September 9 – After four years with their official licensing outside of the world’s most popular football simulation game, Roma and Napoli will rejoin the fray as part of a big win for EA Sports ahead of the release of the FC 25 title later this month.
The news breaks as opposition to EA Sports intensifies. EA Sports have been the kings of football simulation for decades, but Konami and newcomers UFL are keen to pull the licensing carpet from underneath them.
“We are very pleased to welcome back among our partners such a prestigious brand popular with gamers around the world in EA SPORTS FC,” commented AS Roma CEO Lina Souloukou.
“It is a source of great satisfaction for our club to be represented in the video game not only through the men’s team but also with the presence of our Female Italian Champions. We thank EA Sports for giving us this opportunity that represents a huge step forward on a cultural level for the affirmation of women’s football.”
Tommaso Bianchini, chief revenue officer of SSC Napoli, added: “We are excited and very proud to come back to the most iconic video game in the world. The partnership with EA Sports is designed to celebrate the love of our fans scattered all over the world for Napoli.”
EA’s victory was cut short last week, though, as rivals Konami, who develop the eFootball games, announced their exclusive agreements with AC Milan and Inter. The agreements, announced on Thursday, mean Konami’s eFootball will be the only football simulation video game to feature the official name, kit and logos of AC Milan and Inter Milan – marking a humiliating loss for EA Sports.
Although EA Sports FC 25 will retain the official player names from both clubs through a central agreement with Fifpro, the global players’ union, it will no longer have access to official team names, stadium names, or branding rights.
The Serie A has remained a difficult landscape for EA to build upon, with Juventus leading the way in 2019 by separating licensing rights from the company in favour of Konami, forcing the game to replace the club with ‘Piemonte Calcio’. The club’s decision was reversed in 2023 and they were added back into the game.
The plot will continue to thicken as the football simulation gaming market sees the debut of a new contender this month with the long-awaited release of *Ultimate Football League (UFL), developed and published by Strikerz.
Originally slated for release in 2022 and later postponed to 2023, the game will finally hit shelves in 2024.
UFL has secured a partnership with Fifpro and signed top-tier football stars as brand ambassadors, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne, alongside a number of non-exclusive partnerships with clubs including West Ham United, Sporting CP (Portugal) AS Monaco and others.
Game developers 2K are also getting ready to provide stiff competition for EA Sports, as they become favourites to take over the FIFA licensing and naming rights.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1734948857labto1734948857ofdlr1734948857owedi1734948857sni@g1734948857niwe.1734948857yrrah1734948857