7 More Countries and Territories Finally Reach Riyadh Through Rocket League Qualifiers for Esports Nations Cup 2026

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (July 20, 2026) - The Esports Foundation (EF) today announced the completion of the online regional qualifiers for the Rocket League tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), the global nation-based esports competition set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2-29, 2026.

A grand total of 48 teams will compete in the Rocket League tournament at ENC 2026. 24 countries and territories received direct invitations through the ENC Rankings, which score, accumulate, and rank submitted roster player performances across all official Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) competitions.

Now, 22 more teams have earned their spot in the main event through online regional qualifiers across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and APAC. An additional slot has gone to the team representing the United Arab Emirates, who secured the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the GCC region.

To complete the line-up, two Solidarity Wildcard slots remain for underrepresented regions to compete on the world stage, which will be announced at the end of August once all ENC qualifiers have been completed.

Here’s the full list of countries and territories that qualified through online regional qualifiers:

North America: Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic
South America: Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay
Europe: Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Czechia
Middle East: Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain
Africa: Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Algeria
APAC: Indonesia, Maldives, India
Host Region Slot: United Arab Emirates

7 countries and territories have officially qualified for their first ENC 2026 title through the Rocket League qualifiers. The Middle East bracket was full of upsets, but first-timers Iraq and Oman qualified through very unique paths: Iraq looked dominant, losing only one game across all three victorious series, while Oman suffered an early loss to Bahrain before finishing off a lower bracket run with a close seven-game series win over Syria.

North America also saw two first-timers in Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago reach the ENC Finals. Both teams cruised to rather easy qualification; Puerto Rico did not drop a single game against Dominican Republic and Guatemala, while Trinidad and Tobago only lost one game in their run versus Jamaica and El Salvador.

Ghana cruised to their first ENC appearance via the Africa qualifier, not losing a single game across three series and outscoring Senegal 22-4 in a four-game sweep in their ENC-clinching series. Libya first defeated Kenya and Mauritius, and though they were swept out of the upper bracket by Egypt, they rallied with a 4-2 series win over Tunisia to qualify. And finally the Maldives, the smallest country by land size in Asia and the second smallest in population with roughly just 600,000 residents, qualified for their first ENC competition with a 3-1 win over Mongolia and a decisive 4-1 victory against India.

The full list of qualified players and nations can be viewed directly on the Rocket League page of the ENC website.

The Rocket League tournament at ENC will begin on November 2 and will conclude with the Grand Final on November 7. The first stage will be a 48-team round-robin group stage featuring eight groups of six teams competing in best-of-five matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs, a 16-team single-elimination bracket concluding with a best-of-seven Grand Final.

About the Esports Nations Cup

The Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is a biennial global esports competition created by the Esports Foundation (EF) that brings national pride to the world stage. Launching in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2026, the ENC will feature the world’s best players competing not for their clubs, but for their countries and territories, across a lineup of leading esports titles. Built in collaboration with game partners, clubs, and esports organizations, the ENC establishes the first recurring, large-scale platform for national teams in esports. Beyond competition, it aims to fuel fandom, inspire heroes, and provide sustainable pathways for nations, players, and partners to grow within the global esports ecosystem. esportsnationscup.com

Esports Nations Cup media contact:
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