Konami Digital Entertainment announced the launch of the Challenger Series for the FIFAe World Cup 2026 featuring eFootball, co-organised with FIFA. The in-game competitive programme serves as the qualification pathway to this year’s world championship, with the Mobile Division adopting a 2v2 format for the first time, aligning with Console Division regulations.

This year’s tournament marks the third edition of the event and features a record-high of over 110 FIFA member nations and regions. New participating nations include Croatia, Kenya and Tunisia. Last year’s tournament recorded approximately 16.51 million participants, establishing it as one of the largest international football esports activities in the world.

The Challenger Series consists of two competitive divisions: Console Division and Mobile Division. Both divisions use the Dream Team game mode. Rounds 1 and 2 run from 12th to 19th February as Challenge Events featuring AI matches and player-versus-player matches. Round 3 runs from 19th to 22nd February as a Ranking Event focused exclusively on PvP competition.

National team candidate selection will be based on performance in AI matches, PvP matches and ranking events. The organisers noted that Challenger Series results do not guarantee national team selection. Final selections are made independently by each participating country’s football association, which may use Challenger Series outcomes as one factor among several. Information on each country’s selection criteria will be published on the FIFA.GG website in the future.

Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW) will return in 2026 with a bigger and bolder edition, taking place across 18–21 June in Cologne, Germany, alongside IEM Cologne. The schedule and details about ticket sales are available in this link.

Following the Challenger Series, international qualifying tournaments will determine which countries advance to the FIFAe World Cup 2026 featuring eFootball on Mobile and Console, taking place later this year.

The announcement follows FIFA’s confirmation in 2025 that the FIFAe Finals would return in 2026 through a multi-year partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF). That agreement included the FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball on console, the FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball on mobile, and the FIFAe World Cup featuring Rocket League, all held at the SEF Arena in Riyadh.

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