The Esports Foundation has announced the 64 directly invited players for the EA Sports FC tournament at the 2026 Esports Nations Cup. The event will bring 128 competitors to Riyadh from November 17-22, with the remaining 64 players coming through regional qualifiers.
Among the invited names are Denmark’s Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang, the Netherlands’ Emre Yilmaz, and Romania’s Razvan “RvPLegend” Puiu. Vejrgang remains the world’s top-ranked player after winning the FC Pro Open, eSerie A, and eChampions League this year.
RvPLegend enters the tournament after winning the FC World Championship at the Esports World Cup. He arrived at that competition ranked 30th but climbed to fourth on the invitation ranking after claiming the title. Nassim “Nassada” Dahman, who upset Vejrgang at the event, will represent Morocco, while Italy’s Bonnano finished third.
The 64 direct invites
The invitations cover players from 64 countries and territories. They remain subject to change until each player accepts.
- DENMARK – Vejrgang
- ARGENTINA – nicolas99fc
- THE NETHERLANDS – Emre Yilmaz
- ROMANIA – RvPLegend
- BRAZIL – Paulo Neto
- ITALY – Bonnano
- SAUDI ARABIA – AbuMakkah
- MOROCCO – Nassada
- GERMANY – Levyfinn
- PORTUGAL – Jafonso
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – GuiBarros
- BULGARIA – Alihanlion
- GREAT BRITAIN – Tekkz
- FRANCE – Brice
- AUSTRALIA – Mark11
- EGYPT – K1John
- ISRAEL – Yuval
- MEXICO – Happy
- SOUTH AFRICA – Kaylan
- ALGERIA – Ilian
- SPAIN – Neat
- CHILE – depeedcl
- JAPAN – Web Nasri
- CANADA – AgitPower
- MALAYSIA – AkmalJHD
- INDONESIA – Javiero
- LITHUANIA – Domasas
- TÜRKIYE – KTzn
- INDIA – Charanjot
- QATAR – RXSHIID
- COLOMBIA – Gercrack30
- IRELAND – JP Sleator
- JORDAN – sabo
- KUWAIT – aliKwtx
- SENEGAL – KingCJ0
- BELGIUM – Bradley
- KAZAKHSTAN – Dan1k
- REPUBLIC OF KOREA – Serry7
- AZERBAIJAN – YuLite42
- GEORGIA – Bero
- PAKISTAN – SalmanAhmad19
- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – iALAWE
- SWITZERLAND – Gianluca
- FINLAND – Kossu72
- SOMALIA – NHaych
- NEW ZEALAND – NoahJA
- MALTA – brandsha
- PERU – Dome
- SWEDEN – Ollelito
- LEBANON – YagoFawaz
- VENEZUELA – Jorgezxa
- YEMEN – Toobi
- HONDURAS – ThiagoCapo
- CZECHIA – Matejs
- NORWAY – Cooler
- SINGAPORE – Operation-Eses
- OMAN – BBA_BILAL21
- DJIBOUTI – Ama2zerr
- IRAQ – hussienwaleed73
- BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – HekTic JukeZ
- HONG KONG, CHINA – psycho__xx__
- DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Griffeyfc
- SYRIA – Momenx969
- DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE – MarcusGomes
Regional qualifiers begin on July 29
Players who did not receive direct invitations can compete in the regional qualification process through the in-game FC Pro Live Events mode and the Battlefy tournament platform. The qualifiers are open to eligible players, and each eligible country or territory has no limit on participant numbers.
Phase 1 will run from July 29 through August 2 in a ladder format. Matches will be available around the clock, with competitors paired against opponents who have similar Skill Ratings. Advancement will be based on each player’s peak Skill Rating during the ladder period.
The top players from every region will then move into a playoff stage hosted on Battlefy. Those qualifiers will fill the remaining 64 spots in the Riyadh tournament.
EA Sports FC Nations Cup format
The main event will open with 16 groups of eight players. Each group will play a round-robin stage, and the top 64 competitors overall, including eight from every group, will advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket.
The tournament will begin on November 17 and conclude with its Grand Final on November 22 as part of the first Esports Nations Cup.
With Vejrgang, RvPLegend, Emre Yilmaz, and a deep international field already invited, the online qualifiers will decide which 64 players get the chance to challenge them in Riyadh. Share your thoughts on the invite list in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
