Prince William apparently wants to roll out Esports Youth Clubs across the UK, after a visit to Mentivity House in Southwark, London last month left a lasting impression.
The Prince made a surprise appearance at the South London youth hub, where he played Mario Kart and EA SPORTS FC 25 with local youngsters. Joining him were Arsenal footballer Reiss Nelson and The Apprentice winner Tim Campbell, who engaged with the youth through talks and games.
But how did a grassroots initiative like Esports Youth Club manage to attract such high-profile guests?
“It’s actually kind of boring how it came about!” admitted co-founder Lewis Kay to Esports Insider.
“The youth club Prince William visited, Mentivity House, we have been there every Friday afternoon for the last six months. And to be fair, it initially started off from a small £2,000 grant to cover us to run sessions there every Friday. That only lasted up to a certain amount of time, because, you know, it cost quite a lot for us to travel there and back every Friday, with all the equipment, running the sessions with the staff and everything.
“Sayce Holmes-Lewis, who runs Mentivity House, is a fantastic mentor for a lot of people, and he mentored people like Reiss Nelson, for instance, a footballer who plays for Arsenal, and he’s a big leader in the community there.
“Straight away, when we met, he was like, ‘alright, I need you guys here every week because it’s great and we have a lot of young people, and we need to ensure you’re not just here for a set period of time, then you’re gone’.”
Kay continued: “Essentially, Prince William wanted to visit Mentivity House because of the advocacy work. They contacted us and asked can we come down and set up all the gaming equipment, and we can have some fun with Prince William and play some games.
“Prince William came away from his visit saying that he wants to know how he can implement that across the country,” added Kay.
Most recently, Lewis Kay made headlines for joining the Advisory Board of British Esports.
