Esports World Cup Foundation Announces 40 Clubs Selected for Its $20 Million Club Partner Program, Uniting over 300 Million Esports Fans Worldwide

[TheLostSwede]

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) today announced the top 40 esports Clubs that have been accepted into the EWCF Club Partner Program, an industry-leading initiative designed to promote the sustainable growth of esports organizations. The $20 million program offers participating Clubs up to $1 million in funding to expand their brand and grow their global audience through innovative content and marketing campaigns leading up to and throughout the Esports World Cup 2025.

Since 2023, the EWCF has supported esports Clubs with a carefully aligned funding model that contributes to the Club Partner Program members' financial stability and brand growth. To achieve this, the 2025 Program will focus on fueling global fan growth across all borders and games through impactful storytelling and creative campaigns.




Leveraging EWCF support, the 40 Partner Clubs, reaching over 300 million fans, will drive global growth by creating compelling experiences and content that deepen their connection with fans worldwide, including behind-the-scenes production, player documentaries, and live fan experiences that excite their communities. The 2025 program offers modular funding for campaigns that engage fans, tell EWC-related stories, and enable Club-driven innovation.

"The EWCF Club Partner Program is a cornerstone of our mission to build a sustainable future for esports Clubs worldwide while creating opportunities for organizations from some of the world's fastest-growing markets", said Faisal Bin Homran, Chief Product Officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation. "This year's 40 partnered Clubs represent a diverse and dynamic cross-section of global esports, spanning legacy organizations, rising stars and global powerhouses that collectively define the rich history and the rapidly evolving future of the industry. By investing in their growth, the program will enable Clubs to expand their audience and reach, strengthen their brands, and gain greater visibility through fan-first content, shaping the future of esports as a global sport and mainstream entertainment."

With this year's focus on high-growth regions, the 2025 EWCF Club Partner Program represents a truly global roster, including six Clubs from China, alongside additions from rapidly expanding markets like Japan, India, and LATAM. The full lineup of Clubs, in alphabetic order: 100 Thieves, All Gamers, Bilibili Gaming, Cloud9, Edward Gaming, EVOS, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, FURIA, G2 Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, Gen.G, Gentle Mates, HEROIC, JD Gaming, Karmine Corp., Movistar KOI, LEVIATAN, LOUD, MOUZ, NAVI, NIP.eStar, ONIC, POWR, REJECT, S8UL, Sentinels, T1, Team BDS, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Team RRQ, Team Secret, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, Twisted Minds, Virtus.pro, Weibo Gaming, Wolves Esports, ZETA DIVISION.

The 2025 Club Program applications in China were supported by Tencent E-Sports, who have facilitated the process for 20 Clubs that have applied. Six Clubs were selected, including All Gamers, Bilibili Gaming, Edward Gaming, JD Gaming, Weibo Gaming, and Wolves Esports—China's most dominant teams, engaging over 125 million Chinese fans through gaming, entertainment, and lifestyle content. Additionally, eStar, as part of NIP, has also been added to the lineup, further serving the expansion of the Club Partner Program in China and activating Chinese fans.

All Clubs were selected through a rigorous evaluation process that reviewed nearly 200 applications. This included assessing their competitive track record in the Club Championship in 2024, their potential across multiple games, social media presence, fan engagement, and their strategic plans for activating their global esports audience. Eight Clubs received direct invitations based on their EWC 2024 Club Championship ranking, while the remaining spots were allocated through an open application process. Nineteen Clubs joined for the first time, and 21 returned from the inaugural year.

"Esports is evolving faster than ever, and the EWCF Club Partner Program is driving that evolution by giving Clubs the tools to grow, engage fans, and compete at the highest level," said Fabien "Neo" Devide, Chairman and co-founder of Team Vitality. "EWC 2024 was a defining moment for us—winning points in five games, two podium finishes, and securing a top-four finish at the Club Championship. The scale and energy of the event proved just how influential esports has become. We're proud to be part of the program again, fueled by the enthusiasm of French fans who continue to support and inspire us as we look to elevate our game, win as many tournaments as possible, and carry Team Vitality's colours high on the biggest stage in esports."

"As one of the fastest growing esports organizations in North America, we are delighted to join the EWCF Club Partner Program," said Rob Moore, CEO of Sentinels. "Continuing the momentum of our success in 2024, including a major win in VALORANT and significant growth across our social channels reaching millions of fans in North America and beyond, the addition of VALORANT to the Esports World Cup is the perfect time for us to become an official partner and deliver new and exciting content to an even wider audience."

"Since Day One, All Gamers has chased esports glory—pushing non-stop for over 20 years. With years of hard work from our teams, we've scored big wins in top games and trained legends in the scene," said Le Kedeng, Chairman of All Gamers. "Competing at the 2024 EWC against the world's best, that fire burns bright. Now joining EWCF's Club Partner Program, here's our hope: When fans worldwide see Chinese esports through AG, they won't just recall epic comebacks, but our crew's unstoppable spirit—cutting through challenges like a blade. That combination of grit and grace—that's China's gift to the global esports race."

Membership in the EWCF Club Partner Program is subject to annual renewal in line with the Program's requirements, reflecting the dynamic nature of the esports industry. A Club's participation in the program does not guarantee a spot at the Esports World Cup 2025. All Clubs are required to qualify through official qualification pathways to earn their spot in each game's EWC tournament.

The Esports World Cup 2025 will once again unite gaming and esports communities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a global competition that will crown the next Esports World Cup Champion. The tournament's unique cross-game format will reward participating Clubs and players competing for a life-changing prize pool across a mix of platforms and genres, bringing together esports' best teams, players and games under one banner in the largest ever celebration of esports.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Onasi]

Oh good, I love sportswashing.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Oh good, I love sportswashing.

What is sport swashing? Is that what swashbucklers do when they sport?

 

[Onasi]

@TheLostSwede
That would unironically be a fun thing to watch, give me my theatrical swashbuckling tournaments, let it be the fencing equivalent of WWE. Watching guys going Errol Flynn on each other sounds like a good time.

But, uh, in the case if your question was actually serious and you are unfamiliar with the term (though I assume you are just joking around):

Sportswashing - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[TheLostSwede]

But, uh, in the case if your question was actually serious and you are unfamiliar with the term (though I assume you are just joking around):

Sportswashing - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Yeah, I'm aware, but it's one of those weird words in English that isn't two words, so it makes it a bit hard to figure out what it's supposed to actually say.
I was curious to see what the community comments would be on this one, as it's not something I'm pro in any way.

 

[Onasi]

@TheLostSwede
‘fraid most of the TPU community would be completely ambivalent since, from my observations, e-sports isn’t something that interests many people here and the reaction would be “whatever” or “lol professional gaming lol” at best. Not many people are following the industry and various scenes over here. But yeah, the Saudi takeover of e-sports is actually very concerning and is something that a lot of respected people in the sphere discuss. Shame that the number of said people just isn’t high since most just prefer to keep their head down and get the bag.

 

[L0stS0ul]

The Olympics in the Third Reich? In Russia? In China? Sport has always been unfortunately included in propaganda activities at a given time.
Someone could say that currently rich countries with oil are strongly involved in sport, or rather have been in it for years - certainly in motorsport, certainly in football.

The more you can earn - the easier it is to buy people. FIFA - the mafia (FIFA-Mafia. The schmutzigen Geschäfte mit dem Weltfußball), is a popular slogan in Europe.
FIFA and UEFA have a very bad reputation among fans. However, the clubs themselves have become a place of corruption, problems with financial transparency, which sometimes leads clubs to the edge of the abyss. Many Italian corruption scandals from Serie A.

I don't know how it looks in the case of other disciplines and countries. I have no problem with promoting yourself through sport as long as you don't cover up scandals, don't hide your illegal or aggressive behavior as a state. As long as there is no corruption along the way. The more money, the less sport, the less transparency.

Esports - I don't know to what extent it is promoting oneself, whether someone here is trying to invest, laundering dirty money, enter the market where they actually earn money or build the image of their country.
I wonder how it looks with computer games, but it seems that it is beyond control and detached from any supervision, unlike "traditional" sports. These are all federations and organizations outside the typical circulation. A lot of kids there are later customers of services, products, who in a few years will be able to buy everything with their own credit card xD

 

[Kyan]

@TheLostSwede
‘fraid most of the TPU community would be completely ambivalent since, from my observations, e-sports isn’t something that interests many people here and the reaction would be “whatever” or “lol professional gaming lol” at best. Not many people are following the industry and various scenes over here. But yeah, the Saudi takeover of e-sports is actually very concerning and is something that a lot of respected people in the sphere discuss. Shame that the number of said people just isn’t high since most just prefer to keep their head down and get the bag.

I'm actually into esports so I find it interesting.
I agree with you about the Saudi takeover, it's actually a good thing in some way because it's injecting money in some game, esport structure and player but it means at some point, they will rely on it to pay them.

 

[Onasi]

I agree with you about the Saudi takeover, it's actually a good thing in some way because it's injecting money in some game, esport structure and player but it means at some point, they will rely on it to pay them.

Exactly. We have already been here just a few years ago with Covid and e-sports blowing up in popularity. Orgs at that time decided, based on absolutely nothing, that pumping tons of money into paying players outrageous salaries, spending money on bullshit vanity projects like superteams and team compounds and essentially completely skewing the scales is somehow sustainable. It wasn't. Hence the e-sports "winter" we are in. Now these same cretins decided that relying on Saudi money to bail them out and continue their unsustainable way of running the industry is another freebie, but it won't be. And when the Saudis get tired of e-sports or decide it isn't actually as useful as they thought they will cut them like a gangrenous limb. And then what? The whole scene collapses? We go back to using shady as fuck sponsors (not that that ever stopped)? Orgs beg Valve/Riot/whoever to foot the bill for a while? They won't.