EA Sports FC, the new football series that comes after the termination of the nearly 30-year partnership between EA and FIFA, has just landed its first major contract - ensuring that the teams of Spain's LaLiga will be officially represented. Spain's top soccer league LaLiga has announced that starting in the 2023/2024 season, it will be rebranding to reflect a multi-year, multi-platform deal with EA. This is the first major win for the publisher's new soccer series, which is having to make its own deals following EA's split with FIFA.
FIFA 23 will be the last game released in the series after EA and FIFA concluded their partnership, fragmenting the two behemoths. The result is EA Sports FC, EA's new series that will replace what had become the best-selling sports video game franchise of all time. The lack of a contract renewal and the subsequent announcement that FIFA was working on its own game surely worried fans of the series, but the announcement that LaLiga - one of the most-watched soccer leagues in the world - had reached a deal with EA surely quelled some of that apprehension.
The new contract between EA Sports FC and LaLiga will span LaLiga's first and second divisions as well as LaLiga Promises (youth development league) and eLaLiga (via VideoGamer). Most noteworthy for fans of the games is that this deal also includes a naming rights partnership for the league, which includes the Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. This deal with LaLiga marks the first big move EA has taken since leaving the FIFA brand, and shows that it is on the right track to gain back some, if not most, of the rights it has now lost. FIFA reportedly wanted to charge EA $1 billion every four years, nearly double the previous rate agreed. Now that the deal has fallen through, EA can focus on using that money to make deals with the leagues and clubs itself, as is evidenced with LaLiga. Hopefully, this is the first of many deals with the major worldwide soccer leagues.
Spain's LaLiga Sides With EA Sports FC After FIFA Break-Up
Certain things will change following LaLiga's deal with EA. Expect to see an overhaul of LaLiga's logos, graphics, fonts, and general visual elements, as they will now include, or at the very least have design input from, EA. According to LaLiga, this major change will be accompanied by "in-game integration, broadcast highlights, and joint commitments to supporting grassroots initiatives", between EA and LaLiga, which can mean that next season's broadcast will be much different from the 2022/2023 season's. This contract is a big move by EA following FIFA 23, as Spain is home to the most Champions League, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Europa League titles in the world, with Real Madrid and Barcelona arguably the two biggest clubs globally.
EA Sports FC will probably have many more identical announcements in the near future as EA prepares its new game for next summer. There might be some spirited negotiations happening behind the scenes for other large leagues like the Premier League, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1, as both FIFA and EA try to recoup from their separation. It remains to be seen which side will come out on top, but currently, the score is 1-0 in favor of EA, and it's only the first half.
Sources: LaLiga, VideoGamer