The Amateur Athletic Union has signed esports production company Rival to be a national operating partner of the AAU Esports program. AAU esports events will run on Rival’s tournament management software starting this summer.
Rival’s software can integrate with a user’s Xbox or PlayStation profiles. The platform can host online competitions, track player stats, record game highlights and present branded content from partners. Rival is based in Orlando and plans to open a 150,000-square-foot gaming entertainment complex in 2021, according to the company’s website.
“Rival will install its unprecedented technology platform into the AAU ecosystem to bring into focus, for all young amateur athletes, the path to the newest and modern sport of gaming,” Rival CEO Shawn Murnan said in a press release.
AAU announced last June that it would begin hosting youth esports events in partnership with the United States Esports Federation, a governing body for esports in the U.S. AAU claims to have nearly 700,000 members across its 41 youth sports programs in the U.S. and Canada.
Earlier this week, New York congressman Max Rose introduced COVID-19 Youth Sports and Working Families Relief Act. The bill seeks to authorize an economic relief fund for youth sports organizations across the country that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The proposed legislation is endorsed by youth sports advocacy group PLAY Sports. The group was formed in April and asked the federal government to provide an $8.5 billion relief fund for youth sports organizations. Roughly 3,000 U.S. youth sports organizations have joined PLAY Sports.
