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REAL FOOTBALL

Official World Cup footballs are coming to FIFA 23 — but 2018 is missing

FIFA 23 is partnering with Adidas to bring previous real World Cup footballs into the game.

World Cup mode for FIFA 23 launches this week, and in preparation, the game has introduced a number of official footballs from previous World Cups.

World Cup Mode comes to FIFA 23 this week.
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World Cup Mode comes to FIFA 23 this week.Credit: EA Sports

However, the move has been controversial by fans, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the six balls cost 20k FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) coins each, or 70k for the set.

While FUT coins are unable to be purchased in game, third-party websites sell 70k for around £10 ($12).

This amount of coins would allow you to purchase around 10 FUT packs, which is 120 players and items.

More in FIFA 23

Despite the price, players were interested in the set in order to be able to play with some of the World Cup’s more infamous balls.

The ball used in the 2002’s World Cup is considered one of the worst in the sport due to how light it was.

Jabulani was used in 2010’s World Cup and was also known for its weird trajectory.

However, the set of footballs released as part of the promotion are just skins, and do not play any differently to the regular balls used in-game.

Another complaint is that the ball used in 2018’s World Cup is mysteriously missing.

It is believed that the ball was not included in solidarity with Ukraine, because the tournament that year took place in Russia.

However, this year the World Cup will take place in Qatar, a country known for human rights’ abuses.

In particular, there are 37 deaths linked directly to the building of the stadium for the World Cup.

It is believed that there are many more deaths that have not been reported in connection with the event.

There are reports that 6.5k migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded football's largest event.

Read More on The Sun

While developer EA Sports is not responsible for FIFA holding the World Cup in Qatar this year, the game will still introduce the World Cup mode into the game.

EA Sports will cut ties with FIFA going forward due to licensing fees, and will rebrand the series as EA Sports FC.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of .

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