British Esports is delighted to have welcomed Mayor of Sunderland Councillor Ehthesham Haque to its National Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland a few months ago.
Ehthesham Haque became the city’s youngest Mayor at 28-years-old and first Mayor of Asian descent when he was appointed in May 2025, after serving a year as Deputy Mayor.
The Mayor was given a tour of our facilities, tried out one of our sim racing rigs, and revealed he’s a bit of a gamer himself.
“I game all the time, I have a PS5, a PC, sports games, shooters, Battlefield, CoD, you name it, I’ve probably tried it!” Mayor of Sunderland Councillor Ehthesham Haque told British Esports.
“Thanks very much to the National Esports Performance Campus for inviting me here today. It’s been an absolute honour, it’s very impressive – there are advanced technologies and exciting things happening here.”
“I’m really thankful to the staff, the management and the volunteers here. They come from all across the country to do something great.”
On the career opportunities available to the young people of Sunderland, via esports qualifications like the Esports BTEC, Haque added: “If you pardon the pun, I think it’s an absolute game-changer! They’re learning transferable skills for jobs that we probably don’t even know exist yet. So it’s really amazing and I’m proud that it’s in Sunderland city.
“Hopefully [Sunderland can produce some esports champions of the future]! There’s a lot of talent out there. The people of Sunderland are very competitive, and what we do, we do well. So I have no doubt if people train in that way, they will become world champions.”
About our National Esports Performance Campus and links with Sunderland
Our world-class 30,000 sq.ft NEPC is the largest esports, business and education complex of its kind, with aims to nurture top talent in esports and beyond. It’s part of Sunderland’s multi-billion pound regeneration project and boasts esports performance rooms with high-spec Alienware, NVIDIA, Intel and Secretlab equipment, studios for podcasts, photography and streaming, classrooms, conference rooms, offices and events spaces.
It also features three Grade II listed houses with 17 bedrooms and space for up to 27 guests, plus open plan living spaces and kitchen and dining areas that already attract top esports teams from around the world, as well as the regional community, local authorities and business leaders, city visitors, gamers, students, youth groups and more.
Sunderland City Council has played a pivotal role in establishing the city as a national hub for esports, collaborating with the British Esports Federation to open the National Esports Performance Campus (NEPC). This initiative is heavily integrated with local education, specifically through a partnership with Sunderland College.
British Esports’ work in Sunderland is part of a wider move to drive digital skills, career pathways and economic growth in the North East.
The NEPC is a perfect destination for themed events, city visitors, business meetings and gaming getaway weekends.
Book your gaming stay at our NEPC here or book your group stay via our meeting rooms, office spaces and function rooms via the dedicated The Place website here