eSports Federation of Ukraine Mostly Boycotts IESF European Esports Championship 2025

Key insights

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Event Context

The 2025 IESF European Esports Championship is a qualifier for the World Championship.

It is scheduled for July 9–13, 2025, in Pristina, Kosovo.

Policy Disagreement

The boycott protests the IESF's policy allowing Belarus to compete under its national flag.

The Ukrainian federation views this policy as a contradiction of its own official stance. It also contradicts the stance of the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Flag Protest. The boycott is a protest against the International Esports Federation's decision regarding the Belarus national team's flag.

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Summary

The eSports Federation of Ukraine has announced a partial boycott of the 2025 European Esports Championship, a qualifying event for the IESF World Esports Championship. The federation will abstain from competing in Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (women), and PUBG Mobile. This decision serves as a protest against the International Esports Federation’s (IESF) policy allowing the Belarusian national team to compete under its national flag, which the Ukrainian organization views as a contradiction of its own official stance and that of the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The federation maintains that it has repeatedly requested the IESF to enforce a neutral status for representatives of nations associated with the ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine. Despite these appeals, no compromise was reached, leading to the decision to withdraw from specific disciplines. The Ukrainian team will, however, continue to participate in the Counter-Strike 2 tournament, as the Belarusian team failed to qualify for that specific competition.

The European Esports Championship 2025 is scheduled to take place in Pristina, Kosovo, from July 9 to July 13. The event is organized in partnership with the Esports Federation of Kosovo with support from local government authorities. This development highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions impacting international esports governance and the challenges federations face regarding the inclusion of nations involved in the conflict.