12 April 2019 – In less than 24 hours, London will play host to the inaugural FIFA eNations Cup where 20 national teams representing all of FIFA’s confederations — CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, CAF, OFC, AFC and UEFA — will meet to determine the best FIFA19 nation.  The two-day tournament kicks off Saturday, 13 April, at Maidstone Studios.

South Africa will be represented by Ryan Bathos (Sinister5 Gaming) and Shiaan Rugbeer (Goliath Gaming). Bathos won the Xbox qualifier which was hosted by NAG and ACGL, and presented by Vodacom 4U, in March while Shiaan was invited by FIFA to represent South Africa following EA’s vetting process after competing in the official qualifiers. (Details of the vetting process have not yet been released by EA and FIFA.)

Rugbeer, who will be partnering with Bathos will be hoping to use his experience from being the  XBox competition winner at the 2018 VS Gaming FIFA Competition and representing South Africa in the FIFA eWorld Cup Global Series Qualifiers in Amsterdam last year. The 20-year-old, who won R400 000 in prize money at the VS Gaming tournament, is officially listed as one of the top-earning FIFA players globally.

SA opponents

Team South Africa, described by FIFA as “the underdogs in a tough group A” find themselves grouped with top international sides England, Finland, France and Saudi Arabia. This is by far one of the toughest groups in the competition, but the South African duo are confident leading into the weekend and intend on doing their best and making their country proud.

You can view a full list of all competing teams and players here.

What’s at stake?

In addition to international glory and a prize pool of US$100 000 at stake for the teams, players will also have the chance to win up to 1,500 EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series points, providing them with an opportunity to move up the FIFA 19 Global Series Rankings and take a significant step forward on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup™ 2019.

 Distribution of the prize money and the Global Series Points:

EA SPORTS Global Series points (per player)

1st place: 1500

2nd place: 850

3rd – 4th place: 625

5th – 8th place: 450

9th – 16th place: 275

17th – 20th place: 150

Prize money (per team)

1st place: USD $40,000

2nd place: USD $20,000

3rd – 4th place: USD $8,000

5th – 8th place: USD $3,000

9th – 16th place: USD $1,100

17th – 20th place: USD $800

How to watch the action

The event will be broadcast live on the following FIFA digital channels: Twitter | FacebookYouTube | Twitch

Match times are as follows:

  • 13 April:
    • 09:00 BST – 15:30 BST: Group Stage – Groups A and C
    • 15:30 BST – 21:20 BST: Group Stage – Groups B and D
  • 14 April:
    • 09:00 BST – 12:30 BST: Final round of the group stage
    • 12:30 BST – 18:00 BST: Quarter-finals and Semi-finals
    • 18:00 BST – 19:30 BST: Final