The United States Air Force is sponsoring ESL Pro League, IEM, and AnyKey.
When you think of the US Air Force, you usually think fighter jets and bomber planes, not a bunch of gamers duking it out in CS:GO for tournament prize winnings. But apparently, the US Air Force sees a lot of their values in esports. Unlike the Army, which is looking for quick-thinking but obedient foot soldiers, the Air Force is increasingly concerned with the rapid advance of technology. That means they want as many nerds in their ranks as they can muster, and what better way to do that than to set up recruitment booths at esports tourneys across the country?
To that end, the US Air Force is partnering with the ESL Pro League, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), and AnyKey. That will mean US Air Force recruitment officers will be at Season 11 tournaments, various IEM tournaments throughout 2020, and the US Air Force will work with AnyKey through their Changemaker Program to identify a member of the gaming community that has raised awareness about diversity and inclusion.
The US Air Force will also produce dedicated content for tournament broadcasts starting with the ESL Pro League Season 11 start date in March. This will include the "Air Force Tactical Timeout" segment which will air whenever a team calls a timeout in ESL Pro League or IEM Events.
AnyKey is an advocacy group that supports diversity, inclusion, and equality in competitive gaming. Most leagues are still very male-dominated, and AnyKey is trying to change that. The US Air Force has a similar problem, so it makes sense for the two to try and tackle it together.
This isn't the first time the US Air Force has taken a foray into competitive gaming. The air service has already sponsored Cloud9 as well as ELEAGUE, TBS’s competitive esports league.
“We’re honored to welcome the U.S. Air Force as our first Official U.S. Armed Forces partner for ESL tournaments and leagues,” said Paul Brewer, SVP Brand Partnerships for ESL. “We continue to partner with organizations who share ESL’s values and, as a supporter of AnyKey, we are especially excited to work with the U.S. Air Force to fight toxicity in gaming and to drive awareness of diversity and inclusion in esports.”
Source: ESL Pro League, Esports Insider