London Mayor Sadiq Khan turns to esports to address youth unemployment

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, will utilize esports in an attempt to address youth employment in the capital of England.

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He has tapped UK-based organization LDN UTD to host digital skills workshops, an inter-borough tournament, and talks from esports personalities and talent.

Staffordshire University, Salford University, and the University of East London will all host workshops and feature appearances from the likes of FaZe Tass.

The initiative will bring together young people from London boroughs Hackney, Kingston, Lambeth, and Lewisham. The workshops include topics such as video editing, social media management, and graphic design.

LDN UTD may also offer some participants work experience or an internship to give them practical experience in esports.

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The LDN UTD Inter-Borough Esports Championships will combine “the power of esports and education to tackle rising rates of youth employment.”

The tournament will take place on both FIFA 21 and NBA 2K, starting on December 5 and crowning champions on December 19. FIFA content creator Rambo will host the event, which will be broadcast on Twitch.

“The growth of esports over the past 12 months has been considerable,” said Sadiq Khan, the Major of London. “The industry is generating millions of pounds for our economy, as well as creating much needed jobs for our community, particularly here in London. With that growth comes a level of responsibility, and I am proud that my Sport Unites programme is able to help fund LDN UTD, an organisation who are using their platform and the power of esports.”

LDN UTD have previously worked with grime recording artist P Money to raise awareness of the issue of knife crime in Lewisham, hosted a FIFA competition to address loneliness during lockdown, and partnered with football club Leyton Orient to celebrate diversity in gaming.