FIFA has unveiled a major overhaul of its digital football and esports strategy ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, opening the door to partnerships with multiple gaming and entertainment companies as it seeks to expand football’s presence across global digital platforms.
In a statement issued on May 28, 2026, the football governing body announced a shift from its previous single-partner gaming structure to what it described as a “structured, multi-partner ecosystem orchestrator” model. The move will see FIFA work with companies including Roblox, Epic Games, Netflix, and Konami in a plan aimed at widening access to football gaming and esports for different audiences around the world.
FIFA said the new strategy is intended to increase its reach across gaming genres, platforms, and age groups while creating more opportunities for fans to engage with football digitally, from casual gaming experiences to professional esports competitions.
The organisation explained that the updated approach will allow it to “continuously improve reach and relevance across multiple gaming genres, platforms and audiences,” while also building fresh pathways for participation in football gaming.
At the centre of the strategy is FIFAe, FIFA’s esports platform, which the organisation says has grown into one of the world’s biggest nation-based competitive gaming ecosystems.
According to FIFA, “more than 120 Member Associations and over 16 million players have engaged on the road to the FIFAe Finals,” with competitions supported through platforms such as Konami’s eFootball.
The organisation further noted that “more than 1.1 billion views generated last year” show the growing global appeal of its esports competitions and digital football events.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said the strategy is designed to build a long-term and inclusive digital football environment for fans, member associations, and commercial partners.
“By establishing a scalable foundation in gaming and esports, we’re creating new opportunities for our 211 Member Associations and our Commercial Partners to participate and collaborate.” He stated.
He added that the goal is to ensure fans have “greater options to engage with football,” while building “a sustainable and adaptable ecosystem that reflects how football is experienced today and how it’ll continue to evolve in the future.”
As part of the roadmap towards and beyond the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA announced several new gaming and digital entertainment projects.
Among them is a new FIFA-branded football simulation experience being developed in partnership with Netflix and Delphi Interactive.
FIFA said the upcoming “FIFA World Cup - Launch Edition” will act as “the starting point of a new product journey,” with plans to expand the experience across console, PC, and mobile gaming platforms in future releases.
The football body also confirmed plans to launch FIFA Heroes on mobile and PC before later expanding it to consoles. It added that additional non-simulation gaming experiences are also being developed, combining football with entertainment and cultural content.
In esports, FIFA announced the continued expansion of the FIFAe structure through five continental championships that will serve as qualification tournaments for the FIFAe Finals 2026.
The organisation also revealed plans for the first-ever FIFAe Festival, which it described as a global event set to “unite digital and traditional football in a new event format.”
FIFA said the wider strategy forms part of a long-term effort to connect football with changing digital trends, gaming innovation, and growing esports participation as the sport heads into what it believes will be one of the most digitally connected World Cup periods in history.