FIFA 16 box to have woman on the front – UK gets Jordan
FIFA breaks new gender boundaries by putting women on the front, but not on the UK version
EA is not only putting women into the FIFA game for the first time, it’s putting a female player on the front of the box – except, that is, if you buy the UK version of the game. EA announced last month that FIFA 16 would be the first version of the game in its 22-year history to include women’s teams.
Now, following the enormous popularity of the women’s World Cup, EA is going a step further. The US version of the game will feature USA striker Alex Morgan alongside Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. The Canadian edition of the game, meanwhile, will pair Messi with the country’s team captain, Christine Sinclair.
“As soon as we knew Women’s National Teams were joining FIFA 16, we immediately recognised that Christine and Alex would be the perfect cover athletes based on their accomplishments and what they represent for their respective countries and the sport of women’s soccer,” said David Pekush, a senior marketing manager for EA Sports in a statement.
British buyers might be surprised to hear that Jordan features on the front of the UK version of the game. No, not that Jordan. Jordan Henderson, the Liverpool midfielder, who has played a grand total of two games in World Cup Finals for England, losing them both.
England are one of the 12 women’s teams that will appear in FIFA 16, making it even harder to understand why one of the players couldn’t be chosen to appear on the box.
Women’s roles are rather limited in FIFA 16, however. The female teams cannot compete against the men, even in pixellated form, and can only be used in Match Day mode, offline tournaments and online friendly matches.