Following its EA split, FIFA is partnering with Konami for eSports

Konami and FIFA have announced a collaboration which will see the former games rival provide its eFootball game (formerly known as PES) for the FIFAe World Cup eSports tournament.

As part of the initiative, two FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball are scheduled to take place later this year on mobile and console.

FIFA has been without a proper licensed video game since it split from longtime partner EA last year, with FIFA 23 being the last EA Sports game to feature the FIFA branding on the title.

The association has claimed it’s planning to launch a rival video game to EA Sports FC. However, for the time being, it’s partnering with FIFA’s old rival for its eSports events.

The FIFAe World Cup will begin qualifying today. More information is available on FIFA.GG and on the Konami website.

“The objective of this collaboration is to further boost the joy of the global football community through esports,” Konami and FIFA said in a statement. “By allowing players to represent their nations through dedicated competitions, this initiative will take the connection with the community to a new level.”

Koji Kobayashi, senior executive officer at Konami, said in a statement: “At Konami, we have continued to take on challenges in the development of football simulation and esports. We are very pleased to be able to contribute to the promotion of eFootball in a new dimension through this collaboration with FIFAe.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to FIFA for providing us with this opportunity. We can’t wait for the FIFAe World Cup to begin. We look forward to sharing the enthusiasm, excitement, and joy of our players around the world through the FIFAe World Cup”.

FIFA’s chief business officer, Romy Gai added: “We are incredibly excited to join forces with Konami. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to promote football globally and to provide a platform for players to showcase their skills.

“We truly believe in an inclusive ecosystem which allows different communities to be part of the FIFAe competitions”.