In FIFA 2016, women’s national teams were added for the first time. In the current FIFA 23, after a long wait, all 12 teams of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) are now available. However, many players are dissatisfied with their virtual counterparts.
What’s new in FIFA 23? With the update on March 23, the teams of the NWSL and UWCL were added to FIFA 23. Producer Munraj writes in a post that this represents the diverse world of soccer (via EA).
Players can experience the UWCL in kick-off modes, tournament mode, 1v1 seasons, and co-op seasons. The 12 teams of the NWSL are available in the kick-off modes, tournament mode, 1v1 seasons, co-op seasons, and online friendly matches.
You can watch the announcement trailer here:
Women soccer players feel unrepresented
What’s the problem? On Twitter, some professional female players share screenshots of their virtual counterparts and complain about the lack of resemblance. Not only do some characters not look like the originals, but in some cases, they have also been lightened.
The Hawaiian player Caprice Dydasco posted a direct comparison of herself and her model. The skin and hair color of the model are noticeably lighter than those of the real player. She wrote that while she is grateful for the inclusion of the NWSL, it does not represent her:
Striker Sydney Leroux has been in FIFA since FIFA 16, when she was added with the American women’s national team. She apparently feels her old model is much more realistic, as it has her trademarks: a purple headband, a braid, and her neck tattoo – only a little air needs to be let out from the chest.
Leroux initially shared a clip showing her new model and wrote, “Please don’t tell me I did a full-body scan for this.” (via Twitter) She then posted a screenshot of her counterpart: That will scare her children.
Other players are also dissatisfied with their representations in the game. Canadian national player Janine Beckie writes that she has found her long-lost twin sister – obviously fraternal (via Twitter).
Leroux’s Angel City teammate, Madison Hammond, is still not sure whether she even made it into the game: Please let her know if you find her, because that definitely isn’t her (via Twitter).
The sudden hair loss of goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan seems to be just a glitch, but Leroux summarizes the frustrations of the female soccer players in a tweet with the bald model:
I know you expect women to just be grateful that you give us a tiny bit of attention, but please stop wasting our time.
via Twitter
Some fans explain that this is the normal procedure for FIFA: The correct faces will be added gradually. So it remains to be seen whether players will be more satisfied with their final models, or whether EA will make further improvements.
Since real-life players and players are represented in the FIFA franchise, there are ongoing discussions about how well the originals are represented. It’s not just about appearance: If players are stronger or weaker than fans estimate in real life, it also causes dissatisfaction:
