FIFA didn't exactly get out of the video game business afterwards. Football's governing body has partnered with Konami to host two editions of the FIFAe World Cup on console and mobile versions of at the end of this year.
Qualifying for both tournaments begins today, and FIFAe world champions (one for mobile and one for console) will be crowned later this year. Eighteen FIFA member associations participate: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, England, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. They were selected based on previous performances of esports competitors from those countries, as well as the electronic football player base in each.
FIFA brings electronic football in your esports fold together rocket league (car soccer) and Football Manager (football management). It is too early to say whether Konami's title will become FIFA's official licensed partner for major football games and adopt the governing body's name. Still, it seems clear that FIFA and Konami have a positive relationship and this could be a step towards a broader partnership. Hey, they both even use that silly “e” mark.
While EA Sports FC is by far the most popular football simulation series out there, electronic football It's the closest thing you have to a true competitor. It had a maximum number of concurrent players on Steam of 17,610 in the last 24 hours, compared to 98,400 for EA Sports FC 25.
