For years, EA SPORTS FC has been more than just a game—it’s been a cultural connector. With FC Futures, EA is taking that influence off the screen and onto the pitch, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds of football, and to find out more we spoke with Senior Director at EA SPORTS, James Salmon.
EA SPORTS FC is well and truly finding its groove since parting ways with FIFA. And that’s not just in terms of the game, which itself is expanding so far beyond just the action on the pitch. A perfect example of the expanidng influence would be from the brand’s FC FUTURES activation, which showcases EA’s commitment to grassroots football and community partnerships. In just two years, the FC Futures initiative has opened access to the game for over half a million people, refurbishing pitches worldwide, creating free-to-access training practices with UEFA, and collaborating with everyone from J Balvin to Lukas Podolski.
This is football as a lived experience—grassroots and global, inclusive and aspirational. We sat down with James Salmon, Senior Director, EA SPORTS FC to unpack how the franchise is shaping the sport, celebrating the women’s game, and empowering the next generation through community, creativity, and culture, all while getting some insight into the upcoming EA SPORTS FC 26.
To start off, why is it so important for EA FC’s cultural crossover to be visible at a grassroots level with FC Futures?
The game is deeply interconnected with football culture today. We recognise we have a role to play with fans sitting at home playing our game, as well as a role with the ones enjoying the live matchday experience, or just having a kick about with friends and FC Futures is a true reflection of that. For many fans, EA SPORTS FC is their first touchpoint with the sport. FC Futures bridges the digital and physical, taking drills designed by UEFA coaches from in-game and translating them into real-life training sessions. That way, when a young player takes something they’ve learned in-game onto the pitch, it feels familiar and accessible.
You’ve championed being more data-driven while spotlighting the women’s game. What’s the progress been this year?
There's a number of points to touch on here. The first is, we're investing in women's football holistically. So, this is absolutely about the elite side of the game and the Barclays Women's Super League, NWSL, Frauen-Bundesliga and Liga F - all of these licenses being part of our experience, fans expect that authenticity to be in our game. It's also about our investment in grassroots football and programmes such as FC Futures and ensuring that there are pathways for young girls that are getting into the sport for the first time.
I would say from a data point of view, the growth of the sport's been exponential. And what we've seen across EA SPORTS FC 24 and FC 25 is over 13 billion matches played with a women's player and starting 11 of an Ultimate Team sides, which is mind-boggling in itself. It shows both the demand and the cultural value of the women’s game, which we’re proud to amplify.
The slogan for this year's edition of the game is ‘The Club is Yours’. How does that reflect your approach to FC26?
I would say that the focus has been about how do we listen to our community and you reference 'The Club is Yours' - it's both the slogan for the campaign and the creative lens and the way we're approaching this, but it's also our mantra. The FC Feedback Harvest is central to how we listen to players and integrate their requests. We really want to listen to the community and ensure that the requests they're making are reflected in the experiences they have when they when they step in and play our games. A great example is the inclusion of Alex Morgan as an in-game icon. She was the most requested female icon, and her return as both an ambassador and a former cover star feels like a full-circle moment.
If you were to predict a women's player that could become a future cover star - who would you pick?
Lauren James is an obvious go to. I think that's probably a bit of Lioness bias coming to the fore there. But I think she's been a force of nature for Chelsea and for the national side in recent years and I think it's amazing that we've been able to work with her as closely as we have done over previous cycles.
Beyond the gameplay, EA FC has become a creative outlet in many other avenues. Can you expand on how this is developed year-on-year?
I think a great example of that more recently is the work we've done with J Balvin. He's been way more than a soundtrack artist and ambassador of ours. He's someone that's been deeply committed to the growth of football holistically. J has been deeply involved in the fashion side of our experience by developing kits that have gone into game, as well as obviously being an artist and being on our soundtrack.
Staying on the creative influence of EA FC - can you tell us about how the game's soundtrack has almost become as important as the game over the years?
The soundtrack's cultural relevance has grown so much over so many years. I think back pretty fondly to FIFA 15 and Catfish and the Bottlemen. They're massive fans of the game, and one of their dreams was being on the soundtrack of an EA sports game. That for me is just absolutely amazing and shows that there's such a tight connection between musicians that are growing up playing EA SPORTS FC, loving the game, having appearing on the soundtrack as part of their bucket list, and actually realising that dream.
The same goes for J Balvin this year. This is a bucket list item for them and it really means something. The diversity of the soundtrack is so important as well, and I know it's something Raffy and our team that lead this work, they're so intentional about that. They really care. It's not just about championing British artists or rock music or a specific genre. It's really about how do we celebrate all music and I've had countless conversations with people about "oh, that just sounds like an EA SPORTS FC song, and I can imagine that being on the soundtrack."
Ultimately, our soundtrack isn’t tied to one genre or geography—it’s about celebrating diversity and creating an audio identity that’s instantly EA SPORTS FC.
EA SPORTS FC 26 is available to preorder now.
