With FIFA 20 set to launch in just under two weeks, there's plenty of new gameplay additions for fans to get excited about: Volta will bring back the flair-filled gameplay of FIFA Street, career mode is finally getting a much-needed overhaul, and EA Sports is continuing to grow its catalog of authentic leagues with the addition of the top Romanian league. The game now features over thirty leagues from around the world, but we couldn't help but think there are a few more that ought to have been included in FIFA 20.
Without further ado, let's take a look at a few leagues that deserve to be in FIFA 20:
5 Canadian Premier League
North of the border, a big moment in North American sporting history took place earlier this year: the Canadian Premier League kicked its first ball. The newly-formed professional league launched with seven professional teams from coast-to-coast across Canada, marking the only time in recent sporting history that a professional top flight football league has launched as part of such a large-scale initiative.
The league is set up in a way that will be familiar to fans of Liga MX, with a split-season format representing an apertura and clausura that caps off with playoffs between the winners of both seasons. The burgeoning league hasn't taken long to make an impact, with its Calgary-based spring season winners already causing an upset in the Canadian Championship over an MLS team, and its Hamilton-based club making it to the Round of 16 in the CONCACAF League. Suffice to say, the league has shown a good level of quality in its first few months of action.
Given that a large portion of the FIFA franchise is developed by EA Vancouver, it only makes sense that the developers ought to engage in the growth of the game in their own backyard. With Canada set to help host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, it's not unrealistic to think that the Canadian Premier League will find its way to the FIFA franchise in the near future - though it'd be neat to see the CPL included during its inaugural season. It's not too late for a DLC update, is it?
4 UAE Pro-League
When it comes to fans rallying for a league to be included in the game, few vote en masse like fans in the United Arab Emirates do. In fact, the tenacity of fans from the UAE Pro-League is exactly why FIFA 20 will feature one UAE Pro-League side, Al Ain FC, in the game's 'Rest of World' section. The Abu Dhabi-based club was one of the most oft-requested clubs by fans in the region, and they sent in enough requests to convince EA Sports it was a worthwhile effort to add the team to the game. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Al Ain FC made waves on the pitch last year when it made it all the way to the FIFA Club World Cup, losing out 4-1 to then-Champions League winners Real Madrid.
With one UAE Pro-League club already in the game, it's clear that the league has plenty of fans who are eager to see more Middle Eastern content come to the annualized franchise. There's certainly a large target market there with EA Sports already investing into licensing the top flight from Saudia Arabia, so why not extend the courtesy to one of their neighbors? With the 2022 World Cup due to be hosted in Qatar, a focus on the Middle East is certainly warranted.
3 Indian Super League
With over 1.3 billion people estimated to call India home, the South Asian country has a lot of fans that are hungry to see their own professional league represented in FIFA 20. The Indian Super League doesn't have the high-budget balances that clubs in the Chinese Super League provide, but the six-year-old Indian professional competition features ten teams that deliver plenty of entertainment for the masses all the same.
The league is home to India's best-ever player, Sunil Chhetri, who has accumulated some 72 goals in 112 appearances for his country. Other international players like Miku, David James, Tim Cahill, and Iain Hume have all played in the league at one point or another, with the bulk of the league's rostered players hailing from the home country itself. With over a million football fans attending ISL matches last year alone, there's evidently a large domestic audience interested in the Indian Super League.
2 United Soccer League
While most football fans will think of Major League Soccer when it comes to football in the USA, the country's second-tier league hosts some 36 teams split across two conferences. There are plenty of second divisions already in FIFA 20, with the likes of England, Germany, France, and Italy all having their second divisions included in the upcoming game.
Here's the catch about the USL: 15 of those 36 teams are official affiliates of MLS clubs, which means many of those are 'B Teams' of clubs in the US top flight division. This will make the league less attractive to some, but all-in-all it adds an explosion of clubs in North America. These clubs managed to pull in some 2.8 million spectators to stadiums around the country last year, with many more fans tuning in to watch matches online. Suffice to say, there's definitely a lot of interest in US second division football.
While there's no promotion or relegation between the USL and Major League Soccer, it's inclusion would still have another huge benefit in FIFA 20: it would allow for a much fuller version of the US Open Cup to play out, and that'd make Career Mode with an MLS (or, er, USL) team much more interesting. Plus, there'd be plenty of sensible options to send MLS players out on loan to: as things currently stand, a Career Mode MLS experience often involves loaning out youngsters to other MLS teams, and that's just something that doesn't happen in real life. With the authentic-looking game mode getting a renewed focus from EA Sports, what better time than now to make the US-based football experience more authentic than ever?
1 Brasileirao Serie A
Unfortunately for fans of the FIFA franchise, Konami holds the exclusive licensing rights for Brazil's top football division and grants them to Pro Evo Soccer. EA Sports has put a generic Brazilian league in its place, with the large caveat that all the players in it are fictional. In short, it's a big bummer for fans hoping for an authentic experience from the world's most famous footballing country. With FIFA creative director Matt Prior saying that EA Sports prides itself in authenticity, not having the Brazilian top flight has to hurt.
EA Sports made waves when it pulled an absolute licensing coup last year and secured exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, so it's not completely impossible that the developers will take similar action in the future when it comes to the Brasileirao Serie A. Given that PES 2020 is now out and FIFA 20 is due in last than two weeks, it's too late for a license shale-up to take place - but it's still fair to say that the FIFA developers ought to have pushed to include Brazil's top flight in FIFA 20.
Still, it's not like there's a shortage of content coming from the annualized sports franchise: with over thirty leagues represented in the game, there's more players, kits, and stadiums than fans can shake a stick at. FIFA 20 is poised to be one of the most authentic football games yet (perhaps behind only Football Manager), but the above list really exemplifies that striving for authenticity is a never-ending task.
Any of the above leagues would be a fantastic addition to FIFA 20, but given that they're not likely to appear as post-launch content, fans will be left pondering if they'll be on the cards next year. Until then, there's still over 700 real-life clubs to choose from, and that should be more than enough for even the most dedicated fan.
FIFA 20 will launch on September 27 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Those with EA Access will be able to test out the game on September 19, while others who pre-ordered certain versions of the game can play as soon as September 24.