EA once again holds the exclusive license for Juventus following a new agreement with the Italian giants for FIFA 23.
EA has penned a new deal with the Turin-based club that will see Juventus’ logo, kits and their stadium, the Allianz Arena, return to FIFA in the series’ upcoming instalment. Retired Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio will also be included in the FIFA 23 edition of Ultimate Team as a Hero card for the club.
In a statement given by Juventus’ chief revenue officer Giorgio Ricci, he elaborated on the club’s return to the popular game series, “The partnership with EA SPORTS goes beyond the concept of traditional partnership, together in the shared project of looking into the future, talking to new generations, riding the wave of new trends, urban culture and lifestyle. We chose EA SPORTS to go one step further because it is a partner sharing our vision and ambition. We are pleased to make this journey with a brand standing out for its originality, uniqueness, and innovation, as Juventus does” (via BusinessWire).
In 2019, Juventus signed an exclusive deal with Konami for their Pro Evolution Soccer (now eFootball) series. This deal allowed Konami the exclusive rights that EA will now enjoy.
FIFA had been using the club name Piemonte Calcio to replace Juventus since FIFA 2020. This fictional team used Juventus’ real-world players but without using any of Juventus’ exclusive branding, a tactic titles like the aforementioned eFootball and Football Manager has to make use of extensively.
EA continues to hold the majority of football licenses, such as that of the Premier League and its clubs. The only Premier League clubs Konami has licensing agreements with are Manchester United and Arsenal. In Serie A, Konami has agreements in place with Atalanta, Lazio, A.C Monza, Napoli and Roma, having just lost Juventus to their rival football simulation game.
EA recently announced that FIFA 23 would be the last of the series to use the FIFA branding, as it is will be named EA Sports FC going forward.
FIFA 23 will be released on September 30 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia and Nintendo Switch.
