France’s ENC roster is being finalised on paper. But no legal certainty exists yet on the key issues: players’ availability vis-à-vis their clubs, scheduling conflicts with the ENC, prize money distribution, sponsor renegotiations regarding players’ image rights during the relevant period, and more.
Esports stakeholders must act quickly to protect their interests by reviewing their contracts, identifying available options, and securing their position going forward.
Do your contracts cover what happens if your player is selected for the ENC? If you’re not sure, we can help you figure it out — fast.
The first edition of the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) will take place in Riyadh from November 11 to 29, 2026. The event will pit 32 national teams against each other across around fifteen major esports titles, including Valorant, LoL, Dota 2, Apex Legends, PUBG, TFT, Street Fighter & Tekken, Call of Duty, R6, CS2, and Trackmania.
Its organisation has, however, proved challenging. Originally conceived as a stepping stone toward a partnership with the International Olympic Committee for an Olympic Esports Games — a project that was abandoned in late 2025 — the ENC has since faced a string of difficulties: the breakdown with the Korean KeSPA, technical and political constraints in China and the Philippines, disputes over the terms of engagement for Russia and Ukraine, Taiwan’s status, Cuba’s withdrawal, and more.
In France, the absence of a national federation made it difficult to identify a single point of contact capable of coordinating the national delegation. A tender process and particularly fraught negotiations ultimately led to the appointment of an official team manager, Quentin “Zeph” Viguié, who now has the task of assembling a squad of players — the vast majority of whom are under contract.
This situation raises a related issue: esports contracts have become more professional since 2020, but legal representation by a specialist remains the exception at lower levels of competition. Without release clauses, provisions covering liability for injuries, image rights under national colours, or prize money allocation, clubs have neither protection nor leverage. The organiser itself has acknowledged that conflicts between national representation and club obligations are a structural challenge likely to limit participation.
Esports player contracts: France’s persistent headache
The terms under which esports players participate in club activities have always been a sensitive issue within the ecosystem. Despite being a key objective when France’s legal framework was built, the 2026 regulatory regime has not effectively resolved the matter: the fixed-term employment contract, largely modelled on sports law, has seen very limited adoption — due in large part to the financial fragility of clubs.
Significant uncertainty remains today regarding the nature of the club/player relationship, the extent of players’ obligations, and the legal characterisation of their contracts. This uncertainty translates into a real risk of reclassification as an employment contract — a risk that has already materialised in several court decisions in recent years.
Esports player contracts: “Release or not release”
Given the deadlines set by the organisers, national team managers have very little time to assess available talent and identify and address any contractual constraints.
Without a standardised hierarchical framework, esports clubs are not required to release players for national competitions — a first of its kind. As a result, a player’s participation in the ENC will necessarily depend on the specific terms of their contract with their club.
A conflict with other esports events, promotional activities, or club sponsorship obligations is a real risk — one that could place players in breach of contract.
Equally, the conditions of players’ participation, and their legal relationship with the team manager and event organisers, are likely to give rise to highly significant legal issues.
Clubs & esports players: “Ready, Set, Sit down”
An urgent contract audit — imperative, and potentially an opportunity — allows stakeholders to quickly identify the precise scope of their rights and constraints with respect to participation in this landmark event. In some cases, particularly for players bound by contracts supervised or controlled by publishers or international event organisers, additional checks will be required.
Any negotiation between clubs, players, and the official team manager regarding a temporary release will need to carefully address: the exact duration of that release, the financial terms for both the player and the club in the event of lost sponsorship income, liability and insurance arrangements during the player’s employment, the management of image rights throughout the competition, and more.
The ENC 2026 is a wake-up call for the industry: clubs that fail to act now will find themselves in exactly the same position in 2028 — with two additional years of case law working against them.
