stc signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS), as a strategic partner and digital enabler in the field of games, electronic and mental sports, and joint media communication activities for the agreed initiatives.
stc launched the stcplay platform—as a new product—on the sidelines of the signing of the MoU, in the presence of a delegation from the SAFEIS visiting the Digital Operations Control Center. The delegation listened to a detailed presentation on stc’s capabilities as a digital enabler with regards to following up the operational data of electronic games on its network, in addition to the most important and most prominent improvements made by the company to improve customers’ and gamers’ experience.
The stcplay platform hosts SAFEIS’s activities and participates in the games supported by the latter, in addition to being the main sponsor and digital enabler of the Saudi Electronic League, which is organized by SAFEIS, in line with the platform’s vision that aims to lead a community of electronic gaming enthusiasts and professionals in the Middle East and North Africa by providing innovative services to better meet the needs of players, while adding a new dimension to the gamer experience and the electronic sports and games sector.
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of stc’s Board of Directors, explained that the agreement reflects stc’s commitment to play a leading role nationally in digital empowerment for various governmental and private sectors, in parallel with the goals set by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, particularly in the field of digital transformation. He pointed out that stcplay will be a digital platform that contributes to enriching the company’s customer experiences, especially among youth.
Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of SAFEIS, thanked stc for launching the stcplay platform. “We are proud of the presence of such companies participating in the field of e-sports and SAFEIS is striving to support Saudi electronic platform startups to enable them in this field,” he said.
He also added that stcplay poses as a model of what we hope to see in the future, i.e., to support e-sports and the players’ environment by major companies such as stc, and went on to point out that projects like stcplay are no surprise coming from stc—being the dedicated supporter of youth and society. “We hope this partnership will ultimately ameliorate the players’ environment,” he remarked.
Prince Faisal indicated that SAFEIS will work in cooperation with stc on future plans for activities and initiatives, and will hold a periodic workshop on issues related to games and electronic sports, as the sponsor of all electronic sports.
For his part, the stc Group CEO, Eng. Olayan bin Mohammed Al-Wetaid, affirmed that the stcplay platform will provide users with the opportunity to compete in e-sports tournaments designed for the electronic gaming community, enrich content related to games and communication with other players, alongside the innovative features designed to provide the best experience for the electronic gaming community, pointing out that players will be able to create a profile and register using a variety of different methods, in addition to searching, joining and creating tournaments for different games, as well as providing a personal control panel, with the ability of following up, receiving notifications and communicating with other players.
“stc is assessing opportunities to participate in the establishment of activities, initiatives and tournaments with SAFEIS, as it is the strategic partner and the digital enabler in providing communications and information technology services, digital solutions, cloud and infrastructure,” he added. Al-Wetaid indicated that the stcplay platform targets hobbyists and professional players to provide many services, such as participating in tournaments, winning prizes and meeting new players.
It is noteworthy that SAFEIS is classified as a regulatory and supervisory body, aiming to sponsor and improve the best electronic and mental sports players to enable them to reach the highest global ranks. Moreover, SAFEIS aims to plot the Kingdom a major and global destination for electronic and mental sports by organizing local and international tournaments in this domain.
