The footballing world has been shaken to its core by the announcement of the European Super League (ESL), but will it have any affect on future games like FIFA 22? Here’s what we know.
The threat of a Super League has hung over European football for nearly two decades as Champions League regulars want a bigger reward for the time and effort.
Well, on April 18, 12 of Europe’s top clubs finally put their plan into motion with the announcement of The Super League. The controversial plan has stunned football fans across the globe as it presents a huge threat to the history of the game.
While these rebel clubs want to play the new mid-week tournament in tandem with their domestic leagues, that might not be the case. The Premier League, for example, has the right to expel any club that plays in a competition without their permission. That might affect future FIFA releases, starting with FIFA 22.
🚨 Official statement.
"Three more clubs are expected to join as Founding Clubs before the inaugural season, which is expected to start as soon as possible.
In the future, the Founding Clubs look forward to consulting with UEFA and FIFA in order to work together". #SuperLeague
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 18, 2021
Will European Super League be in FIFA 22?
In terms of the new league affecting FIFA, it would likely be a rights issue. If EA agreed on a deal to carry The Super League branding, teams, and so on, it would be added as normal. If they couldn’t, we might have a Serie A situation on our hands.
- Read More: FIFA 21 TOTS hub
As we’ve seen in FIFA’s past, and in FIFA 21, some Serie A clubs have not had their correct name in-game. Napoli, Juventus, and Roma are examples of this, with Juventus and Roma being normal as Piemonte Calcio and Rome FC in-game currently.
Where things get tricky is how it would affect things like Manager Mode and Kick-Off. If these teams actually break away from their domestic leagues, they would likely have to be designated in their own league in FIFA. Sort of like how the Rest of the World works.
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FIFA 22 Ultimate Team changes with new Super League
Additionally, it could have a knock-on effect on Ultimate Team as well, if a new league was implemented.
A new league would mean that Super League players would probably only link with fellow Super League players, rather than say Liverpool players continuing to link with the Premier League players.
As normal, this could probably be balanced with the use of ICONS linking everyone together, but it would certainly present some issues.
Now, whether or not the Super League will actually happen is another. There seems to be a plan in place for these clubs to take their ball and move into a new competition, but there are still hurdles.
Again, going back to the Premier League example, there are reports that teams who would leave for the Super League wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the Premier League, and if they wanted to rejoin, would have to work their way up the footballing pyramid.
On top of that, you’ve got the rumors that players who move into the Super League will be banned from international competitions, but nothing has been sorted yet. That, in terms of FIFA, could see more Brazil line-up situations where the team is pretty much full of fake players.
If anything more comes out about this, we’ll keep this article updated. Though, you can also find general FIFA 22 updates in our live hub page, here.