It’s that time of the year again when football fans excitedly await the first look at the latest installment in the FIFA gaming series. Fans of the game around the world are always keen to see the latest technological upgrades, take a look at what new features have been added to the game, how much more real their favourite players are going to seem and how much the gameplay has improved.
Though they’re years that FIFA fails to really make any substantial improvements over their previous versions, the game has made colossal improvements in the last 10 odd years and the trailers each year are something to look forward to.
Jose Mourinho’s accented voice greets us as we begin the video, ‘People say football never changes’ he says in his famous pragmatic style with just the tiniest hint of sarcasm. We rewind through the oldest FIFA games, quickly forward through years and footballing memories, there’s Ronaldinho hitting a trademark long range shot, Roberto Carlos with a free kick and the rest is a blur. Before Jose Mourinho’s voice is back. ‘We see it differently’.
We cut to Anthony Martial, Eden Hazard, Marco Reus and James Rodriguez in their training gear and then in club colours. Mourinho says ‘Football has changed’ and what follows is an extremely interesting series of shots that show the influence of technology in training methods and the glamour, the crowds, the chants and the players walking out to fully packed stadiums.
So, what is the change the trailer is referring to?
It’s no secret that football has changed in many ways over the years. The standard of fitness is higher than ever before, the commercial aspect cannot be ignored and football has truly become a global powerhouse of a game. The increasing interest in the beautiful game from Africa and Asia, constantly expanding crowds in North America have expanded football’s reach like never before.
The Barclays Premier League has shown how widely and expertly marketed the league product can be, and the record revenues they manage to generate have broken every record. In a time when many European countries are facing economic difficulties, even recession, football clubs continue to grow like never before. The €500 million mark in terms of revenue generations per season was shattered by Real Madrid and other clubs also continue to reach closer to that mark if they haven’t surpassed it already.
Transfer fees have gone up as a result of the cash flowing about, and agents have become more powerful. Jorge Mendes seems to define the transfer strategy of several clubs, Mino Raiola has some of the best players in the world on his roster as well.
There’s been an increased commercialisation of the game; all possible revenue generation opportunities are maximised. Owners of clubs are richer and more powerful than ever before, with the Sheikhs and of late, Chinese Businessmen rushing to secure ownership of clubs to get on the footballing map.
So where does this leave us then? I’m sure you’ll frequently hear the quips about how it’s rare to find one club men these days and accusations of modern players prioritizing money over loyalty, but in essence, Football remains the same.
It is still the ethereal, uniting, pulsating, joyful, heartbreaking experience that we can never really explain. Football is theatre, art and the fact that it’s being broadcasted and appreciated on a global scale doesn’t change that. So, steer clear of the romanticism and you’ll fully appreciate all the beautiful game has to offer today.
What should we expect from FIFA 17?
And what does FIFA hold in store for us apart from improved graphics and a new engine? How has it seeped in this ‘change’ that they speak of in their game? Well, we’ll have to wait to find out. But if they have managed to go one level deeper into the modern footballing experience and take us behind the scenes of the most watched sport in the world, increasingly perhaps also one of the most glamorous, then there’s reason to be very very excited.
