Rwanda to Host SportsBiz Africa eSports Cup Qualifiers

SportsBiz Africa will host competitions to choose five Rwanda representatives at the continental SBA Esports Cup this September in Kigali.

The national competitions, to be held at the BK Arena in Kigali, will feature two tournaments–EA Sports FC 2026 on PlayStation 5 on August 21, and eFootball on mobile devices on August 23.

The EA Sports FC tournament will feature 16 players, beginning with a knockout stage before the top eight proceed to quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will then battle for the top two spots to determine the national champion.

The four national semi-finalists will represent Rwanda at the continental SportsBiz Africa EA Sports FC tournament. This continental tournament, featuring a $10,000 (approx. Rwf14.7 million) prize pool, will be open to self-sponsored professional gamers from around Africa and is expected to host a total of 32 players.

The second national tournament, eFootball, will feature eight gamers who will be randomly paired. The top four winners will advance directly to the semi-finals and finals to determine the eFootball national champion.

The national champion will be the Rwanda representative at the eFootball segment of the continental SBA Esports Cup, which will feature a $5,000 (approx. Rwf7.3 million) prize pool. A total of eight sponsored African gamers will compete at the tournament, where Rwanda will join seven other countries–Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt and Morocco.

The 2026 SportsBiz Africa Esports Cup will be the second edition of the continental tournament, following its inauguration in 2025. Praise Stevens represented Rwanda at the inaugural Cup, which was won by Zaid April from South Africa.

The Rwanda national competitions during the two days at the BK Arena will be open to the public and are expected to attract Esports enthusiasts in the country.