Konami Digital Entertainment Announces Partnership Agreement for the 20th Asian Games (2026/Aichi-Nagoya)
Konami Digital Entertainment has signed a partnership agreement for the 20th Asian Games (2026/Aichi-Nagoya). The company's "eFootball™" has been adopted as an official esports title, and KONAMI will contribute to the development of the event.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 15, 2026 at 01:08
- 🔍 Collected: May 14, 2026 at 16:32
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 14, 2026 at 18:50 (2h 17m after Collected)
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (hereafter, KONAMI) announces that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Aichi-Nagoya Asian and Asian Para Games Organizing Committee for the 20th Asian Games, hosted by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The Asian Games is one of Asia's largest international multi-sport events, with 45 countries and regions from across Asia participating. Following the previous Hangzhou Games, it has been decided that esports will be an official medal event at the 20th Asian Games, and "eFootball™" has been adopted as one of the competition titles.
Given that esports is establishing itself as an official sport in such international sporting events, this partnership agreement was reached with the aim of further developing esports competition at the Asian Games, enhancing its competitive value, promoting the formation of a unique digital community through esports, and contributing to the creation of a new sports culture.
"eFootball™" was also adopted as the only competition title from a Japanese manufacturer at the 18th Asian Games (2018), where esports was first held as a demonstration sport, and has supported the development of esports in international tournaments. As a leading company in this field, we will further energize this tournament as well.
Furthermore, at the recently held "Japan National Team Candidate Final Selection Competition," two candidate players for the "eFootball™" Japan national team (Mobile: lemon-pop, PC: Tess) were decided. National team players from other Asian countries and regions will be decided sequentially, so please stay tuned for further updates.
(Left: Tess, Right: lemon-pop)
Through this partnership, KONAMI will contribute to the development of esports competition at the Asian Games and create opportunities for cross-border and cross-regional exchange through "eFootball™".
【About Our Esports Initiatives】
The "eFootball™" series was born in 1995 as the home console game "Winning Eleven" and has been supported by many customers for many years. It has garnered attention as a competitive title both domestically and internationally, being adopted as a demonstration sport at the "18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang" and for seven consecutive tournaments since the 2019 Ibaraki Games in the "National Prefectural eSports Championship" held as a National Sports Festival cultural program. From 2024, we signed a contract with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for collaboration in esports, and "eFootball™" was also adopted as a competition title for the "FIFAe World Cup™", with over 16 million players participating worldwide. We are also expanding initiatives that combine esports and real sports, such as hosting the "eFootball™ Championship 2024 Club Event" with professional soccer clubs and co-hosting the "eJ.LEAGUE eFootball™" with the Japan Professional Football League (J.League), in which all 40 J1 and J2 clubs participate.
【About "eFootball™"】
"eFootball™" was born as "Winning Eleven" in 1995 and has been loved by soccer fans around the world, with total downloads now exceeding 1 billion. In addition to enjoying the "Dream Team" mode, where you can acquire and develop players who were active in real matches, players from notable leagues, and legendary players who have made their mark in soccer history to build your own original team, you can also experience the "excitement" in "Co-op" mode, which allows for up to 3vs3 online cooperative play. It has also been adopted as a competition title in various domestic and international esports tournaments, spreading the fun of digital soccer to the world.
eFootball™ Official Website: https://www.konami.com/efootball/ja/
Official X Account: @we_konami
The Asian Games is one of Asia's largest international multi-sport events, with 45 countries and regions from across Asia participating. Following the previous Hangzhou Games, it has been decided that esports will be an official medal event at the 20th Asian Games, and "eFootball™" has been adopted as one of the competition titles.
Given that esports is establishing itself as an official sport in such international sporting events, this partnership agreement was reached with the aim of further developing esports competition at the Asian Games, enhancing its competitive value, promoting the formation of a unique digital community through esports, and contributing to the creation of a new sports culture.
"eFootball™" was also adopted as the only competition title from a Japanese manufacturer at the 18th Asian Games (2018), where esports was first held as a demonstration sport, and has supported the development of esports in international tournaments. As a leading company in this field, we will further energize this tournament as well.
Furthermore, at the recently held "Japan National Team Candidate Final Selection Competition," two candidate players for the "eFootball™" Japan national team (Mobile: lemon-pop, PC: Tess) were decided. National team players from other Asian countries and regions will be decided sequentially, so please stay tuned for further updates.
(Left: Tess, Right: lemon-pop)
Through this partnership, KONAMI will contribute to the development of esports competition at the Asian Games and create opportunities for cross-border and cross-regional exchange through "eFootball™".
【About Our Esports Initiatives】
The "eFootball™" series was born in 1995 as the home console game "Winning Eleven" and has been supported by many customers for many years. It has garnered attention as a competitive title both domestically and internationally, being adopted as a demonstration sport at the "18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang" and for seven consecutive tournaments since the 2019 Ibaraki Games in the "National Prefectural eSports Championship" held as a National Sports Festival cultural program. From 2024, we signed a contract with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for collaboration in esports, and "eFootball™" was also adopted as a competition title for the "FIFAe World Cup™", with over 16 million players participating worldwide. We are also expanding initiatives that combine esports and real sports, such as hosting the "eFootball™ Championship 2024 Club Event" with professional soccer clubs and co-hosting the "eJ.LEAGUE eFootball™" with the Japan Professional Football League (J.League), in which all 40 J1 and J2 clubs participate.
【About "eFootball™"】
"eFootball™" was born as "Winning Eleven" in 1995 and has been loved by soccer fans around the world, with total downloads now exceeding 1 billion. In addition to enjoying the "Dream Team" mode, where you can acquire and develop players who were active in real matches, players from notable leagues, and legendary players who have made their mark in soccer history to build your own original team, you can also experience the "excitement" in "Co-op" mode, which allows for up to 3vs3 online cooperative play. It has also been adopted as a competition title in various domestic and international esports tournaments, spreading the fun of digital soccer to the world.
eFootball™ Official Website: https://www.konami.com/efootball/ja/
Official X Account: @we_konami