Fans will have the power to select the cover star of EA SPORTS FIFA 17 from the four previously-announced ambassadors (James Rodriguez of Real Madrid C.F., Anthony Martial of Manchester United, Eden Hazard of Chelsea FC, or Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund) who will go head-to-head in the official FIFA 17 Global Cover Vote.
All voting will take place on the official FIFA Cover Vote Website beginning today and running through July 19 at 11:59pm PT/ July 20 at 2:59pm SGT. Fans can vote online once per day for their favorite player and earn extra votes by utilizing the auto-share feature with the hashtag #FIFA17CoverReward.
Fans can also show their support by Tweeting with the athlete’s hashtag (#FIFA17Hazard, #FIFA17James, #FIFA17Martial or #FIFA17Reus). The winner will be revealed on the official FIFA Cover Vote website later in July.
“James, Martial, Hazard, and Reus represent exciting, attacking football and epitomize the innovative play that fans can expect in FIFA 17,” said Nick Channon, Senior Producer for EA SPORTS FIFA. “We’re excited to see fans rally around their favorite players and see who they select as the cover star for the franchise, and the footballer who will represent FIFA 17 globally.”
If based on form over the last season and not club-bias, Marco Reus is the only among the four ambassadors that performed well throughout the season. While Martial has shown flashes of brilliance, he still needs a couple of seasons before he hits his full potential. Rodriguez and (especially) Hazard have had seasons to forget.
Real Madrid might have won the Champions League, but Rodriguez spent most of the season trying to shed off extra pounds and Hazard was totally ineffective for Chelsea throughout the season. Going on form, it should be an easy win for Reus.
This isn’t the first time EA’s done a vote for the Cover Star. Jordan Henderson was (surprisingly) picked for the cover of FIFA 16, alongside Messi, making him the first Liverpool player to appear on the cover of the long-standing franchise – which just goes to show that dreams can come true, and maybe just about anyone has a chance to be featured.
FIFA 17 promises an overhaul to Physical Play, a Set Piece Rewrite, New Attacking Techniques and a brand new Active Intelligence System. FIFA 17 will be available in North America on September 27 and worldwide on September 29 on Origin for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.