FIA reveals their first official sim racing event
9 November 2025
Since its inauguration all the way back in 1904, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (better known as simply “the FIA”) has grown into one of the leading international governing bodies of motor sports in the world. Therefore, their recent announcement of the MENA Esports Championship 2025 is rather big news in the international esports world. It represents, after all, the first sim racing event ever that is officially sanctioned by the FIA. The event will make use of the FIA International Sporting Code and is set to take place from Thursday, November 13th, to Saturday, November 15th, in Amman (Jordan).
MENA Esports Championship 2025
It sounds a tad unbelievable, because the FIA is known worldwide and sim racing has been one of the biggest growers in the world of international esports in the past year, but the organization has never run an official race under their own name. Until now that is, because the Paris-based governing body has officially announced the MENA Esports Championship 2025 as the first sim racing event to be organized under the FIA umbrella.
“We are delighted to present the FIA MENA Esports Championship, which will further raise the profile of this thriving motor sport discipline both at regional level and on a global scale,” says Niroshan Pereira, President of the FIA’s Esports Commission, “This is an excellent example of ASN development and growth, and reinforces the FIA’s steadfast commitment to doubling international motor sport participation by focusing closely on grassroots disciplines. It is also the result of many years of hard work and a pioneering vision, for which we congratulate everybody who has played a part. We look forward to following the competition and to welcoming the winner in Tashkent at the end of the year.”
FIA International Sporting Code
Earlier, we mentioned the FIA International Sporting Code, which is a set of general rules and regulations for four-wheel motorsport established by the organization. Organizing any event under the FIA name means that the event will be played and judged according to that same set of rules and regulations. Like that, the upcoming MENA Esports Championship 2025 will be the first sim racing event to make use of the FIA International Sporting Code.
Racing according to the FIA rules is more than just mentioning the rules and adapting the event regulations. In order to correctly adhere to the FIA International Sporting Code, the organization behind the MENA Esports Championship 2025 will appoint a dedicated race director and two international stewards to oversee the competition. On top of that, a sporting coordinator will be included as well to help define the official sporting regulations.
2025 FIA Awards
Qualifiers for the MENA Esports Championship 2025 have already started with forty (40) drivers competing in regional sessions for a spot at the main event. The best 24 drivers will appear on Gran Turismo 7 in Amman in November. The winner of the MENA Esports Championship 2025 will receive an invitation to the 2026 FIA Awards, which are set to be held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Friday, December 12th, 2025.