EA Sports have now released the full list of stadiums that will be featured on this year’s installment of their marquee franchise, FIFA 16.
There are nine new additions to the list, including four new English stadiums: Norwich City’s Carrow Road, Watford’s Vicarage Road, and Vitality Stadium – home of AFC Bournemouth, who are the three promoted teams for the upcoming Barclay’s Premier League Season. The game will also feature League One club Portsmouth’s home ground, Fratton Park.
Fratton Park’s inclusion may seem like an obscure one, considering Portsmouth are in the lower leagues of English football, but the reasoning behind it is one of sentiment. Earlier this year, FIFA‘s Creative Director Simon Humber passed away after bravely fighting cancer – and he was a lifelong Pompey fan. As FIFA 16 was in it’s development phase, the team at EA Canada started working with Portsmouth FC to include Fratton Park as a tribute to Humber. From visiting the site to interacting with ground staff, the aim was to make sure that the 117-year-old stadium was authentically replicated in the game.
Ashley Brown, Director at PFC, on the Pompey Supporters’ Trust board said: “Simon was well-known among Pompey fans, his love of life, humorous and caring character ensured he was loved by all who met him. His passion for Pompey, the FIFA game and football in general, was infectious and as such he leaves a legacy of having made a hugely positive impact across all three. Everyone at Pompey is honoured that Fratton Park will appear in FIFA 16 and I know Simon would be ever so proud to see his club featured in this way. He would no doubt hope that it helps spread the word about his beloved club.”
The other five stadiums new to FIFA 16 are German side Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Borussia-Park, Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders’ CenturyLink Field, Argentinian side Club Atlético River Plate’s El Monumental, King Abdullah Sports City (which is home to Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli of the Saudi Abdul Latif Jameel League), and Olympique de Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome.
