With the United Arab Emirates, a second financially strong Arab country, has laid claim to a leading role in esports. In 2025, a franchise league called E-Gaming League (EGL) inspired by NBA and Premier League will start.

With EGL's announcement, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made it clear that it does not want to leave the gaming and esports market to Saudi Arabia unchallenged. The Emirates E-Sports Federation is working together with ITW Universe, an experienced Indian agency for sports, entertainment and media consulting. The E-Gaming League (EGL) is set to debut in the UAE in March 2025. The league's partners drew inspiration from the NBA, the Premier League and the Indian Premier League when creating the league.

Many details are still to be announced, but apparently six teams in the EGL franchise will compete against each other in different games of different genres. A draft model is designed to ensure a balanced and thus exciting competition and to develop talents. No team or game names were mentioned. It was merely stated that the games should also, but not only, come from the genres MOBA, FPS, Sports and Racing.

Global qualifiers will kick off in early 2025, providing top amateur players a chance to earn spots in the player draft and compete alongside international stars. This process will solidify the UAE as a leading global esports hub, the partners believe.

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Stephan Steininger
Stephan Steininger
Stephan is Editor in Chief