The Esports World Cup Foundation announced first details on its inaugural nations versus nations esports competition, the Esports Nations Cup 2026.
Formally announced in August 2025 at New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Esports Nations Cup is a replacement of sorts for the Esports Olympic Games, which Saudi Arabia backed out of last year, after some disagreements with the International Olympic Committee.
The Esports Nations Cup will feature 16 titles from partners including Electronic Arts, Chess.com, Krafton, MOONTON Games, SNK, Tencent and Ubisoft, among others.
Some details on the competition’s format and qualification model have been revealed, including the fact that team competitions will feature 24 – 48 national teams per title, while solo competitions could include 32 – 128 players per title. Each participating nation will be represented by “one official national team per title and up to two players per title in solo competitions.”
EWCF said that it is possible that in some titles there may be a way for multiple national teams to qualify, but they would inevitably compete at earlier stages to determine the official national representative.
EWCF also said that “half of all participating national teams and players will receive direct invitations based on the competitive performance from their respective countries across the esports season in each game title.”
Full professional club rosters will not be allowed to be formed to create a national team. All national players and teams that make it to the ENC’s Finals event will be “guaranteed to play at least three matches,” according to the announcement. ENC Finals team competitions will feature 24 – 48 national teams per title, while solo competitions will include 32 – 128 players.
On forming these national teams, EWCF noted:
“National teams will be formed as distinct line-ups, bringing together each country’s top eligible players in combinations not seen in Club competition, as full Club rosters will not be permitted as national teams. This approach ensures that national teams are built around merit, diversity of representation, and national identity—rather than replicating existing club structures. All national players and teams at ENC’s Finals event will be guaranteed to play at least three matches, providing an opportunity for national storylines and fandom to develop.”
Further details on how this will work at the regional/national level will be revealed at a later date, but we assume the structure might be similar to how federations like the International Esports Federation or or Global Esports Federations operate their regional competitions. Whether the EWCF will create its own system or work with existing federations in each participating country remains a mystery as of this writing.
For 2026, the Esports Nations Cup will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with subsequent events to be hosted every two years in different countries.
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government, such as the Esports World Cup and the Esports Nations Cup are frequently criticized for helping the government engage in so-called “sports washing,” or using various forms of entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, its mistreatment (and executions of) journalists, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.