Adding Female Teams To FIFA Is A Good Start, But…

So EA has come out and announced the addition of 12 female international teams to FIFA 16, which is kinda awkward timing considering what’s happening at FIFA right now. Since EA already scheduled the announcement we won’t take that away from them, but it’s awesome news!

The positives here are twofold; a) Female players can now play their own counterparts, something many other sporting games don’t support, and b) Male players will be introduced to a whole other side of the sport they love, opening up the possibilities of more fans coming across (pity it isn’t out before the upcoming Women’s World Cup, but I guess you can’t have everything).

EA decided upon international teams to ensure everyone across the broad spectrum of FIFA fans had a player(s) they either knew or supported locally, but (and this is why the but is in the title of this article) hopefully this is just the start. Given that there are major female leagues almost everywhere now, including here in Australia with the W-League, let’s hope that once FIFA 17 comes along these teams are included.

But (yup, another one) why stop there? EA could just as easily add female teams across the complete EA Sports lineup, having already done so in its NHL franchise a few years back. So what about NBA Live? … well, if NBA Live is still even a thing, who knows. That series has been on rocky legs since its return, but maybe injecting the WNBA and International teams into the mix would be of benefit. I, for one, would love to see one of Australia’s greatest ever athletes get her chance to shine on the virtual screen, that being 3 time WNBA MVP and Olympic silver medalist Lauren Jackson.

(On that note, there’s a greater interest in international players across the entire spectrum of basketball. Imagine if EA Sports rebranded its series FIFA Live? Just a thought).

In the ever popular MMA, more specifically UFC, female fighters are almost as popular as the big name males. With Ronda Rousey as the current champion, it wasn’t too surprising that she and some of her fellow fighters made it into EA’s first UFC title attempt last year. But there’s plenty of other women’s sporting codes out there that haven’t been properly represented yet, such as rugby, baseball or softball, cricket …

This is where I’d also like to point out that there’s never EVER been a netball game. EVER. Not that I’m the biggest fan of it, but there’s a butt ton of people out there who are. If we’re seriously talking about equality here, which EA seem to be considering more often lately, now would be the perfect time for virtual iteration of the sport. Considering it’s a women’s only game (yes guys can play it, but is there a male league anywhere? Only in your local sports centre maybe), you’d think this would be an obvious choice.

Adding Women’s teams to FIFA is nothing but a positive move, but that’s just scratching the surface. There are opportunities to tap into other areas of fellow sporting codes, some of which are desperate for the support and aren’t anywhere near as lucrative as their male counterparts. Add them into a video game, or even create a whole new brand around them, and the advantages for all involved could very well skyrocket.

Why not, right? Just as long as its all taken seriously though, no stupid skimpy clothing crap.