The Esports Foundation (EF) has officially announced that the first-ever Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026, will now be held in November 2027 instead.
The organisation said the decision came after an ongoing review of the regional situation and talks with the various groups involved in organising the event, including national teams, game publishers, and other partners.
According to EF, the ENC is a large-scale event involving participants from more than 100 countries and territories, which makes planning and coordination especially complex. Given the current uncertainty tied to the broader regional situation, the organisation said it decided that pushing the competition back by a year was the more responsible choice. The goal, EF said, is to give national teams, publishers, partners, and fans a clearer and more stable timeline to plan around.
The organisation has also confirmed that this does not change its overall commitment to the ENC or to the national esports programs already being developed around it. Specifically, the organisation highlighted that all existing commitments made through the ENC Development Fund to National Team Partners will stay in place and the Development Fund and other programmes to grow esports at the national level will continue running without interruption.
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation, said, “The decision to postpone the Esports Nations Cup was not taken lightly. The response from National Team Partners, publishers, players and communities around the world has shown us how much potential this competition has. We owe them an inaugural ENC delivered under the right conditions and at the level this idea deserves. Hosting the tournament in Riyadh next year does not change our commitment. We will continue investing in our National Team Partners, working with publishers and building the national ecosystems already taking shape around the competition. The work continues, and our ambition for ENC remains unchanged.”
The Esports Foundation also mentioned that the postponement is not related to Saudi Arabia’s ability to host the event. The organisation said the country remains fully capable of hosting large events, pointing out that other major sporting and entertainment events there are continuing on schedule.
Over the next several weeks, EF said it will work with National Team Partners, publishers, and other stakeholders to sort out the details of the revised schedule, including how qualification for the tournament will work under the new timeline.
