The idea of teams that aren’t quite real showing up in FIFA is arguably one that’s become a bit less ludicrous in recent years, with the likes of Piemonte Calcio appearing due to licensing agreements.
That said, a fictional team with fictional players would be a bit of a different matter, not that that’s stopped fans of football-based Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso from believing one might be on the way.
That’s right, the Lasso rumours have moved on from Multiversus to EA’s sports game, with AFC Richmond being speculated as a possible inclusion.
Would you like to see Ted Lasso’s squad in FIFA?
Said speculation is the topic of a thread in the subreddit r/GamingLeaksAndRumours, which began with a post from user The_Iceman2288, which declared: “Ted Lasso's AFC Richmond might be coming to FIFA 23.”, citing another thread on the subreddit r/TedLasso.
This second thread features a supposed screenshot from ea.com showing AFC Richmond, the team featured in the show, on a list alongside some Premier League teams.
There’s some debate among the thread’s users as to whether this is a doctored image or whether all evidence of AFC Richmond has simply been scrubbed from the website by EA following its discovery, in order to avoid spoiling some kind of reveal down the line.
If the latter does turn out to be the case, user SupersonicWumbo suggested that AFC Richmond might not be a playable team, but rather via an appearance: “in Ultimate Team in some capacity to help market Season 3 (with) kits, badges (and) stadium customization. That's very common.”
Regardless of how it happens, it does seem as though including the show in FIFA somehow would attract some new players to the game, with one user in the r/TedLasso thread declaring: “I haven't played FIFA in a decade, but I would instantly buy it if (this is) true.”
Even the hardened veterans of r/GamingLeaksAndRumours weren’t immune to the Lasso hype, with user downinthedumpers admitting: “(a) Ted Lasso career mode would be a lot of fun.”
Regardless of whether you’d be up for a Lasso-themed journey to the pinnacle of the beautiful game, make sure to follow us for more FIFA updates.
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