Esports Nations Cup Finalizes 128-Player EA Sports FC Roster with Special Qualifiers
The Esports Foundation confirmed five more players for the EA Sports FC bracket at the Esports Nations Cup, closing a special qualifier path built for nations locked out of the regular route.
With the slots secured, the 128-player field now carries representation from countries and territories that, until this cycle, had no road into the event.
The special pathway was carved out for federations ineligible for the standard regional structure — a back door opened after the FC Pro World Rankings allocation took the top 64 invitees with a hard one-per-country cap. Among those cleared through: Australian pro Marcus Gomes, who will represent Timor-Leste after switching competitive allegiance. It is the kind of nationality swap that redraws regional brackets and forces a reset on seeding logic before the group stage even tips. Nations carry a strict two-player ceiling into the tournament.
Assembling the 128
The ENC FC field now stacks in three layers. Sixty-four invitees came off the FC Pro World Rankings, with the ranking cutoff acting as the first filter. Fifty-six players advanced through online regional qualifiers contested across Africa, North Asia, South Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America North, Latin America South, North America, Oceania, and the Middle East — a process that drew more than 170,000 entries. The Esports Foundation also allocated a Host Region Wildcard to a player representing Kuwait, bringing the regional pathway haul to 57. The five special qualifiers then top the total at 128.
That haul also dragged two federations into the spotlight for the first time. Costa Rica and Kenya both punched through to their debut ENC appearance, marking the newcomer tier of a tournament that now spans 120 countries and territories in its Finals phase.
Inside the Format
Group play carves the field. Sixteen groups of eight, round-robin. The top 64 advance into a single-elimination playoff bracket that runs through to a Grand Final on November 22. The broader competition window opens November 18. Prize pool reads $600,000, and the build is expected to be the upcoming EA Sports FC 27 release.
The ENC Rocket League teams have already been confirmed alongside the FC roster, completing the title slate the Foundation has locked so far. Watch the group draws when they drop — the allegiance switches and the two-per-nation cap mean seeding math gets reshuffled, regional rivalries reset on the spot, and entire national pipelines hinge on which two clear the cut.