The Esports Foundation (EF) has announced a new partnership deal with Adidas for their upcoming esports event, Esports Nations Cup (ENC).
As part of the deal, Adidas will serve as the event’s Official Kit Partner and a Global Partner and provide uniforms for every national team competing at the first Esports Nations Cup, designing and manufacturing competition jerseys and tracksuits for more than 100 participating countries and territories, covering roughly 2,000 athletes and coaches in total.
According to the official announcement, each country’s kit will be designed to reflect that nation’s identity while still fitting within a shared visual style for the tournament as a whole.
Adidas and the Esports Foundation plan to reveal the individual national jerseys over the coming weeks throught the Esports Nations Cup’s official website.
Mohammed Al Nimer, Chief Commercial Officer at the Esports Foundation, said, “National team jerseys carry identity, pride and the ambition of an entire country or territory. By partnering with adidas, one of the most iconic brands in global sport, we are giving esports athletes the opportunity to represent their nations on the world stage with the same sense of meaning and prestige seen across traditional sport. This partnership will help the Esports Nations Cup create powerful national moments and inspire a new generation of players and fans.”
Phillip Waller, Adidas SVP Brand Development, said, “At adidas, we’ve spent decades outfitting athletes at the world’s biggest sporting events, and we understand the role a jersey plays in identity, belonging and competition,” said “The Esports Nations Cup gives us the opportunity to bring that experience into esports at a global scale.”
The Esports Nations Cup is built around country-versus-country competition, a format that is common in traditional sports but new to esports at this scale. Rather than fans following individual club teams, they’ll be able to watch players representing their own countries, managed by their national partners, in an event format that resembles the Olympic Games.
The idea behind the event is to give countries a structured way to organise esports talent over time, not just for a single tournament, but as an ongoing system. The Esports Foundation, the organisers of the event, also announced a substantial $45 million funding model for its new national team competition. Of this, $20 million will be distributed among national partners, while the remaining $25 million will be allocated to prize money and incentives for clubs that release their players for the tournament.
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