‘Making Esports a Global Sport’: EWCF COO Mike McCabe on India and the Nations Cup | INTERVIEW

‘Making Esports a Global Sport’: EWCF COO Mike McCabe on India and the Nations Cup | INTERVIEW

India's place in the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) conversation is not being measured by medals just yet. For the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), it is about something far more foundational – scale, structure and what national identity can unlock in one of the world's largest gaming markets.

As Riyadh prepares to host the inaugural Esports Nations Cup in November 2026, EWCF Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer Mike McCabe believes India represents exactly the kind of ecosystem the nation-versus-nation format is built for.

“What we know, and what we see, is the power of national pride," McCabe says. “The opportunity of bringing national teams into that as well is that it opens the aperture massively and enables us to reach a much bigger audience."

That belief – that national representation can shift both perception and participation – sits at the core of ENC's vision. And in India, where gaming participation runs into the hundreds of millions but elite international pathways remain fragmented, that shift could prove decisive.

“There's nothing like representing your country – whether in an Olympic sport, the FIFA World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, whatever it is. When people see someone representing their country, it changes the conversation." McCabe says. “Nothing will accelerate that perception shift more than a young Indian player standing there with a flag on their shirt. India often jumps a generation. It doesn't always follow the same linear path as other technologies — it just leaps ahead. We think something similar could happen with esports."

ENC marks a deliberate departure from the club-centric model that has defined esports for decades. While the Esports World Cup has successfully brought together the world's biggest organisations across 25 titles and a record $70 million prize pool in 2025, McCabe believes the existing structure has natural limits.

“The existing esports ecosystem is very club-centric," he says. “It's focused on club versus club, and that's how it's been established and how it's grown over the last couple of decades."

That system, McCabe explains, largely caters to audiences already fluent in esports – fans who follow organisations, understand metas and track player transfers. ENC, by contrast, is designed to speak to everyone else.

“We're taking those players who have historically competed against each other and actually having them form a national team," he says. “This is the first time where we actually step it up to the next level and have the best possible players from every country in the world competing against each other."

For India, that reframing matters. In a club-driven ecosystem, top talent often gets split across rival organisations or absorbed into foreign systems. The national-team model brings that talent together – and gives it a narrative that resonates beyond the core gaming audience.

One of ENC's stated goals is to widen competitive access beyond traditional esports powerhouses.

In club-based ecosystems, infrastructure, investment and salaries tend to concentrate in familiar strongholds – Korea, China, Europe and North America. Emerging regions often struggle to bridge that gap.

“It gives an incredible opportunity to markets that maybe haven't had the chance to perform on the biggest stage to actually be there and compete at this level as well," McCabe says. “We want to create pathways for young players from all over the world to compete against their heroes."

India fits squarely into that category. The talent pool exists. The audience is already there. What's been missing, McCabe insists, is cohesion.

For McCabe, a successful first Esports Nations Cup for India begins well before matches are played.

“A good representation of the Esports Nations Cup for India starts with the creation of a stable structure from an organizational standpoint," he says.

Under ENC's framework, each country will be represented by a National Team Partner – an entity responsible for building squads, running qualifiers and safeguarding players. In some markets, that role may be filled by a federation; in others, by a consortium of stakeholders.

“We want them to be a legitimate organization," McCabe says. “They're ultimately the organization that's going to build pathways for young players… and help us put safeguarding measures in place to make sure the players are treated fairly and safely."

In India, where multiple bodies have historically laid claim to national representation, ENC has already created an incentive for cooperation.

“In many parts of the world, these groups have come together to create a new organization where maybe historically they haven't cooperated at this level," McCabe explains. “They're realizing that, for them to do this the right way and give their country the best chance to compete on that stage, they need to come together in a way they maybe haven't done before."

Title selection remains a crucial factor for India's competitiveness. While legacy esports prestige has traditionally been tied to PC titles, India's strength lies overwhelmingly in mobile gaming.

McCabe says ENC's game mix reflects that reality.

“When we were selecting the 16 games… we built a mix of mobile, PC, and console titles," he says. “We haven't announced all of those titles yet, but there's really good mobile representation… it was very deliberate that the first title we announced, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, was a mobile title. We wanted to clearly recognize the platform. This is not going to be a PC-centric experience."

For Indian players, that acknowledgment could be the difference between aspiration and access.

India's gradual policy recognition of esports has also strengthened ENC's case. McCabe points to the importance of consistency – particularly for young players and their families weighing esports as a career choice.

“What's really important for the ecosystem is consistency," he says. “If a young player decides, ‘I'm really good, I'm going to make this my career,' we need to give them and their families the security of knowing this is a legitimate career."

That legitimacy, McCabe believes, is accelerated through visibility – not just on streaming platforms, but in mainstream spaces traditionally reserved for sport.

“We want people to see that this isn't something happening quietly in a gaming cafe," he says. “It's something they can see through traditional mediums… so they can get behind these players."

McCabe has seen this transition before. In Korea in the early 2000s, competitive gaming audiences were already packing arenas – long before esports gained global acceptance.

“When you have an audience, when you cheer for someone and your team wins versus another team, it taps into that age-old sporting rivalry and passion for competition," he says.

ENC, he believes, is designed to tap into that same instinct, now amplified by national colours.

If the Esports World Cup demonstrated that esports festivals can rival traditional sporting events in scale, ENC is meant to test whether esports can sustain a recurring, globally recognised national competition.

“What ENC will provide is an accelerator," McCabe says. “It's going to give us that extra boost to take things to the next level and open the eyes of many new people."

EWCF is already in discussions with multiple countries about hosting future editions, positioning the Nations Cup as a long-term fixture rather than a novelty.

“People should know, ‘I competed this time,' or ‘I watched this time, but I want to compete next time,'" McCabe says.

For McCabe, ENC ultimately feeds into a broader mission.

“It really comes back to our mission, which is about making esports a global sport," he says. “The second is about supporting the ecosystem… to help players, clubs, fans, and publishers build a sustainable esports ecosystem."

When national anthems play in an esports arena in Riyadh in November 2026 and an Indian team walks out wearing the tricolour, ENC will face its first true test.

Whether it becomes a calendar fixture or remains an experiment may depend on what follows – on how many young players, in India and beyond, look at that stage and decide it's a place they can realistically reach.

Source: News18
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