- Electronic Arts invests in FC Futures: $10 million over the next three years to support the growth of soccer in its lower divisions.
- It has also secured a contract with UEFA to support community soccer by training coaches for youth soccer.
- Electronic Arts’ stock performance has seen ups and downs over the years, but it has grown in market value thanks to its diversification strategy. What will happen to the defunct FIFA?
Video game developer Electronic Arts leaves the screens to invest in FC Futures.
It is an injection of funds of about 10 million dollars over the next three years with the aim of betting on the growth of soccer in its lower divisions, as revealed by the company itself through a statement.
The investment idea is that through the project a library of training practices can be created, which can be accessed online by all players and coaches and used by adjusting it to their training sessions.
In order to make it a global application, it will be translated into the most widespread languages.
FC Futures is a company that also includes the development and remodeling of playing fields through the management of foundations, leagues and federations, and investment in training elements for educational soccer, such as balls, cones, etc.
At the same time, Electronic Arts signed a contract to collaborate with UEFA to support community soccer through the training of coaches for European soccer’s top governing body, as well as investing in initiatives for these divisions.
Electronic Arts in “real” soccer
Frank K. Ludolph, in charge of technical development at UEFA, said that this new agreement signifies “a great opportunity” for the European body’s Grassroots Program, which aims to universalize access to modern and appropriate sporting elements for youth divisions.
Ian Wright, former England Crystal Palace player, and Chelsea women’s coach Emma Hayes were named as ambassadors for the new EA Sports scheme.
The England striker said that “it’s where soccer starts, in small communities, in schools, and the investment in the game is something very important for the growth of soccer around the world”.
In the middle of last year, the company had launched a new brand, called EA Sports FC. Through it, it offered support to all its partners in the world of soccer.
This alliance ended the relationship it had with FIFA, which is why FIFA 23 was the last video game in the saga.
The American company currently has contracts with leagues and cups, such as the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League, the Spanish LaLiga, the French Ligue-1, the German Bundesliga and the Italian Serie A, as well as sports entities, such as Atlético de Madrid.
Electronic Arts’ sports sector was born in 1993, in Canada, where one of the company’s largest studios is located.
Electronic Arts and its evolution
Electronic Arts was born in 1982 and its finances have, since then, gone through several stages of evolution, with many ups and downs, but always, in the long run, growing in market value.
In its early years, EA was a pioneer in the video game industry with its focus on the production and distribution of games for personal computers.
Its first major success came with the release of “Madden NFL,” an American soccer game that became an iconic franchise in the industry.
However, it was in the 1990s that EA really came into its own, with the release of popular games such as “FIFA”, “Need for Speed” and the classic “The Sims”. These games became bestsellers and catapulted EA to the top of the video game industry.
EA Shares
In the 1990s, EA’s stock price also experienced a significant increase. The company went public in 1989 with an initial price of $7 per share. However, by mid-2005, it had risen to between $50 and $60 per share, a channel in which it remained until 2008.
Between 2008 and 2014 they fell by half and then catapulted to values above $100.
The company grew through a strategy of diversification, expanding into new markets and platforms, including games for mobile devices and next-generation consoles.
It also acquired several game development companies, such as BioWare and Respawn Entertainment, to strengthen its game portfolio and enhance its innovation.
In recent years, EA’s stock has seen a steady rise, reaching an all-time high in May 2021 with a price of $145 per share. It was thanks to the momentum of games such as “Apex Legends” and “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” as well as growing demand for online games and subscription services such as EA Play.
buy or sell Electronics Arts stock? What needs to be analyzed is what will happen with its star game: FIFA, after the alliance with the world soccer governing body fell through.
Indeed, FIFA will no longer be called FIFA, but EA Sports FC. How fans will respond to the change is the key to the company’s future.
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