In one of the strangest announcements for a sporting game, EA has announced that AFC Richmond and manager Ted Lasso are being added to FIFA 23.
Players will be able to select AFC Richmond within Career Mode, Kick-Off, Online Friendlies and the Online Seasons mode, while the AFC Richmond kit, tifos, manager items and more will be unlockable within FIFA Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs. Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Sam Obisanya and Dani Rojas all featuring as part of the Greyhounds’ squad, and the home stadium of Nelson Road (actually Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park) will also feature.
AFC Richmond is (of course) a thoroughly fiction football team, and Ted Lasso the leading character in the hit Apple TV+ series. Lasso is played by a handsomely moustachioed Jason Sudeikis, taking the job of managing the AFC Richmond team, despite only having coached in junior American Football and ended up in some viral online videos. The series follows Lasso as he brings his borderline frustrating positivity to every obstacle and challenge that he faces in turning the club around while figuring out how to win football matches.
“It is so f***ing cool to be in FIFA. I’m not sure this is going to help dispel the CGI rumours but f*** it, totally worth it,” said Emmy Award-winner Brett Goldstein, who portrays AFC Richmond player Roy Kent. “I look forward to beating my nephew in a game with me as Roy Kent and him as Jamie Tartt. He’s gonna be furious.”
I can’t quite tell if that’s in character or not.
Ted Lasso currently has two seasons on Apple TV+, with season 3 planned to be the last. There’s been no official word on when it might come out, but there’s reports that filming hasn’t finished yet amid script rewrites and stop-start shooting, so it’s likely slipping to 2023.
FIFA 23, on the other hand, does have a firm release date. The final EA-made FIFA game will launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 30th, with early access for the Ultimate Edition on 27th September.
Source: press release
