EA Sports FC 26 Added to the 2026 Esports Nations Cup Roster

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has revealed that EA Sports FC 26 will be featured as a competitive title at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this November.

Joining the lineup of previously announced games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Chess, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Trackmania, and Honor Kings, EA Sports FC 26 adds to a total of 16 titles that will be showcased in this nation vs. nation showdown.

The EA Sports FC 26 tournament kicks off on November 27, culminating in a grand final on November 22, with 128 players representing their countries, as stated by the EWCF.

The competition will start with a round-robin group stage, featuring eight players in each of the 16 groups (group matches will be a best-of-one). The top four players from each group will move on to the next round. The 64 players who advance from the group stage will enter the playoffs, leading to a final match that will determine the gold medalist. All playoff matches will also be a best-of-one format.

Of the 128 players, the top 64 will receive direct invitations based on the official EA Sports FC Pro World Rankings, while 56 players will qualify through regional qualifiers, and eight will secure spots via Wildcard entries.

Direct invites will be allocated according to the ENC’s guidelines, with only one player per nation eligible for direct entry based on the rankings. The cut-off date for these invites is July 26, 2026.

Regional qualifiers are scheduled from July 27 to August 2 and will consist of two stages: an open in-game ladder followed by a Swiss round and a double-elimination bracket, held across various regions.

According to EWCF, “Nations with one player directly invited through the ranking system can only qualify one more player through the regional qualifiers. For nations without a direct invite, up to two players can qualify through the regional qualifiers. This ensures that at least 64 nations will be represented in the ENC’s EA Sports FC tournament, promoting broad global participation.”

The Esports Nations Cup is set to run from November 2 to 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event is organized by the EWCF, which is supported by a “sports grant” from the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Projects funded by the Saudi government have faced criticism for being perceived as attempts at “sports washing,” aimed at diverting attention from the country’s human rights record, including issues related to women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, the treatment of journalists, military actions in Yemen, and more. These concerns have been raised by various international watchdog organizations.