13 women’s players from Canada’s, Mexico’s and Spain’s national women’s soccer teams are being removed from the FIFA 16 video game just days ahead of its worldwide release, in an apparent dispute with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The Canadian players who will be removed are Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, Ashley Lawrence, Janine Beckie, Rebecca Quinn and Sura Yekka.
Six players from Mexico’s team and one player from Spain’s team will also be removed, bringing the total of cut female players to 13. The collegiate players will be replaced in the game by women who have played for the national teams of the 3 countries.
The game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, said in a statement on Thursday that the U.S.-based National Collegiate Athletic Association “recently informed EA Sports” that these players’ inclusion in the FIFA 16 game would risk their eligibility for college sports.
College athletes in the NCAAÂ are compensated with sports scholarships, but cannot profit from their names and likenesses represented in merchandise or other media, including video games. If they do so, they risk losing their scholarships and their ability to play for their college teams.
All six Canadian players who were dropped from FIFA 16 play in the U.S. with NCAA Division 1 soccer teams.
SOURCE: EA Sports Statement