The Esports World Cup Foundation has announced the Esports Nations Cup, a new competition that will see players and teams compete for their nation in an event that that will take place once every two years. It’s an event that is designed to compliment the Esports World Cup, but events where players compete as a national team have been tried before and most have failed.The first ENC will take place in November 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with four publishers signed up to provide their games to the competition. They are Ubisoft, EA, Tencent and Krafton, with the latter’s including potentially suggesting that the PUBG Nations Cup, or a variation of it, could be a part of the event given it is one of the few successful nations based esports events.

Of course, the elephant in the room is the deal the EWCF struck with the International Olympic Committee to host the first ever Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh in 2027. There isn’t much in the way of actual details on that event, but anyone looking at the ENC would make the obvious assumption that this is a precursor of the Olympic event, in the same way that Gamers8 was to the Esports World Cup. However, the folks behind it are adamant that is not the case.Not at all,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation when asked if this was the case.

“The ENC is its own milestone and the next step in esports’ evolution. Clubs have built the foundation by nurturing talent and rivalries, but every global sport is also powered by national pride. That’s what the ENC introduces: a layer of meaning where players compete for something bigger than themselves, and fans get to stand behind a flag. It’s not a side event or borrowed format; it’s a purpose-built, recurring competition designed for esports, with the scale and credibility to anchor the global calendar.”Regardless of how the two events play out eventually, there is no doubt that they will both face the same issue other events that have pioneered national competition ran into; the fact that esports teams won’t want their players, who more often than not play on mixed nationality rosters, going to play for their nation and not them.

This has meant that for years, national esports events have featured lower tier players as the big names have been focused on winning world championships with their clubs.“The ENC is additive, not competitive, to clubs,” said Reichert. “Players representing their country unlock benefits for their clubs, too, through performance-based incentives and coordinated scheduling. Rosters are capped to ease strain, and we’ve worked with publishers and clubs to align the format to the wider calendar. The goal is to elevate careers, not endanger them. ENC should be a proud chapter in a player’s journey, supported by the entire ecosystem.

It seems the EWCF has already considered a lot of these potential issues, but exact details on benefits for clubs and players are yet to be revealed. Chances are they will be different for each game that is played, with the publishers having influence over national ranking systems, qualification pathways, and event formats for the ENC, which seems like a smart way of doing things.If the issues other similar events have run into can be avoided, this could become the biggest national competition in esports. We have already seen that the company can pull off major multi-game events with the Esports World Cup, but it still feels like the biggest challenge will be getting the top players and organisations to buy into the event, something the EWC managed through offering millions of dollars to both parties should they do well.

EWC and ENC are complementary, like clubs and nations in traditional sports,” said Reichert. “Clubs drive the day-to-day competition and rivalries, but nations deliver cultural moments that transcend sport. Both are needed to turn esports from competition into a truly global sport. Our mission at EWCF is not just to stage events, but to build the missing pillars and national competition is one of them.”Having another major event in the world of esports is certainly exciting, but after years of

underwhelming national events, especially those that try a multi-game format, this is going to be a touch sell for fans.

If the EWCF can pull it off, then it will no doubt be great, but there are a lot of potential downfalls to clear before the first event next year. Hopefully they can be avoided and this is another major competition that brings all areas of esports together.The ENC announcement was made at the New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh, where 1,500 industry leaders convened to discuss the convergence of gaming, esports and sport.

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