Image: EA Sports
All 12 of the National Women’s Soccer League teams will soon join FIFA 23 and the upcoming EA Sports FC.
EA Sports have announced that 12 teams from the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) are joining FIFA 23’s current lineup of playable squads. These teams will also join EA Sports FC, Electronic Arts’ upcoming replacement of the FIFA game franchise, when the game launches later this year.
The NWSL teams are joining FIFA 23 on March 15, as part of a licensing partnership with the NWSL Players Association. This partnership also allows all of the league’s real-life players to appear in the game as well, much like EA’s licensing partnership with the English Premier League.
This is a big year for women’s professional soccer, with 36 total teams now available in FIFA 23 following their 2023 videogame debut. 12 teams from the Women’s Super League in the UK and 12 teams from France’s Division 1 are also available to play in the game’s Kick Off modes: Classic, Volta and House Rules) along with various other multiplayer and co-op game modes.
EA Sports have also announced that four NWSL stadiums are coming to FIFA 23, but didn’t specify which ones. The game already has four MLS maps where NWSL teams play home games, so these new venues will only expand the available lineup. More representation for women’s soccer is still underway. The 2023 Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s Champions’ League will join the game before their real-life counterparts begin.
EA Sports’ senior vice president, Andrea Hopelain said of the new partnership:
We’re passionate about EA Sports continuing to be a changemaker for women’s football, and our partnership with both the NWSL and the NWSLPA is another step we’re taking as an organization to advance the sport.
FIFA 23 is the first game in which EA has featured a woman on the cover: Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, who appears on the game’s Ultimate Edition. EA first added pro female players to the game franchise in FIFA 16. GosuGamers will continue to cover women in gaming throughout the week for International Women's Day, so stay tuned!