Women’s Club Soccer Teams Make Debut In EA Sports’ FIFA Franchise

With the women’s game currently dominating the soccer agenda around the world through a variety of ongoing continental international tournaments, EA Sports have announced that the latest edition of their FIFA gaming franchise will feature women’s club teams.

With the release of FIFA 23 this autumn, for the first time ever, gamers will be able to choose from the 24 women’s club sides in the English Barclays FA Women’s Super League and France’s top flight, D1 Arkema “extending its position as the world’s most authentic football experience.”

There will also be the option to experience the pinnacle of both men’s and women’s international football by using a post-launch update at no additional cost to play the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.

The move is timely for EA Sports as in May, the world governing body FIFA, announced it was ending their 30-year partnership to create its own gaming series, taking its name with it. FIFA 23 will be the final edition created by EA Sports who will rebrand the franchise from 2023 as EA Sports FC.

Earlier in the week, EA Sports had also revealed that Chelsea and Australian forward, Sam Kerr would become the first female player to feature on the global cover of the Ultimate Edition of the game alongside French World Cup winner, Kylian Mbappé.

Previously, United States World Cup winner, Alex Morgan, Canadian, Christine Sinclair and Australian Steph Cately had appeared on local editions of the FIFA 16 game released in their respective countries which is released around the world in 18 different languages. The best-selling sports video game franchise according to the Guiness Book of World Records, as of 2021, the game had sold 325 millon copies globally.

Senior Vice-President and General Manager of EA Sports FC, Nick Wlodyka claims “we have pushed the boundaries of realism in EA SPORTS FIFA 23 through HyperMotion2, using state-of-the-art technology to capture professional men’s and women’s teams in full intensity matches that translates millions of data points into new animations in real-time.”

“The result is the most natural and realistic motion in football gaming, and when combined with the inclusion of both men’s and women’s World Cups, women’s club football, and cross-play features, will immerse players and football fans around the world for years to come.”

Rather than merely superimposing female names and faces onto already existing gamplay, the advancements in the HyperMotion2 technology have been utilized to create “all-new animations informed by the movement of real-life female players” which have been added to FIFA 23.

“I’m delighted that the Barclays Women’s Super League will be one of the first women’s club competitions to feature in EA SPORTS FIFA 23, with the franchise historically having one of the largest and most engaged gaming communities in the world,” said Navin Singh, The English Football Asociation’s Commercial Director.

He added that “the added visibility a global brand like EA SPORTS will provide for our league, teams and players cannot be underestimated. This very much supports our ambition to accelerate the growth of the women’s game in England, and highlights our commitment to open up the Barclays Women’s Super League, and make it even more accessible, to new audiences around the globe.”

His French equivalent Francois Vasseur, Marketing Director of the French Football Federation said “this partnership between D1 Arkema and EA SPORTS is excellent news for the league, the clubs, the players, but also for the fans who, starting this year, will be able to discover their favorite players and participate in exclusive activations. It represents a huge step for D1 Arkema as a leading league with a worldwide following.”

The game will be released across all platforms on September 30.