Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 13 July 2022.
I recently met with John Jackson, who runs Esports Wales, who mentioned the esports Wales team will soon be competing in the Commonwealth Esports Championships, which, like the Commonwealth Games, are in Birmingham next month. I'm sure you'll be aware, Deputy Minister, of the huge economic and social benefits that esports provide. But one of the things that became very clear during the conversation we had was that these don't seem, like professional wrestling, to fit very neatly in your Government structures. They mentioned they're often passed between pillar and post, between Creative Wales and Sport Wales, when looking for funding. And, for an organisation that's run by volunteers, we should be setting up structures and removing as much bureaucracy as possible for those organisations to access the funding they need to continue the good work that they do. So, how is the Welsh Government supporting esports in Wales? And how are you making it easier for those organisations to access grant funding when they need it?