Fair Play – Why FIFA 16 will be Hugely Important for Women’s Football

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]et’s face it, pretty much any announcement even remotely associated to FIFA at the moment is shrouded in suspicion. So when EA revealed that they would be announcing a new feature in the latest edition of FIFA, I naturally assumed they were adding a new underhand bribe option in Career Mode, finally making it possible to sign Messi with FC Ural. It appears EA aren’t quite ready to make that step just yet, but they did announce a significantly better feature, revealing that for the first time ever Women’s teams will be available to play in the latest installation of the world’s favourite sports game. Whilst the inclusion of women’s teams may seem pretty trivial, I’m convinced this will have major ramifications for the way gender is seen within the game and the image of women’s football in general.
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Twelve women’s teams will feature in FIFA 16, including the English and US teams. They’ll be playable in tournament modes and match day modes, but exclusively against other women’s sides (this is no big deal, it is merely standard FIFA regulations). The introduction of women’s football into the world’s most popular football game cannot be understated; FIFA 16 will be the stage on which a huge number football fans will play and the women’s game is for the first time ever sharing the limelight with the men.

This announcement was sadly, but perhaps inevitably, plagued by the impressively unfunny musings of those in the football world who tend to lack common sense, but if you look past the vitriol there lies a real opportunity for change.

It’s important to note a key demographic in FIFA’s consumers here – the football mad pre-pubescent boys that seem to pervade theonline servers. Although it seems a scary thought it is these young players who are the future of the game, and when they buy FIFA 16 they will be presented with a new form of the game they love. The women’s game they’d once seen as a source of ‘banter’ is now clearly quantified on their favourite game, with the female players ranked by their in-game stats and presented in a familiar style. Women’s football will no longer be a sport only showcased on BBC 3 once every four years when the women’s world cup rolls around, but will be easily available to explore, right there in the format they understand best.

I’m aware that those unfamiliar to FIFA may well be asking why this is such a big deal, but ask a thirteen year old boy what rating Ronaldo is and I’m  pretty sure they’ll be able to tell you. For the young boys who love football FIFA is their sticker book and their match-day programme rolled into one. For those without the fancy television subscription it is because of FIFA that they’ll be able to tell you who Neymar is and why he is so good and many, maybe not all, will inevitably check the women’s ratings, and it is there that the women’s game will take on a new level of professionalism. Suddenly Abby Wambach and Marta won’t just be just ‘women’s footballers’, but the best female players on the game. As impressive sportswomen with quantifiable stats, they’ll become more real and more relate-able, placed into the environment that FIFA players know best.

Women’s football will no longer be a sport only showcased on BBC 3 once every four years, but will be easily available in the format FIFA players understand best.

Now I’m no optimist; sexism in football isn’t going to evaporate over-night just because women have been put into a football game, but hopefully this will slowly alter the public perception of women’s football.  Women in FIFA will be a stat heavy, faithfully recreated, excitingly fresh feature within a hugely popular game. Sure, some will ignore or reject the addition but some will explore this feature and see women’s football in a totally new light. It is these players, who, seeing the women’s game portrayed as the exact same game they know and love, will hopefully go on to be the new face of a football world far less toxic for women.
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Will the inclusion of new teams help promote women’s football? @boargames