England and Arsenal icon Ian Wright returned to where it all started to open the ‘Rocky and Wrighty Arena’ at Turnham Academy in Brockley, South London, overlooked by the estate where he grew up.
Wright attended the unveiling of the floodlit 3G pitch, funded in partnership by EA SPORTS anda The Football Foundation. The arena features a mural of Wright and former Arsenal teammate David Rocastle, who passed away in 2001. Both attended Turnham Academy.
EA SPORTS, developers of FIFA 23, announced FC FUTURES, a new community football initiative. Wright, alongside world-renowned Chelsea Women’s Manager, Emma Hayes are the first FC FUTURES ambassadors.
Their three-year plan involves multiple grassroots football projects worldwide. This announcement follows EA SPORTS’s new brand identity, logo and vision reveal for the interactive future of football: EA SPORTS FC.
“I’m delighted to be an ambassador for EA SPORTS FC FUTURES ” said Ian Wright.
“This is where football starts, right here in our communities and investing in the game is a crucial step toward advancing global football. That starts with providing kids access to much-needed facilities in order for them to be able to play as much as possible in safe, local spaces. I’m grateful my old school can play a part in the future of football, and it’s an honor to be involved.”
The facility is the first of several investments worldwide by FC FUTURES, and will be used during school time and after hours, with floodlights allowing youth teams and community football organizations to play soccer safely.
EA SPORTS FC, the new name for the FIFA game series, has been teased by EA SPORTS but no gameplay information has come out yet, but it was announced that the Rocky and Wrighty Arena will be available in the next title.
Speaking at the opening event, David Jackson, VP of Brand Marketing at EA SPORTS announced “we are so thrilled that this pitch exists in the real world, and we’re really thrilled that it’s going to exist in our game too.”
“Ian is family at EA SPORTS – he is a model of passion for the game. And it’s his vision, and his team’s vision, that brought this to life with these different partners,” Jackson added in tribute to Wright, who appeared visibly emotional throughout the speeches.
Also present at the launch on a rainy London afternoon was Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes, who was supporting her friend Ian. “Growing up in London, I was always looking for a way to get onto the pitch,” she said.
“I’m ecstatic that women and underrepresented talent are getting the resources many of us didn’t.
FC FUTURES is a fantastic way to provide opportunities for the next generation of fans to explore and further their passion for football, and it makes me proud to be an FC FUTURES ambassador.
I believe that investments like this have the power to change lives.”
As part of the FC FUTURES initiative, along with funding playing facilities, EA will launch publicly-available soccer coaching resources later this year in five languages, and also in equipment for clubs and schools such as soccer balls, cones and other essentials.
Fans keen to learn more about the new era of EA SPORTS football games will have to wait until July for more information, but the brand is being teased on social media and at soccer matches worldwide.
Written by Alex Bugg on behalf of GLHF.
