FIFA announced the extension of its marquee esports competition, officially confirming FIFAe Finals for 2025 and 2026. The competitions include three unique tournaments across Rocket League and eFootball titles, with FIFA at the forefront of sports esports development.
The FIFAe Finals 2025 will be held December 10-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, continuing the successful partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation through 2026. The partnership fits into Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which seeks to create 39,000 gaming jobs and add $13.3 billion to the GDP of the Kingdom by the year 2030.
The fan feedback after last year’s event was incredible and confirmed our vision to provide a home for football esports to a range of different communities. Onboarding free-to-play titles and confirming the event for two seasons are significant steps on our journey to facilitate accessibility for nations and players from around the world.
Christian Volk, Director of eFootball & Gaming at FIFA
One of the key innovations in 2025 introduces regional qualification in place of the former invitation-only structure. The open qualification period will last for a number of months, allowing FIFA Member Associations to construct national squads via domestic trials, bootcamps, or nominations.
The competition will involve 40 national teams in three categories: FIFAe World Cup in partnership with Rocket League (16 teams), eFootball Console (12 teams), and eFootball Mobile (12 teams).
The 2024 FIFAe Finals were a huge success, being the most watched sporting simulation in terms of peak viewership and taking the Best Gaming/Esports Experience award at the 2025 Hashtag Sports Awards. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia won the respective titles in the three tournaments.
FIFA’s deal with Konami goes up to 2026, while the addition of free-to-play games signifies the organization’s intentions towards making esports more accessible. Saudi Arabia’s gaming audience has grown to 23.5 million (67% of the country’s total), making the Kingdom a perfect base for the rise of esports.