Esports World Cup Foundation Announces Organizations Selected for Club Partner Program

The Esports World Cup Foundation has unveiled the 40 professional organizations selected for its 2025 Club Partner Program. This initiative serves as a strategic marketing vehicle for the annual eight-week Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. By incentivizing these organizations to produce content and execute marketing campaigns, the foundation aims to expand the global reach and audience engagement of the tournament.

The program features a total funding pool of $20 million USD, with individual partners eligible to receive up to $1 million USD to support their promotional efforts. This represents a significant expansion from the 30 teams included in the 2024 iteration of the program. The selection process for Chinese organizations was facilitated in coordination with Tencent. While many prominent global teams were retained, several organizations from the previous year, such as TSM, NRG, and OG, were excluded or exited the partnership.

The Esports World Cup is managed by the non-profit Esports World Cup Foundation and operated by the ESL FACEIT Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi government-owned Savvy Games Group. The event has faced ongoing scrutiny from international human rights organizations regarding its association with the Saudi Arabian government and concerns over potential "sports washing." Furthermore, previous participants have been criticized for failing to adhere to standard disclosure regulations when promoting the event on social media, leaving the current compliance requirements for the 2025 cohort uncertain.