More women’s football
One of the biggest cheers from the audience at the launch (along with former Barcelona and Brazil great Ronaldinho bringing out the Champions League trophy) was the reaction to an announcement from Arsenal and England captain Leah Williamson that women’s players would be added to Ultimate Team in the new game.
EA Sports producer Jean Tether also revealed that players would be fully integrated into Ultimate Team, meaning that users will be able to field mixed teams on the pitch. With six women’s competitions licensed for FC 24, Tether said that “there has never been a better time to introduce women to Ultimate Team,” and that the development of mixed squad gave her “goosebumps.”
The greater profile of the women’s game in FC 24 is also one that excites former Arsenal right-back Alex Scott, who won 140 caps for England before embarking on a broadcasting career. Scott is one of 31 players who feature on the cover of the FC 24 Ultimate Edition, in which she is pictured surrounded by legends like Johan Cruyff and David Beckham, and current stars like Marcus Rashford and Vinicius Junior.
“It’s like a huge moment,” Scott tells ESPN. “I think not just because I’m female, but to be on the cover of a game that I’ve played since I was a kid is just a huge ‘pinch me’ moment … Just being like, ‘Yeah, that’s me. I’m next to these people.’ And we’re normalising that. That’s a huge moment.”
When asked if she wished she could have featured in the game during her playing career, Scott adds: “I can spend so much of the time wishing that we would’ve had it then. But look, I still enjoyed the game. I know still what it did for me, and we are here in this moment now.
“So I always choose to focus on the now and the positive and how we keep moving things forward. Because with the women’s game and everything surrounding it, we’re still only here. We are not at the end point yet. There’s still much more that we need to be fighting for and changing. So it’s celebrating the moment, but still using our voices where we can to push for more.”
