FIFA 23 furthers commitment to women’s teams by investing almost £10million in the sport

EA Sports, developer of FIFA 23, has invested $11million (£9.7million) in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) to invest in the future of the sport.

FIFA 23 features more female players than ever before, including all the players and clubs from the English Premier League and France’s Ligue 1.

It will also release a Women’s World Cup mode for the first time, to coincide with the real life event next summer.

FIFA 23 is the last game in the FIFA franchise developed by EA Sports, as the two companies will part ways following a dispute over licensing fees.

The football federation reportedly asked the developer for $1billion (£900million) in order to continue using the company’s license.

EA Sports reportedly refused the offer and will continue the series under a new name, EA Sports FC, starting from next year.

UWCL and EA Sports have now entered a multi-year partnership, where teams and players from Europe’s top football league will be able to appear in EA Sports’ games.

Alongside the top French and English women’s clubs, other highly rated teams, such as Juventus Women and Real Madrid Femenino, will also be licensed.

In a press release, EA reports that these new clubs will be included in FIFA 23 early next year.

The developer has also agreed to help UWCL with its marketing budget and campaign and is now a global broadcast partner of the league.

The UWCL quarterfinal matches will be held in March, 2023, and this is when the companies partnership will officially begin.

All of the new women’s clubs will be added into the game to coincide with the event.

Some of the money will be invested in the Starting XI Fund, and a new women’s internship programme aimed at encouraging women to get involved in the sport.

Women’s football is becoming ever more popular, especially in England when the Lionesses won the UWCL this year.

This new partnership could point to further partnerships between EA Sports and the Champions League in the future.

This would hope to fill the gap left by losing FIFA’s license for the upcoming games.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.