Celtic and Rangers have been confirmed as FIFA partner clubs

EA Sports has announced that Celtic Football Club and The Rangers Football Club have become partner clubs of the FIFA series.

The new four-year partnership will mean that both clubs will have their players scanned with realistic likenesses in the game.

It will likely also mean that both their stadiums will also be included in future editions of the game – in its own statement Rangers said its stadium would be, but this has now been removed.

If Celtic Park is added to the game in the future, it would mark the first time that Celtic’s stadium has featured in a FIFA game.

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The only time Rangers’ stadium, Ibrox, has appeared in a FIFA game was in FIFA 99, where it was simply referred to as ‘Glasgow’.

Celtic and Rangers have both been partner clubs of Konami‘s Pro Evolution Football series, later renamed eFootball, since 2018.

Both clubs had their stadiums added to Konami’s titles and players in the squad at that time received face scans.

Both teams were also signed up as partner clubs for upcoming FIFA and eFootball rival UFL, but both their logos have now been removed from the game’s Partner Clubs section on its website, suggesting that the FIFA deal has replaced this.

At the moment, both clubs are featured in the FIFA series but the vast majority of the players’ faces are generic and both teams play at a fictional stadium called Eastpoint Arena.

This stadium is also shown in the tweets announcing the partnerships, suggesting that if Celtic Park and Ibrox are due to be added to the game, they’re still a way off and almost certainly won’t be ready in time for the release of FIFA 23.

“We are delighted to announce this fantastic long-term partnership with EA Sports, the leading organisation in its field,” Celtic’s commercial director Adrian Filby said.

“Celtic’s reach is truly global, and we are pleased to be partnering with an organisation of such profile and quality, known globally as a true market leader.

“We know that thousands of our fans have a great affinity with EA Sports and FIFA 23 already. We are sure this new partnership will be hugely beneficial for the club and our supporters.”

Rangers commercial and marketing director James Bisgrove said in a separate statement: “This is a truly exciting partnership for the club, and I think it speaks volumes for the standing Rangers has on the international stage that such a recognisable brand like EA Sports FIFA were so eager to enter into a partnership with the club.”

“The world of esports is growing at unprecedented levels, and this partnership will allow us to fully enter this space with a meaningful strategy and strong partner in the sector.”