship (WEC) to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Esport Canada CEO Melissa Burns tweeted that their agency “cannot make any promises or guarantees” about LGBTQIA+ competitors participating in the said competition.

This is after ex-Valorant Game Changers pro and Ariane “ARIANARCHIST” Lafrenière expressed interest in joining the Esport Canada CS2 Women’s National Team Seelction.

ARIANARCHIST, a trans woman esports athlete, said she has transitioned to CS2 last October.

After several users replied to her tweet, citing potential risks to LGBTQIA+ members in Saudi Arabia, Burns replied, “Canada has a travel advisory in place so participation is at the discretion of each player. Esport Canada cannot make any promises/guarantees but we’ve asked IESF to provide an official statement regarding the measures/precautions they will in place for competitors at their event.”

Dust2.us, a North American Counter-Strike esports news website, also cited a report from pressfire.no that Norwegian Esports Federation President Elin Yoojung Moen said she was brushing aside the ethical concerns of working with Saudi-backed esports ventures, while also similarly stating that she cannot guarantee that “a Norwegian gay or transgender person [won’t be] arrested for being themselves” while in Saudi Arabia.

Moen told pressfire, “At least Prince Faisal talks to us about this (LGBTQIA matters), that his goal is to include and normalize LGBTQ in esports in the country.”

Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservatively Muslim countries in the world, has a bad reputation worldwide in terms of LGBTQIA relations and human rights.

The Human Dignity Trust, a leading global human rights campaigner, noted in its profile of Saudi Arabia that trans people face prosecution in Saudi, with “substantial evidence of the law being enforced” and “consistent reports of discrimination and violence” against LGBTQIA+ people.

Same-sex acts are prohibited in the Kingdom, and so are crossdressing. Same-sex couples and marriages are banned, and anti-discriminatory practices against members of the LGBTQIA+ community are not practiced.

However, in May 2023, the Saudi Tourism Authority says it will welcome LGBTQIA+ tourists.
“Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi, provided that they follow and respect our culture, traditions and laws, as you would when you visit any other country in the world. Like other governments, we do not ask visitors personal questions and we respect the right to privacy,” the Saudi Tourism Authority told CNN in a report.

The IESF has yet to issue a statement about the safety of LGBTQIA+ members, and Fragster will provide updates once the said statement is made available.