Everton Football Club, over Twitter, have released the first pictures of their official club crest and player faces that will feature on the imminently released Football Manager 2017.
? | Thanks to our partnership with @SI_games, @FootballManager 2017 will, for the first time, feature #EFC players, staff, kits and crest. pic.twitter.com/wUSzcCWNSK
— Everton (@Everton)
October 14, 2016
The cult classic, in the past, has been unable to use official Premier League licenses for crests and player faces in the same way it has for other big European leagues.
Sports Interactive, who were founded by Evertonians Paul and Oliver Collyer in 1992, signed an agreement with the Toffees in August to use their official crest and the faces of their players. It is unknown whether other clubs will follow suit.
Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sports Interactive said: “The founders of our studio are Everton supporters, so I know very well just how passionate and loyal Evertonians are and we’re delighted to be working closely with the People’s club again.”
“They were actually our first top flight partner on Football Manager nearly a decade ago, so it’s lovely to be back working with a club who not only do great community work, but also have an ever increasing global reach both of which will hopefully help us reach new heights.”
The players featuring, thus far, are Ross Barkley, for which we have the full attribute screen, and Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas on a comparison screen.
As of yet, it remains to be seen whether other Premier League clubs will allow their crests and the faces of their players to appear on the game, but the lead taken by Everton is certainly encouraging as this is definitely a feature the popular game has been lacking. It’s the finer details such as these that veteran players will appreciate.
Football Manager 2017 is out on November 4th.