Image: Konami
FIFA and Konami team up for an all-new FIFAe World Cup event played on eFootball.
Back in 2022, Electronic Arts and FIFA split up their 30-year partnership, causing the end of the FIFA football game franchise and the creation of EA Sports FC. Left without a franchise of its own, FIFA has gone on to announce various game spin-offs and collaborations with other companies, the latest of which is with its longtime rival Konami.
Konami’s eFootball (formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer) franchise and EA’s FIFA franchise have gone head-to-head for years now by putting out competing football games annually. This week, Konami and FIFA announced a new partnership to hold the FIFAe World Cup, which will be played on eFootball.
FIFA and Konami announce FIFAe World Cup esports event
FIFA is officially collaborating with Konami for an esports event played in the eFootball game franchise. The event, called FIFAe World Cup, will hold qualifiers starting from today across both console and mobile platforms. PC platforms will be left out of this one, unfortunately. The event will feature 18 nations, selected due to “different factors such as player base and previous performances of competitors from the respective countries."
This is the first time FIFA has collaborated with Konami however, following a long-term rivalry persisting during a time when FIFA games had to compete with eFootball and its predecessor Pro Evolution Soccer. However, that doesn’t mean that Konami is ready to pick the FIFA license just yet - this is merely an esports event carrying FIFA’s name held within its eFootball franchise.
It could be that both companies are testing the waters for a deeper collaboration, but that remains to be seen. Konami’s senior executive officer Koji Kobayashi commented on the announcement, saying:
At Konami, we have continued to take on challenges in the development of football simulation and esports. We are very pleased to be able to contribute to the promotion of eFootball in a new dimension through this collaboration with FIFAe. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to FIFA for providing us with this opportunity. We can't wait for the FIFAe World Cup to begin. We look forward to sharing the enthusiasm, excitement, and joy of our players around the world through the FIFAe World Cup.
FIFA’s chief business officer Romy Gai said:
We are incredibly excited to join forces with Konami. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to promote football globally and to provide a platform for players to showcase their skills. We truly believe in an inclusive ecosystem which allows different communities to be part of the FIFAe competitions.
The FIFAe World Cup is now holding qualifiers.