EA Sports Deepens Premier League Partnership For FIFA

Author: by Leigh Alexader

Electronic Arts has a new official partnership with the Premier League of English football (soccer, of course, to U.S. fans) that'll see EA Sports branding on Barclays Premier League live broadcasts, plus deeper integration of Premier League statistics in future FIFA games, as EA Sports will sponsor the Player Performance Index. The relationship acts as an extension on, and a deepening of, the two organizations' existing partnership. Through the agreement, EA VP of Football Matt Bilbey says EA gains access to the Premier League's "tremendous global exposure and direct access to one of the most passionate football audiences in the world." One example of how EA will leverage real-world data includes using the sponsorship opportunity to add time and distance measurements to player performance data -- this will provide for more detailed stats on speed and force of shots, and in turn is intended to enhance the realism of EA Sports FIFA games when the data is integrated into future versions. The partnership will also feature an EA Sports "Team of the Week", which will be based on Performance Index ratings weekly -- the results of which are integrated into the games. "Partnering with the Premier League further establishes EA Sports and its FIFA franchise as the ultimate, authentic football gaming experience," says Bilbey. "We look forward to adding further in-game authenticity with the direct access to the Player Performance Index as well as releasing new ways to leverage our technology to enhance the fans enjoyment of Barclays Premier League football on and beyond match day each week."