The Electronic Sports Foundation announced today the postponement of the first edition of the National Teams Cup for Electronic Sports, which was scheduled to be held in Riyadh next November, to November 2027, in light of the ongoing assessment of the general conditions in the region, and after consultation with the main partners.
Given the global size of the E-Sports Team Cup, and the general conditions in the region, the E-Sports Foundation is confident that the decision to postpone the first edition of the tournament to November 2027 is the most appropriate measure to ensure the clarity and stability of the tournament that players, national teams, publishers, partners, and fans aspire to, especially since the E-Sports Team Cup brings together national teams and relevant entities from more than 100 countries and territories around the world.
This decision reflects the Foundation’s keenness to provide world-class international competition that lives up to the long-term standards and ambitions upon which the tournament was founded. Postponing the tournament will not change the Foundation’s commitment to it or to the national e-sports systems being built around the tournament.
In this context, the CEO of the Electronic Sports Foundation, Ralph Reichert, said: “The decision to postpone the National Team Cup for Electronic Sports was not an easy decision. The positive response and interaction from national team partners, game publishers, players, and communities around the world has confirmed the great potential of this tournament, and from this standpoint, our responsibility towards them is to present the inaugural edition of the tournament in the appropriate circumstances, at the level that this idea deserves and the ambition it represents.”
The features of an anticipated edition of the AFC Champions League for the elite for the 2026-2027 season have been completed, after the draw for the league stage, which was drawn today (Tuesday) in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, resulted in strong confrontations for the clubs nominated to compete for the title, led by Al-Ahly, the defending champion, and Al-Hilal, the record holder in the number of times crowned, who are awaiting a number of early tests against the continent’s elite clubs.
The next edition of the most prominent continental championship at the club level will witness the participation of 32 teams for the first time, since the competition was relaunched under its new name in the 2024-2025 season, in a step aimed at enhancing competition and raising the technical level of the tournament.
The league stage competitions in the AFC Champions League for the elite season 2026-2027 will begin with the first round during the period from September 14 to 16, 2026, with the second round being held from October 12 to 14, and the third from 26 to 28 of the same month, while the fourth round will be played from November 2 to 4, the fifth from November 23 to 25, and the sixth on November 7. And December 8th.
The top eight in each region qualify for the round of sixteen, which is scheduled to be held between March 1 and 17, 2027, before the final rounds are held in the group system in Saudi Arabia, for the third year in a row, starting from the quarter-finals until the final match, during the period from April 23 to May 1, 2027.
Australian Ange Postecoglou, Al-Nasr coach, preferred to continue excluding Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo from the team’s roster to face Al-Diriyah, today, Tuesday, in the 32nd round of the King’s Cup, with the aim of preparing him for the upcoming competitions, in light of his late joining the team, and his taking a leave of absence after his participation with his country’s national team in the World Cup.
