Fifa 17: Iceland will not feature as KSI claims EA wants rights 'almost for free'

1/26
Standard Sport21 September 2016

Any gamers hoping to recreate Iceland's Euro 2016 heroics in Fifa 17 are set to be disappointed after the Football Association of Iceland (KSI) rejected an offer from Electronic Arts.

Iceland gained a cult following during this summer's European Championships in France, as the tiny island nation - with a population of just 323,000 - qualifying from the group stages before sensationally eliminating England in a 2-1 victory.

The Nordic nation were eventually knocked out by hosts France, but Icelandic fans and players won praise for their special bond with other nations copying their now-famous 'Thunderclap' celebration.

But while fans have been eagerly awaiting the chance to test out Iceland's skills with the release of Fifa 17 later this month, BBC Sport reports that the KSI have turned down an offer from EA Sports of $15,000 (£11,501), with the developer then turning down a counter-offer.

"They are the ones buying these rights and they almost want it for free," the BBC reports KSI president Geir Thorsteinsson as saying of the fee, which covers image rights and the use of trademarks.

"The performance at the Euros show that we are quite a good team and many would like to play with our team. It's sad for the players - but the criticism should be towards EA Sports.

"I really feel if we are giving away rights, or offering rights, it has to be proper negotiations and fair fees.

"I didn't feel that this was done in a fair and open manner."

Standard Sport has asked EA Sports for comment.

FIFA 17 - Top 20 Premier League Players

1/20

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in