A few days after the Union française des clubs d'esport professionnels (UFCEP) announced its bid to become National Partner of the
Esports Nations Cup, the country’s other entity,
France Esports, announced that it was also entering the race. In its latest post, the association, which aims to “
promote and oversee esports in France,” explained that, with its partners, “
the cities of Paris and Nice, we also want to actively work to host this competition in France in 2028.”
As the first edition of the ENC draws closer, ahead of its launch on November 2, various associations and groups from the esports ecosystem have announced their intention to become national partners of this major competition. Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation, the nation-based event will bring together national teams from around the world across 16 different games. Through these applications, candidates hope to be responsible for national team selections, in close coordination with the ENC, as well as appointing the manager in charge of the sporting project.
Paris and Nice to attract Saudi Arabia
This therefore marks the second known bid for France, which comes as no surprise, as Saudi Arabia has already said it received
nearly 600 proposals from 152 different countries, inevitably leading to overlaps such as this one. This is the
first known duplicate in the process.
As reported by Sheep Esports on Monday, an alliance bringing together French professional esports clubs and recognized figures from the scene has also announced its participation. The final decision will only be known at the end of February, following deliberation by the EWCF.
For this second proposal, a group of institutional stakeholders has come together, whereas the other bid was more focused on clubs. It is led by France Esports, an association that has been active in France for several years, even though it has never had the backing of clubs and players. It is notably joined by Women in Games France, an organization working to promote diversity within the French video game industry, and the
SELL, short for Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisirs, which brings together a large majority of video game publishers and companies operating in France.
To support this bid, which appears to have limited chances against the UFCEP-led application, the statement highlights a surprising point that could clearly interest the Saudi organization. France Esports explains that the cities of Paris and Nice, with whom it is partnered, are interested in hosting the 2028 edition of the competition, with the EWCF having already announced that the Nations Cup will be held every two years in different countries.
These are, at least publicly, the first two cities to put themselves forward for such a joint hosting effort. While this may still sound somewhat speculative, it is a strong argument for this application and could give it an edge if it opens the door to hosting the competition in France for Saudi Arabia.
