Tom Dore has been appointed as the new Managing Director of National Student Esports (NSE), as the organisation enters its next phase under the operational management of the British Esports Federation.
The appointment, effective from January 13th 2026, is a direct result of the acquisition of NSE by the Esports Global fund in November 2025, which saw British Esports appointed to operate NSE. Dore transitions into the role via a secondment from British Esports, where he has worked since 2017, and will also retain a voluntary position there to ensure close collaboration. He succeeds Alex Coulson, who will remain in a consultancy capacity.
This move reinforces the strategic goal of creating a unified student esports pathway from schools to universities by merging the ecosystems of NSE and British Esports. The partnership aims to drive greater student engagement and develop future-ready skills through one of Europe’s largest connected student gaming networks.
“I would like to thank Alex for his leadership and contribution to NSE,” said Tom Dore in a press release. “Moving forwards, I am excited to work with the team to build on their existing success and lead NSE on the next stage of its development, working with a range of brands and industry stakeholders to create even more opportunities for students to meet, play and compete.”
The context for this leadership shift stems from the acquisition completed in late 2025, where Esports Global – an investment fund backed by the Alshaya family and targeting $50m in industry investments – purchased NSE from the Benchmark Group. British Esports was subsequently tasked with managing NSE’s operations, combining resources and communities. The acquisition brought together NSE’s British University Esports Championship (BUEC), which involved 17,800 players last year, with British Esports’ school and college-level Student Champs.
The integration is already operational, coinciding with the current BUEC and Student Champs seasons. All existing NSE staff have been retained, and the BUEC continues as normal. The long-term objective, as stated by Esports Global CEO Dave Martin during the acquisition, is to “create a unified pathway from school to college to university that empowers talent and raises the bar for student esports in our region.”
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