Not Just for Boys Anymore: EA’s Work With UEFA Brings Female Players into FIFA 23
By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Video gaming giant EA SPORTS has announced key initiatives to promote women’s football, and to include female players in its games.
The announcement was made at the Women’s Football Summit, where Electronic Arts Inc. unveiled a multi-year partnership with the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). EA says the partnership will allow both parties to deliver a “more impactful experience for women’s football fans around the globe.”
There are several parts to the agreement, which includes direct investment in women’s football. EA Sports unveiled the Starting XI Fund, an accelerator fund for women’s football that is designed to promote the sport and move the women’s game forward. EA has initially committed $11 million to that fund, which will be invested in leagues, clubs and athletes to continue elevating the women’s game.
EA SPORTS also announced that beginning in 2023, it will fund a women’s football internship program with each new and existing women’s league partner, designed to inspire and empower young females from diverse backgrounds to become involved in the world of football.
“EA SPORTS is at the epicenter of global football fandom, and we recognize the role we have in representing and elevating diversity and participation in the sport,” said Andrea Hopelain, SVP of Brand, EA SPORTS. “Our commitment extends beyond the pitch in the virtual and real world. The Starting XI Fund reinforces our dedication to unrivaled authenticity and representation in our games, and also showcases our focus on being changemakers for the future of the sport.”
EA SPORTS has also announced a multi-year partnership with the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL), which will allow both parties to deliver a more inclusive gaming experience for women’s football fans around the globe.
Starting in early 2023, EA SPORTS FIFA 23 will feature the knockout stage of the UWCL, with clubs including Juventus Women, Real Madrid Femenino, Chelsea Women, Manchester City Women, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, Paris Saint-Germain Féminine and more.
“We are delighted to see the UEFA Women’s Champions League being integrated into EA SPORTS FIFA 23,” said Nadine Kessler, Chief of Women’s Football for UEFA. “It feels like a natural fit for the world’s best women’s club competition to be part of the world’s leading football simulation game. This is another major step in the women’s game and an ideal additional platform for the female athletes contributing to its success.”
Also announced during the Women’s Football Summit, EA SPORTS has agreed to a multi-year sponsorship partnership with DAZN to become the Global Broadcast Partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The partnership will kick off in March, in conjunction with the UEFA Women’s Champions League launching in FIFA 23 and the quarterfinal round of the competition. EA SPORTS advertising will be featured across all matchday global broadcasts on DAZN and on DAZN’s UWCL YouTube Channel. The partnership expands on EA SPORTS’ commitment to providing the most immersive experience to fans across the globe.
“We are thrilled to officially announce EA SPORTS as DAZN’s newest global broadcast sponsor of the UEFA Women’s Champions League coverage, as part of a budding roster of like-minded brands investing into the ever-strengthening women’s football economic ecosystem,” said Shay Segev, CEO, DAZN Group. “What EA SPORTS is doing to advance the women’s game is game-changing, and we look forward to activating this new partnership to collectively reach and engage millions more fans around the globe and inspire the next generation along the way.”
The new initiatives from Electronic Arts appears to be part of a much wider commitment to inclusivity and diversity. For example, when FIFA 23 launched earlier this year, fans were able to play as women’s club teams with the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and Division 1 Arkema at launch, with the promise of additional updates later in the season.
As well, EA SPORTS announced just last week that for the first time in the video game franchise’s history, players from the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Women’s Championship will be included in the company’s popular NHL video game.
Stars like Team Canada’s Sarah Nurse can now be included in the same Hockey Ultimate Team as male players.
“The NHL franchise has always prided itself on being one of the best team-based sports game experiences you can enjoy with friends, whether that friend is across the couch or the globe,” said Mike Inglehart, Creative Director at EA Vancouver. “This year, NHL 23 continues to bring fans closer together with cross-platform matchmaking and the expanded feature set highlighting women’s hockey.”
EA SPORTS also announced in early October that it had signed a licensing deal with the Musqueam Indian Band in Vancouver, BC, where the company’s headquarters is located.
Under that agreement, FIFA 23 players will have the opportunity to play at the Musqueam-inspired VOLTA FOOTBALL Pitch, a fictional representation of Musqueam’s real-life soccer field that has brought together indigenous athletes and fans from across the region since its unveiling in 2012. Through this collaboration, Musqueam cultural elements were incorporated into the FIFA 23 game, including a Musqueam longhouse and artwork from Musqueam visual artists, carvers, designers, and weavers.
Next summer, EA SPORTS is also delivering the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, enabling fans to experience the pinnacle of women’s international football. Additionally, in FIFA 23, Chelsea Striker Sam Kerr made history as the first woman to be featured on a global cover of any FIFA game. “Kerr was also on EA SPORTS’ Women’s Football Summit panel: Driving the Future of the Women’s Game, speaking to how we can work together to grow the women’s game, on and off the pitch,” EA SPORTS said.