Wales Has Disappeared, According to FIFA ‘09
Welsh video gamers are pretty unhappy right now, because their national team has ceased to exist. Not in the real world – John Toshack’s team are still sitting third in World Cup 2010 European qualifying Group 4, and still won the recent friendly against Denmark – but in the world of FIFA ‘09.
They’re simply not included on EA’s latest blister-inducing footy game. Not under a different spelling (Whales?) or misplaced under the Asian section, but just flat out disappeared. Wales Online has an understandably angry quote from 30 year old Noel Davies, who just bought the game:
“I’m a big fan of John Toshack’s side and I was looking forward to leading the team. I found England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and even New Zealand, but no Wales.
“I don’t know why but maybe the people at Fifa no longer see us as a footballing nation and think we are no longer worthy of a place in the game. There are Premiership players in the Welsh team coveted by the top European clubs. You would only have to have a chat with Arsene Wenger about Aaron Ramsey to agree about that…
…In all seriousness you have to wonder how we are not in the game and yet New Zealand are, who are more famous for Jonah Lomu and rugby.”
“In earlier versions of the game they used to have a Wales team.
“I imagine the market for this game in the UK is huge, so to ignore Wales is ridiculous. There are enough gaming members of the public in Wales. I find it really insulting.”
Bit harsh on New Zealand there (they just successfully hosted the world’s first U-17 Women’s World Cup, where North Korea beat the USA in 2-1 aet in the final) but Davies definitely has a point. Especially the part about alienating Welsh gamers.
And this isn’t the first time Wales has been disappeared. As one commenter on Game Politics pointed out, a European Union stats book accidentally wiped the entire country off the map back in 2004. Almost feels like a conspiracy.
I hope there’s a good reason for this omission, like maybe it was a dispute over licensing or image rights or something. But seems likely that someone at Electronic Arts just forgot that the Welsh national team existed. A bit like Ryan Giggs did when the friendly games rolled around. Ahem.
Even worse (or better, depending on whether you prefer the Welsh national team or irony) EA have included Welshman Tom Jones on the soundtrack and apparently included the Millennium Stadium as one of the locations to play at.
Welsh fans are officially pissed, but you can help cheer them up by signing this petition to have Wales reinstated on FIFA ‘09.
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Comments
By Weston | November 30th, 2008 at 7:50 am 
cool, im number 155
Posted from 
United States
By Shane | November 30th, 2008 at 8:15 am Blame Microsoft not EA. All games are made for the 360’s DVD drive and not the PS3’s Blu-Ray.
DVD=4.7 Gig. BR=55 Gig.
I can only guess that XBox owners demand lesser quality while being nickle and dime’d for every single addition that is already included in the PS3. FYI: the price drops are usually followed by a new system model since Microsoft has been looking into putting a BR player in.
They shot themselves in the foot by not including a built in HD-DVD player and making all the games on those. Even if the war went to BR they can still manufacture games on them.
By Johnny | November 30th, 2008 at 8:49 am This is also the fault of known albatross, Gareth Bale, too.
By Nate | November 30th, 2008 at 8:49 am Please… they can’t fit an extra team because it takes up too much space as a data file? Obviously you have no idea how small team files are compared to the graphics processing and player movement etc. There’s no way that they omitted Wales just because they couldn’t fit them on the disc…
Posted from United States
By 9 Champions Leagues | November 30th, 2008 at 9:01 am who wants to play with wales anyway?
By Bra | November 30th, 2008 at 9:02 am It is strange that they were left off in the marketing sense, but come on: you can’t cry about your team not being in the game when Wales simply isn’t that good a team. (New Zealand is included for the same reason Australia used to always be included: they needed an OCF representative.)
If you really want something to discuss, then talk about the multitude of countries that are left off the FIFA World Cup games.. it’s unacceptable that the regular FIFA line can hold up to 300-400 teams, and yet in the World Cup games (which only have national teams) they include only 125 countries or so.
Posted from United States
By Toby | November 30th, 2008 at 9:19 am You don’t get this problem with PES and a gooood old fashioned memory card save.
Posted from 
United Kingdom
By Al | November 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am This also happened with the Netherlands in FIFA 06 and 07 (?)
Posted from United States
By mele419 | November 30th, 2008 at 10:23 am It has nothing to do with space and blue-ray.
You’ve no idea what you’re talking about Shane. Most of the reason people were turned off the the PS3 was because they were forced to pay an extra 200 dollars for blue ray, which 75% of the population still doesn’t use anyways. But either way there’s plenty of room on both Xbox and PS3 for the small squad file of Wales, especially since half the players are already there because they’re world class in the EPL and abroad.
Posted from United States
By Phil | November 30th, 2008 at 11:14 am football manager doesn’t have the german national team but I got around that by deleting some files and now they are all there…To bad that doesnt work for fifa.
Posted from United States
By George | November 30th, 2008 at 11:30 am Well, in FIFA 08 & 09 the Netherlands team is there, but all the players are fake. For some reasons, EA has the license for the Dutch players on their club teams, but not for the national teams. Does anyone know why this is?
Posted from United States
By Grd | November 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am Why does anyone care – its a video game or do people here not play Football?
Posted from United States
By omar | November 30th, 2008 at 1:42 pm the question is y isnt egypt in the game two time african champs…
By Toby | November 30th, 2008 at 3:27 pm grd, that’s a bit sour…football games are cracking fun, and stopped me from having a mental breakdown when I destroyed my cruciate ligament a few years back…PES was the closest I got to football.
Posted from United Kingdom
By Daveyboy | November 30th, 2008 at 3:39 pm its happened before people! the republic of ireland were absent from FIFA 2000 back in the days of the original playstation. at least this time around you can alter things with downloadable patches so hopefully wales may still make an appearance
By 9 Champions Leagues | November 30th, 2008 at 7:20 pm PES was a better alternative to the fifa games between 00-07 but FIFA has launched far better simulating games in the last couple years, especially this year. The graphs, the individual movement possibilities and the range of strength that can be applied to shots and passes is much better than PES. Pro Ev is still fun to play, its not like i’ll diss it but its not as good in any sense.
By Tamim | November 30th, 2008 at 10:44 pm what is their problem!!, we have been the champions of africa for two times now (2006, 2008)and we are nonexistent in fifa, pes and winning eleven while teams like south africa and senegal with all the respect are still there!!!
By Shane | December 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am Sorry, but i have every clue of what i’m talking about. Maybe a squad file is in fact small enough to include but that does not mean that BluRay is superior to a DVD in every way.
Remember when DVD players were $800 and less than 75% of the population didn’t use them?
Times change, get with the times.
I do hope that Microsoft gives you 360 owners a free BR drive or a good deal though if they decide to go through with it even though it’s funny to see fanboys pissed off.
Posted from United States
By Bra | December 1st, 2008 at 10:03 am Lol, figures this would turn into a console y vs. console x “discussion.” Honestly, the lapses in logic…
Posted from United States
By Andrew C | December 1st, 2008 at 10:07 am Um, Shane, thanks. I don’t have either console, but you taking the opportunity to wax salesman didn’t really have any relevance on the story at hand.
So, sweet, you’re thrilled with your PS3.
Posted from United States
By Shane | December 1st, 2008 at 1:58 pm Space=content. End of story. End of sales pitch. End of 360.
Unless of course Content=licensing. Then end of whining before whining begins. Case closed
Next
Posted from United States
By mele419 | December 4th, 2008 at 7:14 am No, Shane, no. Ignoramus.
Posted from United States
By LLoyd Evans | December 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm I for 1 want to play with wales on Fifa 09 and NOT england,Scotland,Irland we ARE a country not a CITY or VILLAGE we ar WALES and i hope to see them pon fifa 10…?
THANK YOU..
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By منتدى | January 6th, 2009 at 10:45 am Thanks
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