Phygital Contenders Astana 2026 has got underway, with clubs and athletes from around the world competing for the last qualification spots at this summer's Games of the Future.

Running from June 10th to 14th in Astana, Kazakhstan, the tournament is the final chance for competitors to reach the Games of the Future, which organisers bill as the world's premier phygital sporting event. Phygital sport combines digital gameplay with physical performance in a single format, testing competitors in both arenas. According to a release, three disciplines are on show in Astana — Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing — with the remaining places at the main event on the line.

Clubs and athletes reached this stage through a season-long qualification pathway that included the Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals tournaments. With only a limited number of places left, Phygital Contenders is the last opportunity to book a spot in Astana, where the Games of the Future runs from July 29th to August 9th.

The teams and athletes in contention

Phygital Football features 16 teams across four groups at the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Combat Sports Palace from June 10th to 14th. Among the contenders are KMF Titograd, back-to-back winners of Phygital Rivals: Montenegro; ACF x Allur, a local side combining futsal and esports talent; and Oeste SP, whose squad includes Brazilian Fut7 (seven-a-side football) national team players with experience in competitions such as the Kings League.

Phygital Basketball sees 10 teams compete at the Alau Ice Palace from June 10th to 13th. The lineup includes BOCA, the basketball arm of Argentine club Boca Juniors; Valencia Basket, which has two reigning 3x3 world champions in its squad; and GEPCO, a Lahore-based side.

Phygital Dancing takes place on June 10th and 11th at the Comfort Hotel Astana, where 11 athletes compete for five qualification places. They include Brazil's Tiago Silva, runner-up at the Games of the Future 2025, and Spain's Luis Carlos, the country's 2025 Just Dance national champion.

John Hewitt, International Marketing & Communications Director at Phygital International, said: "Phygital Contenders Astana 2026 represents the culmination of a season-long journey for clubs and athletes from around the world, and an important milestone in the continued development of phygital sport globally. … As the final qualification event for the Games of the Future 2026, Phygital Contenders Astana 2026 will determine which athletes and clubs earn their place on the world's biggest phygital stage."

The 2025 Games of the Future took place in Abu Dhabi last December, with this year's edition heading to Astana.

Looking ahead to 2026/27

Attention is already turning to the next cycle. The World Phygital Community (WPC) — the global governing body for phygital sport, which the release says has 120 members across 116 countries — has opened applications for the 2026/27 season's Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals tournaments across all four disciplines. According to the release, applications run from June 10th to August 10th, with competition beginning on August 10th. Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing run until December 13th, while Phygital Shooter concludes on November 19th.

Live coverage on streaming platform Phygital+ begins on June 12th for Phygital Basketball and June 13th for Phygital Football, with the full schedule and results available on the official Games of the Future platform.