IESF re-elects American Vlad Marinescu as president

As first reported on by The Esports Advocate, the International Esports Federation has re-elected Vlad Marinescu as president of the organization. He will succeed Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, who took over for Marinescu after he stepped down in October of 2023.

Marinescu's first term was shrouded in controversy, as he reinstated Russia as a member country of IESF despite its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There was also concerns brought up over taxpayer funding, which allegedly contributed to much of the IESF World Championships' 2023 budget, which took place when Marinescu president.

The IESF World Esports Championship, held in Romania in 2023, was loaded with controversy and allegations against the tournament organizer. The Municipal Sports Club of Iasi, Romania, was due to transfer $1 million to the IESF's account, which was based in South Korea. However, $750,000 was sent to an account in North Macedonia. It was found that the account had been set up by IESF's then-president Vlad Marinescu, which raised questions of the legitimacy of the transaction.

The budget for the event was 7.3 million €, with a large portion funded by taxpayer money. The scale of the budget raised concerns over the justification and size of the event. It is also alleged that a portion of the budget was used to pay out prize money from the 2022 World Championships.

The IESF and the municipality of Iasi denied any wrongdoing, but the lack of transparency has raised questions about the business practices of the IESF.

The 2025 version of the World Championships in was to be held in Ukraine, but the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament was moved to Kuala Lumpur. The host cities and other game titles are set to be announced early in 2026.