Williams Esports: Teaming up with Loughborough College and Motorsport UK to offer Esports opportunities

We are delighted to announce a partnership with Loughborough College and Motorsport UK to help deliver new opportunities within the esports and motorsports sectors.

This unique education and development-focused partnership will support academy-level drivers along a performance pathway to the elite levels of both virtual and real-world racing.

It will also help career progression in off-track and non-driving roles, through skill-based training, industry immersion and work experience, to help a greater number of young people to forge successful, sustainable careers in their field of passion.

At Williams Esports, we will utilise the sports coaching and human performance programs we’ve developed to assist Motorsport UK and Loughborough College with identification of high potential drivers, and embed training and competitive programs to aid their development, as simulation plays an ever-increasing role in real world racing.

Williams will also enhance delivery of esports and motorsport qualifications at Loughborough, by providing access to and expertise from our esports business – showcasing career opportunities in the growing esports industry and helping learners to equip themselves for successful careers.

Loughborough College will, in turn, provide enhanced support in sports science and coaching to Williams Esports, while Motorsport UK will offer access for Williams Esports personnel to the resources and expert coaching of its real-world racing driver academy.

Loughborough and Motorsport UK will also combine to offer places on a range of courses to Williams Esports personnel, including the Enhanced Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE), sports and coaching qualifications, and blended learning programs. These are academic courses delivered on a limited timetable, allowing aspiring professional athletes to study alongside their commitment to training and competitions.

Williams Esports is committed to ensuring that we have a positive impact on the long-term careers of our drivers and staff, irrespective of their commitment to performance in gaming, or the length of their driving or playing career. We passionately believe this will bring esports, a sector that is experiencing massive growth in popularity with a young generation of participants, in line with other professional sports as responsible and sustainable.

We also aim to bring positive impact to pro esports by prioritising key well-being pillars such as fitness, nutrition, sleep hygiene, sports psychology, mental health and education. With the support and expertise of our partners, we will drive innovation and set quality standards and regulation in this growing sector.

Steven English, Director of Williams Esports, is delighted to have the team at the forefront of this industry-leading partnership, saying: “It’s crucial that the impact Williams has in the gaming space is positive, especially considering the age and aspirations of the participants and audience.

"We want to be at the forefront of responsibility, regulation, safeguarding and education on all those we engage. This collaboration enables our collective shared values and objectives to combine for greater positive impact across our respective industries and networks.

"It’s a complex partnership with many moving parts, but the crux is that we’ll each do a lot of good together to benefit those who love racing and esports.”

Jo Maher, Principal and CEO at Loughborough College, added: “This partnership is a fantastic opportunity for the college to further strengthen our esports pathway programmes by collaborating with the experts in the field, to benefit both staff and students alike.

“We prioritise using specialist driver coaching and simulators to improve talent, enabling students to transfer skills from esports to conventional racing. We are already starting to see the success of this, with one of our students winning a race in the British F4 Championship this summer.”

Katie Baldwin, Motorsport UK Competitors Pathway Manager, concluded by sharing: “Esports is experiencing a massive surge in popularity, with more than 150 million users now registered on Discord.

“More drivers are now using it as a training tool, while also embracing it as a career. As a serious performance discipline, esports needs structure to bring it in line with other motorsport pathways.

“We are confident that our Academy members will see a marked improvement in how esports can lead to a successful career, while also adding a skill to drivers competing on track.”