We are doing our best to ensure that FIFA has the Czech league, says LFA -apkrig

Although in connection with the FIFA football series from developers from Electronic Arts, its possible renaming has been being addressed in recent days due to allegedly very high financial requirements from the International Federation of Football Associations, Czech players have been interested in another topic for many years. Namely, when the domestic top football competition reappears in the game, to follow up on the period that ended 11 years ago. Yes, FIFA 11 released in 2010 was the last episode in which it was possible to play for other Czech clubs beyond the offer from the Rest of the World tab, and every year players ask where the problem is and why things can’t be the way they were before. A certain role was played by the rotation of the bodies responsible for negotiating the license – from STES the responsibility passed to the League Football Association – nevertheless it may seem that nothing has been happening for several years and the absence of the Czech league is beginning to be seen by players. it probably can’t move anymore. We therefore asked Štěpán Hanuš, Director of Communications and PR at LFA, about the details to find out how the negotiations with Electronic Arts, but also with Konami, are, and how likely the return of the Czech league to football simulations seems.

We have entered the second decade, in which the Czech league is not represented in the FIFA series. What hinders the agreement with Electronic Arts?
Personally, I can evaluate the development over the last two to three years, when I am in charge of this matter and I am interested in it from the point of view of my own agenda. I only know indirectly what happened before, so I would not like to comment on it in any way. However, I can say that people on EA Sports who have been in their seats for a long time have our league boxed up and not exactly in a positive sense. Of course, that doesn’t play into our hands, but even here I wouldn’t want to go into the details of what leads them to do so. There have been moments in the past, but I would not discuss this topic further. If I have to talk about the years after which the license is managed by the LFA, we take the return of the Czech league to the FIFA series as our long-term goal. For us, of course, this is a key thing in terms of strategy and marketing, whether it is to reach a community of players or prestige. These are clearly positive things that the return of the Czech league to the FIFA series would bring.

So how are the negotiations with EA Sports going, what is the stage?
We had to establish contact with the developers practically from scratch, because with the transfer of powers under the LFA, all existing lines were severed. This wasn’t easy at all, given that EA Sports has an extremely complicated structure and we haven’t always come across the right people in the right places. However, we have been doing our best for the last three years, although it may sound like a phrase. We appeal to EA Sports that there is still interest from us, for example in view of the coronavirus pandemic, during which the video game segment grew in importance and is therefore greater than, for example, three years ago.

It is a financial and capacity issue, because it includes, for example, scouting players, but even if we offered them maximum cooperation, it is still extra work for them.

However, it will be extremely difficult for us to convince the developers of the parties to include the Czech league, if they themselves do not see the business potential. The second crucial thing is the current negotiations of EA Sports on the FIFA license, which they have indicated to us several times. Until developers have resolved this issue with the future of the brand, they are reluctant to invest in further development, whatever the competition. The last thing is, of course, the costs associated with implementing a new league. It is a financial and capacity issue, because it includes, for example, scouting players, but even if we offered them maximum cooperation, it is still extra work for them. And this would apply, for example, to the Greek league, which they are considering, or to compete from South America. By that I mean that they do not take our league as insignificant, but in general it is difficult for them to bring something new to the game at this time.

So can it be expected that at the time of the World Championships in Qatar, when the issue of the main license for EA Sports is to be resolved, there will finally be room to focus on content in terms of new competitions?
I feel that the moment will come after which we could be better off in terms of negotiating the Czech league. Developers’ negotiations with the football association have been going on for several years or at least a few months, and a decision will be made one hundred percent before the World Cup in Qatar. After all, we have already had some other negotiations on this topic – either with the game’s developers or with FIFA – because there is a change in connection with the football associations of individual countries, and EA Sports is also entering into this. But whatever happens, it could be [ukončení jednání o globální licenci] help.

In the NHL series, the highest Czech competition is regularly represented. According to previous information, the BPA, which is in charge of licensing matters, treats it as a barter. He doesn’t want any fee for the license, so in exchange he gets the game itself from the developers, which is used for other marketing purposes. Wouldn’t this be the way to go against the Czech league in the FIFA series?
Naturally, I cannot publicly comment on the conditions of mutual negotiations with Electronic Arts. On the other hand, even if we were talking about a license fee, which should logically go from EA to us, even then it would not be an amount that would be somewhat extra interesting for us. The financial issue plays only a secondary role and is not an impulse to try to get the Czech league into play. I don’t know how BPA has it with EA Sports, but we’re simply talking about the value of our league [pro použití ve videohře] it is so low overall that we would not even expect any major financial performance.

In dealing with Electronic Arts, does the LFA represent, in addition to individual teams and the possibility of using their names, logos or jerseys, also licenses for individual football players? Or are they taken care of by other entities or clubs themselves?
Within the Czech environment, all league players are contractually bound to their club. In the vast majority of cases, it also handles licenses when using their names or forms, for example for video game purposes. However, we as the LFA have our own contractual relationship with clubs, where we define that we can also provide these rights and licenses to other entities. In relation to EA, we therefore provide a complete package, but this would apply to the Czech league as a whole. Currently, the presence of Sparta, Slavia and Pilsen in the game FIFA is subject to direct negotiations between EA and the mentioned clubs. Theoretically, he can secure all clubs in this way, which brings us back to the question of how interesting the whole league is for EA at a time when it already has the most interesting or attractive clubs there. Then it’s about the debate over whether the clubs themselves are satisfied with the current situation, or whether they would appreciate their inclusion in the entire competition and perhaps communicate about it in some way with EA Sports.

There is not just one football game, there is also eFootball from Konami. The Czech league has never been officially there, but even with regard to the changes the series is going through, are you willing to negotiate with our Japanese developers about our highest competition?
The last time we came in contact with Konami was about two years ago. But if I remember correctly, their reaction was quick and concise, that at that time they were strategically focused on securing licenses for the EURO and other cups, and they wanted to leave the offer of competitions as they are. Historically, I also know that the only way to get into the game was to push out another competition that was already involved, and according to the latest responses from Japan, it was not planned. According to our information and surveys, however, eFootball is not so attractive for Czech players and since then we are no longer in regular contact with them and we primarily focus on FIFU. For us, FIFA is also important from the point of view that three years ago we also started to be involved as an organizer of the e-sports league, which we consider to be a very interesting project. So in relation to EA and involvement in the Global Series, everything is working very well so far. And that could potentially open the door to future negotiations.