Keltoum Baddaje is leagues ahead in the esports world

WBS alum Keltoum Baddaje has been named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in sports and games for her esports broadcasting, forging a successful career in a male-dominated space. 

Keltoum’s interest in the fast-growing esports sector began during her undergraduate years at Warwick Business School, where she studied BSc International Management.

She was heavily involved in the Warwick Esports Society, one of the most successful on the UK university esports scene, and this led to her first “gig” as an esports host. After graduation, she began working as a full-time technology and strategy consultant, volunteering for the UK’s National University Esports League in her spare time. 

At 26, Keltoum is now a successful on-air esports broadcast host and interviewer full-time, professionally known as Giniro. She covers tournaments including League of Legends, Valorant, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League and recently joined the line-up of League of Legends EMEA Championship hosts and interviewers. Social media is crucial for success in esports, and she boasts a following of more than 50,000 followers across her X, Twitch and Instagram accounts.  

Being named as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in sports and games was a “pinch-me” moment for Keltoum as there is only one other esports colleague included on the list. But she admits the journey to where she is now has been one of baby steps since she graduated from university in 2022.

“I began on the university scene and then moved onto the amateur (tier two) league, and now work in tier one,” she explains.  

There is no such thing as a typical day as an esports host, but show days can be particularly intense. Although the esports events tend to go live at around 5pm, there is script and content preparation in the days leading up to it, and on the day itself rehearsals and hair and make-up to contend with.

Just like traditional broadcasting, esports events include a mix of live gameplay, analysis and storytelling, and ensuring this content is engaging is all part of Keltoum’s job.  

As one of the few women in the industry and also the first Arab woman to break into esports broadcasting, unfortunately she has to deal with sexism and racism.

“My colleagues are wonderful and try their best to ensure everyone is included,” she adds. “However, I am subject to a lot of microaggressions from others. As women, we’re often judged for our looks over the quality of what we put out, whereas my male colleagues will only be called out if they make a professional mistake.”  

Keltoum, who is of Dutch and Moroccan descent, believes her time at WBS helped her to advocate for herself, particularly as a freelance host who has to pitch for new work all the time.

She says: “My time at university brought me the ability to present myself and stand up for myself. There were interview workshops and help with branding. This had a huge impact on my ability to advocate for myself, to say ‘I’m here, please hire me’.”

The esports society at Warwick was crowned esports university of the year for six years in a row, so Keltoum has proudly played a role in that success.  

Ultimately, her ambition is to host international gaming events and move from esports to more traditional media. She is currently based in Berlin but tournaments can take her all over the world. It’s a nomadic lifestyle and one Keltoum is happy to embrace as she forges ahead in her career.

“I’m still new to the industry,” she says. “A lot of my colleagues have about a decade’s experience, and have even been nominated for Emmys. It would be nice to be on that list too one day.”

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