Players of the Orange eLeague 2026 season;
Credit: Ievgenii Karanov, Chronicle.lu
On Thursday 8 January 2026, the Orange eLeague Media Day took place at the Orange offices in Bertrange, bringing together around 30 participants, including players, speakers and media representatives, as organisers outlined the upcoming season.
Organised by Orange Luxembourg in cooperation with the Luxembourg Football Federation (FLF), the Orange eLeague sees players compete on the football video game FC26 while representing domestic football clubs, and also serves as a qualifying pathway to international competitions such as the eCL League Phase and the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins.
According to Gilles Faber, representative of the FLF, the qualification process for the Orange eLeague took place through three separate tournaments held in December 2025. The first two qualifiers were reserved for players affiliated with football clubs, with four players qualifying through the second stage.
A third qualifier was organised for Luxembourg-based players without a club, following strong interest from players who either lacked club contacts or chose not to represent a club. “There was significant demand, with more than 100 players interested, but only two places were available,” Gilles Faber explained to Chronicle.lu, adding that priority was given to club-affiliated players in order to maintain strong representation of football clubs within the competition.
The 2026 edition will include the top five players from the previous (fifth) season, as well as the winner of Division 2, all of whom have automatically qualified for the top tier. In total, 36 players will compete across two divisions, with 16 players in Division 1 and 20 in Division 2, each representing a domestic football club.
The regular season will run from February to April 2026 and follow a league format, in which players face each other over fifteen matchdays. At the end of the regular season, the top eight players will qualify for the playoffs, played in an upper and lower bracket system, giving the top four finishers a second chance to remain in contention for the title.
The winner of the 2026 Orange eLeague season will be determined on 18 April 2026.
The 2026 Orange eLeague season will feature a total prize pool of €10,000. In Division 1, the winner will receive €2,500 and a gold medal, while second and third place will earn €1,650 and €1,000 respectively, along with silver and bronze medals.
The 2026 season will also mark a change at the top of the competition. Four-time Orange eLeague champion Ivanilson, who represented Atert Bissen last season, will not defend his title after moving on to compete professionally for SCO Angers in France’s eLigue 1. As a result, a new Orange eLeague champion is guaranteed this year. Commenting on this, Gilles Faber said: “We will definitely have a new winner, which is positive for the league and gives another player the chance to reach the international stage.”
