It looks like Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond are coming to FIFA 23
UPDATE: And it's official.
UPDATE 21/9/22: Following yesterday's less-than-subtle social media teasing of a Ted Lasso cameo in FIFA 23, EA has made it official, confirming the titular Apple TV+ show's fictional London football team AFC Richmond will be playable in the upcoming game.
Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis will lend his likeness to the game, in the role of the show's eponymous manager, as will key members of its on-pitch cast - with the likes of Brett Goldenstein's Roy Kent, Phil Dunster's Jamie Tarth, and Cristo Fernández's Dani Rojas making an appearance in the trailer accompanying today's news.
FIFA 23 launches for Ultimate Edition purchasers on 27th September, and its general Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC release is dated for 30th September.
ORIGINAL STORY 20/9/22: If FIFA 23's 700+ plus real-life football clubs somehow aren't enough to be getting on with, it looks like you'll soon be able to sling a decidedly more imaginary one onto the pile, with all signs pointing to an appearance from Ted Lasso's AFC Richmond in this year's game.
Hints of an impending crossover with the award-winning Apple TV+ comedy series first emerged last week, when a listing for AFC Richmond - the fictional London team managed by Ted Lasso in the show - briefly appeared on EA's FIFA ratings database before being removed.
That might have been the end of it, but now the official Ted Lasso Twitter account has shared an image showing what appears to be Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis, albeit from behind, ensconced in the FIFA team's facial capture rig - used to digitise the real-world likeness of players (and, for the first time this year, managers) for use in-game.
"Look out, Mario! You're not the only pixelated man with a moustache who never knows where the tube is taking him," reads the text accompanying the image, to which the official FIFA Twitter account responded with a stare-y eyed emoji - perhaps all but sealing the deal for a Ted Lasso cameo in this year's FIFA 23.
All will be revealed when FIFA 23 launches for Ultimate Edition purchasers on 27th September, ahead of its general release on 30th September. Ted Lasso, for its part, is expected to make a return to Apple TV+ for Season 3 before the end of this year.