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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Tuesday announced the country&rsquo;s formal entry into FIFAe Nations League 2026, where a four-member team will represent the country.&nbsp; With over 120 nations participating in 2026 across all FIFAe titles, PFF President Mohsen Gilani said that the country always had the talent, but now it was being given a &ldquo;stage to shine and represent the country.&rdquo;&nbsp; According to the FIFAe website, Pakistan will participate in the eFootball Console category, comprising more than 100 other countries.&nbsp; PFF has tried to strategically shift into building a football ecosystem that goes beyond the playing field.&nbsp; &ldquo;Under the new strategy, esports have been identified as a critical frontier for expanding Pakistan&#39;s footballing footprint, particularly among the country&#39;s digitally-engaged youth,&rdquo; a press release issued by the football federation said. &nbsp; &quot;Esports is where millions of young Pakistanis already live,&rdquo; said PFF President Gilani.&nbsp; &ldquo;We have an obligation as a federation to meet them there and to provide them with a platform to compete,&rdquo; he added. According to the PFF Esports Manager Shahzeb Raza, the teams were selected through a &ldquo;rigorous process of national trials,&rdquo; with over 180 players competing for the top four spot.&nbsp; &ldquo;The FIFAe Nations League is the first step in our roadmap,&rdquo; Raza said, adding that this would be followed by rolling trials for the best available talent in Pakistan.&nbsp; &ldquo;We have big plans to organize FIFAe competitions across Pakistan, in schools, universities, and colleges, and we are excited for what the future holds.&rdquo;

E-Sports

PFF has tried to strategically shift into building football ecosystem that goes beyond the playing field; with over 120 nations participating in PFF President Gilani says country always had the talent, but now it was being given a “stage to shine and represent the country.” 



Pakistan set to debut in FIFAe Nations League 2026

Syed Maisam Ali

ISLAMABAD: In 2025, esports in Pakistan moved beyond casual gaming, gradually becoming a formal career as young players entered the competitive scene by joining professional teams and earning income through tournaments, sponsorships, and digital platforms. Earnings extended beyond prize money, with many Pakistani players establishing full-time <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-pitches-esports-as-youth-career-path-in-highlevel-uk-talks" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">careers</a> through streaming on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and TikTok.&nbsp; Sponsorships, brand partnerships, and professional team contracts created a more stable and sustainable financial framework, particularly for top-tier competitors. The gaming industry has become part of the country&rsquo;s professional and creative economy, as international achievements have helped place Pakistan firmly on the global map, inspiring players to view gaming as a long-term career. While speaking with Pakistan TV Digital, one of Pakistan&rsquo;s leading esports commentators, Mamoon Sabri, said, &ldquo;I was the first Pakistani to go full-time in esports, earning a full-time income from the industry.&rdquo;&nbsp; He added that many people were earning through the esports industry in Pakistan. He noted that top Tekken players in Pakistan were making good money through prize winnings, team signings, and player salaries, ranging from around $500 to several thousand dollars. &ldquo;People are turning esports into a full-time profession as earnings come through streaming, broadcasting, and platforms like YouTube, etc.,&rdquo; Sabri added. Government support and policy developmentEarlier in 2025, Pakistan drafted its first esports policy, establishing a national federation to support game developers and the Pakistani gaming community, Radio Pakistan reported. Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, chairman of the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Youth Program, announced a policy to support game developers and digital innovators, noting that around 60 million Pakistanis are directly involved in the sport. Khan said that the Pakistan government was taking &ldquo;concrete steps to create opportunities for youth&rdquo; in this regard. This year&#39;s Sindh E-Sports Championship saw an impressive turnout, with over 400 teams and more than 2,500 players participating, underscoring the fast-growing popularity of competitive gaming in the region. International recognitionPakistani gamers once again gained global recognition for their achievements, particularly in Tekken and PUBG Mobile. Arslan Siddique, better known as Arslan Ash, secured his sixth and seventh Evolution Championship Series (EVO) titles, winning EVO Las Vegas 2025 in August and EVO France 2025 in October.&nbsp; Ash became the only player in history to win EVO championships across three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe. In addition, he won the Tekken 8 championship at the &lsquo;LVL UP EXPO 2025&rsquo; and earned a place at the Esports World Cup 2025 with his dominant performance at Combo Breaker 2025. Atif Butt, another top Tekken player, finished as runner-up to Ash in the all-Pakistani Grand Final at EVO Las Vegas 2025 and had previously won Tekken 8 tournaments at CEO 2024 and the FV Major 2024 in Kuala Lumpur. Domestic tournament winsIn 2025, Pakistan&rsquo;s esports scene thrived, with &lsquo;4Thrives&rsquo; winning the PUBG Mobile National Championship Pakistan Spring. Hotshot Esports emerged as the champions of the GameNow Free Fire World Series Pakistan 2025, defeating the country&rsquo;s top teams and securing a coveted spot at the FFWS Global Finals in Jakarta, Indonesia. The team &lsquo;Legion&rsquo; emerged victorious in the Sindh E-Sports Championship 2025, held in Karachi, featuring over 400 teams and 2,500 players.&nbsp; Organized leagues and mobile gamingOnce limited to gaming caf&eacute;s and informal competitions, esports expanded into organized leagues, online qualifiers, and professional teams in 2025.&nbsp; Popular games such as Tekken 7 and 8, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty (CoD), Counter-Strike 2, and Dota 2 dominated the competitive landscape, attracting players from across the country.&nbsp; Mobile esports saw rapid growth over the year as lowering entry barriers allowed players from smaller cities to compete nationally and internationally.

Earnings went beyond prize money, with many players building full-time careers through streaming on platforms like YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and TikTok; sponsorships, brand partnerships, and professional team contracts created a more stable and sustainable financial foundation, especially for top-tier competitors.

Articles tagged with "Esports in Pakistan"

Pakistan set to debut in FIFAe Nations League 2026

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