Russian Esports Federation declares that IESF will lift restrictions on Russian players.

The past August 28, following a communiqué from the Russian Esports Federation.has stated that it has held a meeting together with the International Esports Federation (IESF). At this meeting, the IESF would have voted in favor of allowing Russian players to compete. under the name of their country and flag, although for now, it has not publicly confirmed that such a meeting and vote took place.

Recall that the IESF members voted to suspend players and compete under the name of their country, as well as to ban the flag and make use of any Russian symbols in April 2022 after the large-scale war conflict towards Ukraine.

The statement, on the part of the Russian Federation, states that. 32 delegates voted in favor of Russia’s re-admission, while 13 voted against and 25 abstained.. The communiqué also states that another proposal submitted by the Ukrainian Esports Federation, to suspend the Russian Federation from the IESF altogether, was rejected. Apparently, the meeting has taken place during the IESF Esports World Championship 2023, which is being held in Iași (Romania).

Sport must unite, and any form of discrimination against athletes based on nationality or any other grounds is unacceptable. Therefore, we are glad to have obtained the annulment of the previous decision, and our team will finally compete under its own flag.

Dmitry Smith, President of the Russian Esports Federation.

After the start of the war conflict, many esports companies severed ties with Russian organizations and companies in 2022. As of today, the invasion is still ongoing a year and a half later. In addition, prominent Ukrainian companies, such as WePlay, completely ended their business ties with Russian entities.