FIFA 23 will include women’s club football and World Cup for first time
EA SPORTSFIFA 23 has received its first official trailer, and it’s crammed full of new features to unpack. One of the most exciting is the reveal that FIFA 23 will feature domestic women’s leagues for the first time.
After weeks upon weeks of leaks and rumors, FIFA 23 has been officially revealed as EA prepares up to give the series a fitting sendoff before being rebranded as EA SPORTS FC.
The first trailer hinted at plenty of interesting gameplay changes and new technology to make FIFA 23 the most immersive football game yet. However, there’s one exciting new addition that will have caught players’ eyes.
EA has committed to making FIFA 23 the most inclusive football title so far, as seen by the welcome inclusion of Sam Kerr on the Ultimate Edition cover. For the first time in the series’ history, fans will be now able to play as iconic club teams from the world of women’s football and play in the Women’s World Cup.
Women’s club football and World Cup coming to FIFA 23
Women’s football was first added to the FIFA games all the way back in FIFA 16 when international sides were made playable in Kick-Off with fully licensed names, kits, and badges. Unfortunately, in the years since, the women’s side of the sport hasn’t received much attention.
In FIFA 23, that is all about to change, as England’s Barclays Women’s Super League and France’s Division 1 Arkema are joining the roster of club teams. This means top women’s teams like Chelsea, Manchester City, and Lyon will feature, along with their home stadiums and face scans.
Altogether, this means a further 24 women’s clubs will make up the more than 700 teams featured in FIFA 23, as EA strives to make this their most inclusive game to date.
Check out a full breakdown of every team below:
- Barclays Women’s Super League:
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Chelsea
- Everton
- Leicester City
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Reading
- Spurs
- West Ham United
- Division 1 Arkema:
- Bordeaux
- Dijon
- Fleury
- Guingamp
- Le Havre
- Lyon
- Montpellier
- Paris FC
- PSG
- Reims
- Rodez
- Soyaux
We’ll have to wait and see how these new clubs are implemented. Women’s football so far has been limited to Kick-Off matches, but with more teams than ever to choose from, a Women’s Career Mode might not be out of the question.
The reveal trailer also confirmed that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be coming to FIFA 23 later alongside the men’s tournament. World Cup mode has been incredibly popular whenever it’s shown up, so the chance to play through both will no doubt delight fans.
All in all, it’s great to see the rise in popularity of women’s acknowledged in FIFA 23, and hopefully, it’s the beginning of more to come in EA SPORTS FC 24 and beyond.