FIFA extends its partnership with Bundesliga

EA Sports and the Bundesliga, Germany’s top division of soccer, have renewed their partnership, Bundesliga announced today.

This long-term partnership means that FIFA will continue to retain exclusive license rights for Bundesliga clubs, kits, and stadiums in all of its future editions. Bundesliga players will also be available in Ultimate Team, as well as FUT promos such as the Team of the Week (TOTW), Player of the Month (POTM), Team of the Year (TOTY), and Team of the Season (TOTS).

EA and the Bundesliga have been official partners since 1998. “In a relationship spanning more than 20 years, we have seen the rise and rise of EA SPORTS FIFA, to it becoming one of the most recognizable brands in the world,” said Robert Klein, Bundesliga International’s CEO.

This partnership allows EA to create realistic versions of Bundesliga stadiums and, most importantly, to reproduce an accurate version of all of the league’s players through its face-scan.

“Our partnership with Bundesliga further cements EA SPORTS FIFA as the most authentic, interactive football experience in the world,” said Nick Wlodyka, EA Sports FIFA‘s vice president and general manager. “Only in FIFA 21 can the Bundesliga’s millions of fans play as all 18 clubs, from last year’s champions to newly promoted teams.”

Both organizations will work to keep improving the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL), a FIFA esports competition that was created in 2012. One of the VBL’s tournaments, the VBL Open, had 130,000 participants at last count, which makes it the most popular FIFA esports competition among professional soccer leagues.