In May 2022, EA blew the whistle on its long-running deal with world football governing body FIFA. The publisher's execs had long grumbled that they were paying a huge royalty and had done more than anyone to grow the FIFA brand to where it is today,

Konami Digital Entertainment and FIFA have announced a collaboration to continue their worldwide commitment to the advancement of esports. As part of this initiative, two FIFAe World Cup will be featuring eFootball game as the title.

As announced on Konami's official site, the company's eFootball games will be utilized for two different FIFAe World Cup tournaments: one for mobile and one for consoles. However, the deal between Konami and FIFA is only for esports, and doesn't involve a new console game or rebranding eFootball as a FIFA title.

FIFA has chosen Konami as its new esports partner following the association's split with EA, with eFootball playing host to the FIFAe World Cup this year.

Now here's a move that we didn't expect. Following the split from EA, FIFA has announced that it is partnering with one-time rival Konami on a new eSports collaboration.

Konami's eFootball, the game previously known as Pro Evolution Soccer, will fill the Fifa esports vacuum left by EA Sports.

Two FIFAe World Cup tournaments featuring Konami’s eFootball game will take place, one on mobile and one on console.

FIFA partners with Konami to host two FIFAe World Cup editions in eFootball, despite ending its long-standing relationship with EA in 2022. Eighteen countries, including India and Brazil, are competing.

FIFA is partnering with Konami on the current edition of the FIFAe World Cup. eFootball will be used for the first time ever in the competition. FIFA is apparently working on its own competitor to EA FC.