The Esports Foundation (EF), rebranded from the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) after an amendment carried by the Saudi Arabian government’s Council of Ministers in February, has officially awarded National Team Partner status to organisations and individuals across more than 100 countries, marking a definitive step towards the debut of the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC).

The Foundation received over 630 applications from 150 territories, highlighting a significant appetite for a “World Cup” style format.

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“The Esports Nations Cup introduces something esports has never had before: a global system for national teams at an unprecedented scale,” stated Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation. “With more than 100 nations now part of the system, the Esports Nations Cup moves from concept to reality.”

Recognising that esports development varies wildly by region, the EF is not enforcing a “one-size-fits-all” governance model. Instead, National Team Partners will operate through various local structures. Established bodies like the Korea Esports Association (KeSPA) and the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF), along with partnerships driven by major teams in markets like Brazil and the USA, and public-private collaborations in countries such as Germany and Canada.

For countries currently lacking a formal partner, the EF will provide regional structures to ensure global representation is maintained.

The ENC is designed to sit alongside the foundation’s existing club-based ecosystem, such as the annual Esports World Cup (EWC), providing a biennial (every two years) platform for “nation-based” pride. Scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2–29 November 2026, the event aims to introduce the first structured, large-scale global system for national teams in esports history. Following the Riyadh debut, the ENC is expected to move to a rotating city model, further embedding national esports into the global sporting calendar.

National Partners (Full List)

  • Argentina
    • Partner & Manager: Cámara Argentina de Deportes Electrónicos (CADE)
    • Supported by: 9z, AGS, FiRe, KRÜ, ShindeN and 20+ more
    • Contact: Mariel Lluch
  • Australia
    • Partner & Manager: Events Engine
    • Contact: Hayden Shiels
  • Austria
    • Partner & Manager: E-Sport Verband Österreich
    • Contact: Manuel Haselberger
  • Azerbaijan
    • National Team Manager: Rasad Fazil
  • Bahamas
    • National Team Manager: Adam Hanna
  • Bahrain
    • National Team Manager: Zainab AlTurabi
  • Bangladesh
    • Partner & Manager: Bangladesh Youth Development and Electronic Sports Association (BYDESA)
    • Contact: Aga Rafsan
  • Belgium
    • National Team Manager: Younes Lazaar
  • Bhutan
    • National Team Manager: Pending Stakeholder Alignment
  • Brazil
    • Partner & Manager: Aliança Brasileira de Esports
    • Supported by: Fluxo W7M, FURIA, Loud, MIBR, Pain Gaming, Red Canids
    • Contact: Yuri Cerezo Uchiyama
  • Brunei Darussalam
    • Partner & Manager: Esports Association of Brunei
    • Contact: Xiao Hao Yee
  • Bulgaria
    • National Team Manager: Pavel Zarkov
  • Cameroon
    • National Team Manager: Francline Fonderson
  • Canada
    • Partner & Manager: Esport Canada
    • Supported by: Overactive Media / Toronto Ultra
    • Contact: Dawson Lovell
  • Chile
    • Partner & Manager: Game Club
    • Supported by: LEVIATAN
    • Contact: Tomás Mosqueira
  • Chinese Taipei
    • Partner & Manager: Chinese Taipei Esports Association
    • Contact: Grace Chen
  • Colombia
    • National Team Manager: Mario Agudelo
  • Costa Rica
    • National Team Manager: Felipe Montoya
  • Côte d’Ivoire
    • National Team Manager: Jean-Philippe N’Guessan
  • Croatia
    • Partner & Manager: Good Game Global
    • Contact: Nikola Stolnik
  • Cuba
    • National Team Manager: Javier Vidal
  • Czechia
    • Partner & Manager: Česká asociace esportu
    • Contact: Jiří Plevka
  • Democratic Rep. of Timor-Leste
    • National Team Manager: Camacho Ramos da Silva Pinto
  • Denmark
    • Partner & Manager: GGDanmark
    • Contact: Andreas Elversøe
  • Djibouti
    • National Team Manager: Eleyeh I.Daher
  • Dominican Republic
    • Partner & Manager: Federacion Dominicana de Deporte Electronico
    • Contact: Gabriel Garrido
  • Egypt
    • Partner & Manager: Egyptian Esports Federation
    • Contact: Mostafa Hassan
  • Finland
    • Partner & Manager: Assembly & ENCE
    • Supported by: ENCE, Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL)
    • Contact: Eemeli Ikonen
  • France
    • National Team Manager: Bora Kim
  • Georgia
    • National Team Manager: Tsotne Chogovadze
  • Germany
    • Partner & Manager: Esports Player Foundation
    • Supported by: DOSB, ESBD, game e.V.
    • Contact: Christian Lenz
  • Ghana
    • National Team Manager: Ebenezer Kwesi Hayford
  • Great Britain
    • Partner & Manager: British Esports Federation
    • Supported by: Esports Wales, Fnatic, Scottish Esports, The Football Association, UKETC
    • Contact: Jeff Simpkins
  • Greece
    • National Team Manager: Anastasios Eleftheriadis
  • Guam
    • National Team Manager: Ken San Nicolas
  • Guatemala
    • National Team Manager: Pablo Melgar
  • Honduras
    • National Team Manager: Rafael Urbina
  • Hong Kong, China
    • Partner & Manager: Esports Association of Hong Kong, China
    • Contact: Chen Lung Shing
  • Hungary
    • Partner & Manager: Hungarian E-sports Federation
    • Contact: Kis Balázs
  • Iceland
    • National Team Manager: Bjarki Már Sigurðsson
  • India
    • Partner & Manager: NODWIN Gaming Private Limited
    • Contact: Akhil Kavuturu
  • Indonesia
    • Partner & Manager: Pengurus Besar Esports Indonesia
    • Contact: Glorya Famiela
  • Ireland
    • National Team Manager: Ronan Monaghan
  • Israel
    • Partner & Manager: Israeli Esports Association
    • Contact: Gil Ronen
  • Italy
    • Partner & Manager: Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association (IIDEA)
    • Supported by: DNSTY, NOVO, Reply Totem, HBMLE, Outplayed, EKO, Exeed, King, PG
    • Contact: Gabriele Catterin
  • Jamaica
    • National Team Manager: Andrew Johnson
  • Japan
    • Partner & Manager: Japan Esports Union
    • Supported by: NESTA (Crazy Racoon, DFM, Fennel, QT Dig, Reject, Riddle, Scarz, Varrel, Zeta Division)
    • Contact: Kosuke Hiraiwa
  • Jordan
    • Partner & Manager: Jordan Esports Federation
    • Contact: Mohammad Majali
  • Kazakhstan
    • Partner & Manager: Qazaq Cybersport Federation (QCF)
    • Contact: Kazbek Zhangaziyev
  • Kenya
    • National Team Manager: Shon Osimbo
  • Kuwait
    • National Team Manager: Abdulmohsen Ibrahim Alnooh
  • Kyrgyzstan
    • Partner & Manager: Esports Federation of Kyrgyzstan
    • Contact: Nurbek Abdygulov
  • Lao People’s Democratic Republic
    • National Team Manager: Somphachanh Sengsilavong
  • Latvia
    • National Team Manager: Sandis Rainskis
  • Lebanon
    • Partner & Manager: Lebanese Esports Federation and Robotics
    • Contact: Ahmad Hamadani
  • Lithuania
    • Partner & Manager: Lithuanian Esports Federation (LEF)
    • Contact: Sarunas Tamulis
  • Malawi
    • National Team Manager: Robert Cheleuka
  • Malaysia
    • Partner & Manager: Malaysian Esports Federation
    • Contact: Amir Syafiq bin Abd Rashid
  • Mali
    • National Team Manager: Mohamed Coulibaly
  • Mexico
    • National Team Manager: Emmanuel Neyra
  • Mongolia
    • Partner & Manager: Mongolian Esports Association
    • Contact: Maral Manlai
  • Morocco
    • Partner & Manager: The Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games
    • Contact: Saad Bassy
  • Myanmar
    • Partner & Manager: Myanmar Esports Federation (MESF)
    • Contact: Kyaw Htet Lin
  • Netherlands
    • Partner & Manager: Hypersolid
    • Supported by: Team Liquid
    • Contact: Brittany Lattanzio
  • New Zealand
    • Partner & Manager: New Zealand Esports Federation
    • Contact: Jonathan Jansen
  • Nigeria
    • Partner & Manager: Cade Esports
    • Contact: Shola Adenipebi
  • Norway
    • Partner & Manager: Skagerrak
    • Supported by: HEROIC
    • Contact: Kevin Mobekk
  • Oman
    • Partner & Manager: Omani Gaming and Esports Committee
    • Contact: Hamed al Jahwari
  • Pakistan
    • National Team Manager: Danyal Arshad Chishty
  • Paraguay
    • National Team Manager: Esteban Lindgren
  • People’s Republic of China
    • Partner & Manager: JingYue
    • Supported by: All Gamers, Anyone’s Legend, Talent, KuaiShow, Bilibili, Tyloo, Qin Jiu, Xtreme, Lynn Vision, Trace
    • Contact: Xiang Shi
  • Peru
    • Partner & Manager: FEDEPEDE
    • Contact: Christian Roque
  • Philippines
    • Partner & Manager: Pilipinas E-sports Organization
    • Contact: Leo Andrew Escutin
  • Poland
    • Partner & Manager: Fantasyexpo
    • Contact: Adrian Błaszczyk
  • Portugal
    • Partner & Manager: Liga Portugal
    • Supported by: Luna Esports, SAW
    • Contact: Armando Vale
  • Republic of Korea
    • Partner & Manager: Korea Esports Association (KeSPA)
    • Contact: Hyucksoo (David), Shin
  • Republic of Moldova
    • National Team Manager: Vasile Gavrilita
  • Romania
    • Partner & Manager: ROESF Association
    • Contact: Mihai Daniel Cotos
  • Saudi Arabia
    • Partner & Manager: Saudi Esports Federation
    • Contact: Abdallah Khalid Alnamlah
  • Senegal
    • Partner & Manager: Senegalese Federation of Electronic Sports (FESSEDA)
    • Contact: El Hadji Mansour Jacques Sagna
  • Serbia
    • National Team Manager: Milan Đukić
  • Slovakia
    • Partner & Manager: Slovenská asociácia elektronických športov
    • Contact: Denis Uhrik
  • Slovenia
    • Partner & Manager: Slovenian Esports Federation
    • Contact: Rok Avbelj
  • South Africa
    • National Team Manager: Michele Brondani
  • Spain
    • Partner & Manager: Lastlap SL
    • Supported by: KOI, GiantX, Team Heretics, FCBarcelona Esports, UCAM
    • Contact: David Alonso
  • Sweden
    • Partner & Manager: Black Molly Entertainment (BME)
    • Contact: Robin Jedhammar
  • Switzerland
    • Partner & Manager: Shifters / Swiss Esports Federation (SeSF)
    • Contact: Marissa Duret
  • Syrian Arab Republic
    • National Team Manager: Omar Nakkaa
  • Tajikistan
    • National Team Manager: Turaev Firdavs
  • Thailand
    • Partner & Manager: Thailand Esports Federation
    • Contact: Panupong Ongkhunarak
  • Tunisia
    • Partner & Manager: Tunisian Esports Federation
    • Contact: Mouhamed Ali Barbouchi
  • Türkiye
    • Partner & Manager: Türki̇ye Espor Federasyonu (TESFED)
    • Contact: Mert Tanriverdi
  • Turkmenistan
    • National Team Manager: Mekan Eyeberdiyev
  • Ukraine
    • Partner & Manager: Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF)
    • Contact: Mykyta Babych
  • United Arab Emirates
    • Partner & Manager: Team Nigma
    • Supported by: Abu Dhabi Gaming
    • Contact: Ali Nedal Jerab
  • United States of America
    • Partner & Manager: USA Esports
    • Supported by: 100Thieves, Dignitas, TSM, Spacestation, FlyQuest, Cloud9, NRG, Misfits, M80, Ghost
    • Contact: Daniel Clerke
  • Uruguay
    • Partner & Manager: Asociación Uruguaya de Deportes Virtuales (AUDV)
    • Contact: Gastón García
  • Uzbekistan
    • National Team Manager: Jaloliddin Khusanov
  • Vietnam
    • Partner & Manager: Vietnam Recreational and Electronic Sports Association (VIRESA)
    • Contact: Cao (Celine) Thi Thu Phuong
  • Zambia
    • National Team Manager: Choolwe Elen Shabukali

This list will be updated as information on new representatives becomes available.