January 22 – EA Sports has announced a continuation of its partnership with the referees’ association for professional football in England, though no figure has been announced for the sponsorship.
The video game publisher will be the principal partner of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to the end of the 2018/19 season, meaning that the newly launched EA logo will appear on the sleeves of the referees for the foreseeable future.
Executive producer for the FIFA franchise at EA sports, David Rutter said, “This is an exciting new partnership for EA SPORTS and our millions of fans. Our FIFA games are built on connection to the real-world of football, and having the top-tier referees and officials carrying the EA SPORTS brand into matches each season is a great extension of this connection.”
Former referee and general manager of PGMOL, Mike Riley said that EA Sports “are a great fit for PGMOL given their deep connection with football”.
Riley is looking to emulate the same technological precision that EA Sports demonstrate in their videogames with the development and mentoring of referees. PGMOL holds fortnightly training days where performance, technique and fitness are all monitored under the guidance of a full-time team of sports scientists. The partnership seems to bring some like-minded people together.
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