EA is partnering with A.C. Milan and Inter Milan on the road to the release of FIFA 21. This confirms their kits, logos, and stadium will be in FIFA 21.
The two Italian clubs are the latest to receive multi-year partnerships with EA. In a June press release, EA and top Spanish football league La Liga announced a 10-year extension of their partnership deal. In a follow-up deal in July, EA announced their five-year partnership with the Spanish club Real Madrid. Unlike the earlier deals, the A.C. Milan and Inter Milan announcements do not specify the length of each multi-year deal.
What This Means
EA puts a lot of weight into authenticity, with a laundry list of league, club, and stadium partnerships and likenesses. Thanks to partnerships with FIFA and with many of the world’s larger football leagues, FIFA 21 will feature player likenesses even if they don’t have a partnership with that specific club. This multi-year partnership between EA Sports and A.C. Milan means that FIFA 21 has the rights to use those clubs’ exact uniforms and logos. It also means you’ll be able to play in the San Siro Stadium and not a generic likeness.
San Siro Stadium in Inter Milan Colors via EA Sports
From AS Roma to Roma FC
EA also announced today the end of their partnership with the Italian football club AS Roma. In FIFA 21 AS Roma will be replaced with the generic “Roma FC” in career mode and Ultimate Team . The Roma FC team will still have AS Roma’s real-life players but with only “related likenesses” now in FIFA 21. Roma FC will compete in Stadion Olympik (not to be confused with its real-world counterpart).
This isn’t the first club where EA has lost specific likeness rights. Last year, Konami’s eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 signed a deal with the Italian football club Juventus. This deal meant Juventus’ kits, badge, and stadium could not be used in FIFA 20, and EA used the generic “Piedmont Calico” as a replacement. Roma FC joins Piedmont Calcio in its vague relation to a real-life football club.
Check out Sports Gamers Online for more FIFA 21 news as it drops. You can check out details from FIFA 21’s reveal trailer here.