FIFA name change: EA and FIFA confirm split, as franchise ends with FIFA 22

EA Sports has officially announced plans to drop the FIFA branding for its annual football franchise. Confirming recent rumours, EA Sports revealed that FIFA 22 will be the final game in the series on PC and consoles. Electronic Arts will, however, return with a brand new football game next year, titled EA Sports FC. Even better is the news that EA Sports will continue to license official leagues and teams for the foreseeable future.

EA Sports explains more: "EA SPORTS FC brings the strength of more than 300 individual licensed partners, giving players access to more than 19,000 athletes across 700 teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world.

"Through EA SPORTS FC, EA will further grow the reach and power of its football licensing portfolio by retaining and expanding the licensed football content, scaling to new experiences, and increasing access through more platforms.

"EA will also build on a foundation of inclusivity and innovate in new areas around both women's and grassroots football for the global community."

According to EA Sports, this includes the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A, and MLS.

That's on top of competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League - just don't expect the FIFA World Cup.

As you can see from the tweets below, Premier League title contenders Liverpool and Manchester City have both confirmed plans to appear in the new series.

Elsewhere, EA Sports has told fans that FIFA 22 will still release later this year, complete with new game modes.

"The introduction of EA SPORTS FC will not impact any current EA SPORTS global football games, and EA and FIFA are excited to deliver the greatest, most expansive EA SPORTS FIFA ever later this fall.

"Our final FIFA