Following the recent partnership between FIFA and Konami, eFootball, Konami’s football simulation game, has been officially included as one of the official titles featured in the FIFAe World Cup, alongside Rocket League and Football Manager.
In this inaugural year of this new development, India is among 18 countries officially invited to participate in eFootball at the global tournament, joining nations such as Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Spain, and Portugal.
The top-performing athletes from each country will face off in the finals later this year across both mobile and console platforms.
According to the India Games Market Report 2023 by Niko Partners, India is primarily a mobile-first market, with 96.8% of gamers using smartphones or tablets.
The total number of gamers across all platforms is expected to reach 641.2 million by 2027.
With India at the forefront of the mobile gaming revolution and eFootball available for free download, the country’s vast base of mobile gamers have the chance to turn their passion into success on the international stage.
The free-to-play aspect also facilitates easier training and participation for India’s talented mobile gamers across all backgrounds, eliminating barriers that typically limit access to high-level competitive play.
Sharing his thoughts on the opportunity this presents for India’s esports industry, Akshat Rathee, Co-founder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming said, “This collaboration between FIFA and Konami to bring eFootball into the FIFAe World Cup is a significant moment for Indian esports. India’s inclusion in this global event is a source of immense national pride.”
eFootball is also set to be featured in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s upcoming WAVES Esports Championship 2025 (WESC).
The nation has also been consistently competing in the title at the Global Esports Games.
Earlier this year, Konami announced that eFootball has surpassed 700 million total downloads worldwide.
Despite being a nation passionate about football, India has yet to compete in the FIFA World Cup.
With the qualifiers for eFootball already underway, the nation’s talented esports athletes have the chance to bridge that gap by qualifying to represent the country at the FIFAe World Cup.