Adidas Partners With Esports Nations Cup to Design Jerseys

The Esports Nations Cup is drawing closer, and the event has just announced a major collab. Adidas will be designing each country’s jerseys, integrating esports into its athletics portfolio. Here’s everything to know about the move.

Adidas Announces Esports Nations Cup Partnership

On July 30, 2026, the upcoming Esports Nations Cup (ENC) announced a partnership with clothing brand Adidas. As part of the collaboration, Adidas will design the event’s jerseys, outfitting athletes from over 100 participating countries.

Mohammed Al Nimer, who is involved in the tournament as the Esports Foundation’s CCO, emphasized the project’s significance: “National team jerseys carry identity, pride and the ambition of an entire country or territory […] By partnering with adidas, one of the most iconic brands in global sport, we are giving esports athletes the opportunity to represent their nations on the world stage with the same sense of meaning and prestige seen across traditional sport.”

Adidas’ SVP of Brand Development Phillip Waller added, “At adidas, we’ve spent decades outfitting athletes at the world’s biggest sporting events, and we understand the role a jersey plays in identity, belonging and competition. The Esports Nations Cup gives us the opportunity to bring that experience into esports at a global scale.”

Adidas and the Esports World Cup will reportedly reveal the jersey designs “in the coming weeks.” In a video accompanying the announcement, Waller also emphasized that “Gaming has its own culture […] its own communities, its own references, its own way of expressing identity. Our role is to contribute to this culture in a way that feels authentic.”

What Does The Adidas Collab Mean for Esports?

The ENC writes in a press release that “the partnership directly supports the ongoing convergence of esports, culture, entertainment and sports, creating a defining moment for the esports industry and the global sport landscape.” This is notably “the first time a single apparel brand has outfitted every athlete across an international multi-sport event.”

The move reinforces an ongoing cultural shift, where esports is shifting to a mainstream status equal to traditional athletics. Esports players are reaching celebrity status, with pros like Faker receiving honorary government recognition and featuring on TV shows. Adidas has previously partnered with many physical sport events, but this marks one of the brand’s first major esports ventures.

What is the Esports Nations Cup? Esports Impact

The Esports Nations Cup self-describes as “a biennial global esports competition created by the Esports Foundation (EF) that brings national pride to the world stage. [The tournament 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.”

Unlike the Esports World Cup (EWC), the ENC focuses on an Olympic-style competition between countries. This means players from rival rosters will come together for a chance to represent their home regions, offering unique team combinations and storylines. Its first event will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with future developments possibly rotating to other host countries.

2026 is the tournament’s first year, so the participating teams have a chance to claim a particularly significant victory. The event also has a 20 million USD prize pool, split evenly across games. The ENC also includes a Development Fund system, dedicating a portion of its funding to helping national esports ecosystems develop.

What Games are in the 2026 Esports Nations Cup?

The 2026 Esports Nations Cup will include games in 15 total titles. Some of the most popular highlights include Counter-Strike, League of Legends, VALORANT, and DOTA 2. Chess and several mobile games will also appear at the event, demonstrating the esports scene’s stretch across platforms.

Here’s a full list of every game viewers can expect:

• Apex Legends
• Chess
• Counter-Strike
• Dota 2
• EA SPORTS FC
• Fighters
• Honor of Kings
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends
• PUBG Mobile
• PUBG
• Rainbow Six
• Rocket League
• Trackmania
• VALORANT

The Esports Nations Cup will kick off on November 2, 2026, and stretch until Sunday, November 29. Esports fans can follow the event on its dedicated YouTube channel here.

Stay tuned for more esports news as the tournament approaches.