LaLiga, yesterday, announced a new agreement with Electronic Arts (EA) sports “that will allow both parties to deliver groundbreaking experiences for global football fans.”
The press release by the Spanish’s LaLiga unveiled EA Sports, and it’s renamed EA Sports FC video game title, as the naming rights partner for the league once the current deal with Santander expires at the end of the 2022/23 season.
“Starting in the 2023/2024 season, the partnership between EA SPORTS FC™ and LaLiga will include title naming rights for all LaLiga competitions, a complete rebrand of LaLiga with EA SPORTS including all logos, graphics, fonts and other visual elements, while also delivering new in-game integration, broadcast highlights, and joint commitments to supporting grassroots initiatives.”
The multi-year partnership will cover the first and second divisions of LaLiga, LaLiga Promises (the league’s annual youth tournament) and eLaLiga.
“EA SPORTS represents the cutting edge of interactive football experiences while LaLiga is at the forefront of actual football competitions with unmatched in-person, broadcast and digital fan experiences,” said Javier Tebas, President, LaLiga.
“We have been strategic partners with EA SPORTS for years and this expanded agreement is a commitment to providing the next level of innovation to all football fans, a fusion between the virtual and real worlds of football.”
“The sponsorship is significant in the impact it will likely have on the esports football video game market. EA Sports FC is the new title for the FIFA video game that dominates football games but which will cease to use the FIFA brand name following the release of the FIFA23 edition of the game,” according to Inside World Football.
EA Sports and FIFA were unable to find an agreement on licensing the FIFA brand, leaving EA Sports to literally take their ball and walk away with their game.
FIFA said it will launch its own games but with this deal with LaLiga, EA Sports is letting everyone know that they are the only game in town.
EA Sports has long licensed LaLiga teams, players, and stadiums within its FIFA franchise.
The new deal with EA Sports FC however takes that partnership to another level with a much greater immersion in the physical world of football and the football business, as well as an embracing of the latest video gaming and digital technologies.
In addition to the naming rights partnership, fans will benefit through new technology, gameplay enhancements and development, and real-world football highlights.
No value was given for the deal. The first EA SPORTS FC products will become made available in Summer 2023.
EA also noted that more details on the partnership will be available “in the coming months.”
