English Premier League football team Southampton has announced a one-year partnership with video games company Electronic Arts that will make its EA Sports brand the club’s official video gaming partner.
Under the deal, which commences from the start of the 2013-14 Premier League season, Southampton defender Maya Yoshida will appear on the cover of EA Sports’ Fifa 14 game in his native Japan alongside Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and VfL Wolfsburg’s Makoto Hasebe.
Fans will have the chance play Fifa 14 when the EA Sports Dugout visits Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium for key fixtures this season. Additionally EA Sports will produce a free download of a Fifa 14 cover featuring three Southampton players, which will be available when the game launches in the UK on September 27.
Southampton is the latest addition to EA Sports’ football club portfolio. Fellow Premier League clubs Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are also partners, along with Barcelona and Valencia of the Spanish Liga; Borussia Dortmund from the German Bundesliga; Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue 1 in France, and AC Milan of Italy’s Serie A.