The Esports World Cup Foundation and international sports apparel brand adidas announced Thursday a new partnership tied to the upcoming Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the terms of this deal adidas has been named the official merchandise sponsor of the Esports World Cup, and will provide esports athletes and Esports World Cup ushers, access control personnel, and other crew members with exclusive, co-branded premium kits.
“Building on the success of our Gamers8 partnership, adidas is thrilled to join forces with the Esports World Cup, a global leader in esports and gaming,” said Bilal Fares, SVP & General Manager Middle East, North Africa, Ukraine, Central Asia, and The Caucasus, adidas. “Our return to Riyadh underscores our commitment to this dynamic community. This collaboration highlights adidas’ dedication to the Kingdom’s growing gaming scene and our ongoing exploration of sports and entertainment.”
While it was not stated in the announcement, it is highly likely the adidas branding will appear throughout venues, during broadcasts, and on staff jerseys. A spokesperson for the Esports World Cup Foundation told The Esports Advocate that esports organizations will still be able to have their sponsored and partnered apparel and sportswear branding displayed prominently on jerseys—meaning that the Esports World Cup Foundation’s partnership will not require any exclusions of other brands.
The Esports World Cup is a multi-week, multi-discipline esports competition running from July 3 – Aug. 25, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will feature a total prize pool of $60M USD spread across multiple games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, ESL R1, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, TEKKEN 8, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege.
On Wednesday the Esports World Cup Foundation announced partnerships with Nestlé’s chocolate brand KitKat and esports data firm Bayes Esports.
The Esports World Cup is funded by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government, while competitions are being facilitated by ESL FACEIT Group, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group. Savvy is owned by the Saudi government and its Chairman of the board is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler HRH Crown Prince MBS. EFG is home to tournament organizer ESL, competition platform FACEIT, and esports and gaming festival company DreamHack.