What’s the story?
The Indian Super League is winning the race to be included in the next iteration of EA Sports’ FIFA video game ahead of the Chinese Super League. In the ongoing voting process at Fifplay.com, the Indian league is leading the Chinese league by more than 500 votes.
The other leagues that are in contention to be part of FIFA 18’s roster of worldwide leagues are the German third division, the Greek League and the Iranian League, all of whom have garnered more than 50,000 votes so far.
The context
The FIFA franchise of football games is one of the most popular video game franchises in the world, and every year, they add to their impressive collection of licensed leagues and players. This year as well, FIFA will release its next iteration around September. Expect to see some new leagues added to FIFA 18, possibly the Indian Super League.
The heart of the matter
At the moment, the Indian League, the Chinese League and the German third division have an equal percentage of votes received, but on the basis of the number of votes received, the Indian Super League is slightly ahead of the rest with 172,211 votes so far. The Chinese League follows close behind with 171,451 votes while the German third division has got 170,796 votes so far. The other competing leagues are lagging far behind with none of them crossing the 100,000 vote mark. Fifplay.com will submit the results of the voting process to Electronic Arts.
What’s next?
FIFA 18’s release date is expected to be in the early parts of September when the top European leagues will be in the initial stages of the 2017–18 season. The Indian Super League 2017 is normally held for three months annually from October. However, with the Under-17 World Cup eating up most of October 2018, the ISL will probably start from November this year, after the release of FIFA 18.
Author’s take
With the following FIFA enjoys in India, it would be wise of the franchise to include the Indian Super League in its next edition. It will not only help them gain a greater market space in India but also help them steal a march on their rival Pro Evolution Soccer. With India now a fairly open market for football brands and considering the demands of the voting public, the inclusion of the Indian Super League in FIFA 18 should be a major boost, both to Indian football as well as FIFA.
