EA Sports to Rename FIFA Series?
EA have hinted at the possibility of renaming the FIFA series, through a statement by the company's general manager, Cam Weber, as reported by the Daily Mail.
In the statement, Weber is quoted saying "[...] we're also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games. [...] we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA".
The full statement reads the following:
"Through years of building our global franchise, we also know that authenticity is essential to the experience.
"That’s why we focus so much energy on the collective strength of over 300 individual licensed partners that give us access to 17,000+ athletes across 700+ teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world.
"We continually invest in the partnerships and licenses that are most meaningful to players, and because of that, our game is the only place you can authentically play in the iconic UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, Premier League, Bundesliga, and LaLiga Santander, among many others.
"The breadth of our partnerships and our ecosystem of licensed content will enable us to continue to bring unrivalled authenticity in our EA SPORTS football games, now and for many years to come.
"As we look ahead, we’re also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games. This means we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world.
"The future of football is very big and very bright. Our priority is to ensure we have every opportunity to continue delivering the world’s greatest interactive football experiences."
With a number of new competitors announcing their entry into the market and eFootball (f.k.a. Pro Evolution Soccer) move to a free-to-play model, it could make sense for EA to refresh their overall approach.
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