EA Sports announced on Monday that Alex Morgan will share the cover of FIFA 16 in the United States. Lionel Messi, the global cover athlete, joins Morgan who it appears is remaining the most marketable of the World Championship team, despite Carli Lloyd winning the award for the most valuable player in the tournament and scoring three memorable goals in the first 16 minutes of the World Cup Final.
“It is an incredible honor to be one of the first women featured on the cover of EA SPORTS FIFA,” said Morgan. “I know people all over the world play this game and I’m really excited that FIFA 16 is putting such an important spotlight on women’s soccer. And now to share the cover with today’s greatest player is surreal.”
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Morgan helped the FIFA team develop women's national teams for FIFA 16. She and other members of the US national team visited the EA Sports studio in Vancouver and spent time with the motion-capture team recording footage to use in-game.
Women's National Teams make their debut in FIFA 16 , with half of the 24 country field represented. That news drew praise for the inclusion, but also generated some criticism at having only 12 of the teams — there's no ability to recreate the Final because Japan isn't one of them — and limiting implementation. The women's team will only be available for Kick-Off, offline tournaments between the women's teams, and online unranked matches between women's teams.
FIFA 16 will release on September 22 in North America and September 25 worldwide for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, has co-founded the new site HitThePass.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.
