Early Access has begun on FIFA 22, with many players getting involved in the most realistic game so far thanks to next-gen consoles.
Adding to the realism is the exclusive license deals EA has struck with certain leagues, giving an authentic feel with true to life teams, stadiums and player performance rewards seen through Ultimate Team.
Read on to learn all you need to know about licenses on FIFA 22.
Release Date
After months of speculation, EA announced that FIFA 22 will be released on Friday, 1 October 2021.
Early Access became available from Monday, 27 September.
Trailer
The official FIFA 22 trailer is available, showcasing some of what we can expect from the game.
The reveal trailer has got fans hyped for the new game, featuring cover star Kylian Mbappe, along with top talents Trent Alexander-Arnold and Christian Pulisic.
The trailer gives us an idea of how EA will Hypermotion Technology to implement real-life player movements into FIFA 22 gameplay.
Teams
FIFA’s biggest rival has been PES for a long time, and Konami has taken exclusive rights to Juventus and Roma in recent years.
EA still holds the rights to the player names, but losing Juventus, in particular, has been a significant blow to the franchise.
EA did not take it lightly though and signed both Milan clubs to long-term exclusive deals.
Napoli leaving FIFA
The first bit of news about licenses this year was bad for FIFA, with Italian club Napoli on their way out.
Napoli has signed an exclusive deal with Konami, meaning the club will no longer appear on FIFA.
The deal is effective immediately, although exclusivity does not kick in until the 2022/23 season, so Napoli will still feature on FIFA 22.
Another one bites the dust
Atalanta became the fourth Serie A club licence being lost to rivals Konami and PES in the space of three seasons, and things weren't looking good for Serie A on FIFA.
Atalanta, who have ripped up the script in both Italy and Europe in recent seasons, will become an exclusive partner with Pro Evo from the 2021/22 season.
Atalanta will now be called Bergamo Calcio, due to its location in the city of Bergamo.
With Napoli and Atalanta now joining the exclusive ranks on Konami, how will EA respond this time?
Lazio say lets a go
Following in the footsteps of other Italian giants, Lazio also teamed up with Konami for their new game eFootball.
If you're looking for Lazio on FIFA 22 they will be called Latium - easy enough to link as both begin with an 'L'.
EA secure exclusive partnership with Serie A
EA revealed, via their official FIFA Twitter account, that the exclusive rights to the Serie A had been secured ahead of the new season!
Of course, this does not mean they will have the licenses to all the Serie A teams, with the following clubs exclusive to eFootball 2022:
- Juventus
- Lazio
- AS Roma
- Atalanta
Napoli will follow next season.
However, the Serie A name, along with the other 14 clubs, will bring the true characteristics of one of footballs greatest leagues to life.
National Teams
There are plenty of fans around the world who want to see their national teams represented on FIFA.
As ever, FIFPlay ran a poll to see which national teams the fans want to see most, and Ukraine was the standout favourite!
It looks like the people have spoken, as Ukraine was then added to FIFA 22.
There are some higher-ranked nations absent though, with World Cup runners-up Croatia the biggest to be completely missing from the FIFA roster.
Brazil are a unique case though, as they remain in the game but their squad is filled with generic players. We would love this rectified when FIFA 22 comes out later in the year.
Leagues
We were excited for new leagues to arrive in FIFA 22, and we were, well... a bit disappointed.
The Indian Super League joined the ranks on FIFA, which wouldn't have been our first choice.
But more leagues can only be a good thing, and hopefully, more will follow soon.
We want the Brazilian league back. Any new league is always exciting, but the Brazilian league is a real miss, especially when it remains in the game with generic players.
Stadiums
Barcelona's Camp Nou, Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena and Juventus's Allianz Stadium are all exclusive to Konami and PES - so what can EA add or reclaim for FIFA 22?
Promoted clubs from the Championship, like Leeds last year, will see their stadiums appear in FIFA 22 thanks to EA's relationship with the Premier League.
Norwich and Watford were two of the three promoted teams, but their stadiums were already in FIFA 21.
Brentford Community Stadium looks set to be included in a later patch of the game, as travel restrictions due to the pandemic meant creators weren't able to get a scan of the stadium.
The same was seen last year with Leeds and Elland Road.
Two Portuguese clubs also have their stadiums included, with the Estadio da Luz, home of Benfica, and the Estadio do Dragao, home of Porto.
Also making the cut are the SchucoArena, of German side Arminia Bielefeld, and the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla, of Cadiz CF.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
FIFA