The great maneuvers begin to organize on the side of EA Sports, which would consider abandoning the FIFA brand in the event that the license agreement with the powerful global federation would not be renewed. A recent article from New York Times enlightens us on the reasons for this possible withdrawal, and at the risk of surprising the assembly, it is clearly a fight of influence, not to say a story of wholesale under.
If we believe the testimonies collected by the US daily, the negotiations in progress for at least two years around the renewal of the license agreement would face a wall. So much so that a definitive break after the World Cup at Qatar 2022, at the end of the tenth and final year of contract which binds both parties, is not excluded; At least that s what the last statement of Cam Weber, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of EA Sports, published a few days ago. And as often when renegotiating the rights related to the sport King that is football, it is the amounts required that are at the heart of the negotiations.
Always according to the sources of the New York Times, FIFA would indeed seek more than double what it currently receives from EA Sports - about $ 150 million a year. What would pay for more than $ 1 billion for a four-year cycle, modeled on the current organization of the World Cup. The sum at stake would not be the only reason for this deep disagreement: FIFA and Electronic Arts would not succeed in agreeing on what the exclusivity rights relating to the license are intended. And making these public unravels are anything but anodine for an observer particularly close to the file, none other than Peter Moore. I do not remember that they have never published a statement saying that we were in negotiations for a renewal of the license , thus answered the former senior executive of the company, before becoming general manager of the Liverpool FC from of 2017, thereby detecting very clearly a small signal .
On the side of Electronic Arts, the control on the niche of virtual football in the absence of true Challenger would suffice to consider a change of name. Managers undoubtedly consider the commercial prejudice quite limited in the case of a deductible which also multiplies the licensing agreements with the different clubs represented; The NY Times speaks 300 other contracts with other organizations, whether they are clubs, UEFA competitions or national championships such as League 1. To the extent that the FIFA license does not grant At EA Sports that the use of the name and logo of the organization, as well as the rights on the World Cup for special editions every four years, the American giant would not see the abandonment of the license of a if bad eye. It is probably not a coincidence that the American publisher has communicated quite freely on the extension of the state which binds it to FIFPRO, the organization representing professional players worldwide, for Continue to use in particular the image of the athletes.
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For its part, FIFA would prefer to circumscribe the exclusivity of EA to the strict framework of a football game, with the likely to identify new sources of revenue for the rights it would share with other contractors. EA Sports would rather like to continue its growth strategy by expanding the ecosystem in place within FIFA, exploring the Tournaments Esport or the sale of NFT. What to completely complete money returns generated by the only Ultimate Team mode, which would have grown nearly $ 1.2 billion in turnover just for last year, according to the Piers Harding Rolls analyst cited by The New York Times.
In case of rupture after more than twenty-five years of marriage, FIFA would deprive a manne guaranteed for the financing of its own projects, as a new broader world cup at the clubs, or an appointment set both years. But the counter-offensive would already be launched. To find new sources of revenue, FIFA officials have studied the possibility of selling video game licenses and digital products that are not related to football. At the risk of jeopardizing the exclusivity for which EA SPORTS devotes a great share of its budget - a brand that has largely benefited from the exhibition of the US giant since 1993.
The decision should be endorsed by the end of the year, but EA s layouts have already opened several exit doors. The EA Sports FC brand filing, registered with the European Union and the British authorities, is part of it.
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