Oh, hell yeah! Not only do we finally get female soccer players in FIFA 16, but they'll be featured on the cover?! We're not mad about that one bit.
EA Sports announced today that U.S. National team stud and World Cup champion Alex Morgan will be one of the first female athletes to grace the cover of the latest release in the FIFA series. She will be sharing the cover with Argentina and FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Isn't that nice of World Champion Alex Morgan to graciously leave some room for Messi on the front of the video game? What a class act.
But wait! There's more good news.
Canada's Christina Sinclair will also be on the cover with Messi in Canadian stores when the game is released, meaning that two different women will be featured on the front of FIFA 16. What a time to be alive! Sure, it took them over 20 years to put a female face on the cover but you know…it's definitely something to celebrate.
"It is an incredible honor to be one of the first women featured on the cover of EA Sports FIFA," Morgan said. "I know people all over the world play this game and I'm really excited that FIFA 16 is putting such an important spotlight on women's soccer. And now to share the cover with today's greatest player is surreal."
"This year's World Cup showcased the unbelievable talent and skill in women's soccer," said Sinclair. "I'm thrilled that EA Sports is celebrating female athletes in FIFA 16. To be featured in the game and to promote women's soccer with Alex is really special and another exciting step for women in sports."
When EA announced that women would be playable in FIFA 16, the reaction was…how do we put this lightly? So sexist that we thought we were living in 1952. And when the cover was revealed, there were a lot of those same reactions. But you know what? There were many more positive things being said about Alex Morgan and Christina Sinclair, and those are the tweets we are choosing to feature.
Step aside, idiot sexists! We're going to let people with actual brains do the talking:
Congrats, ladies! We'll see you on the (virtual) pitch!