FIFA Loses Another Team License!

Atalanta Bergamo PES
FIFA lost Atalanta to PES. (Credit: Konami)

Another club from Italy will not have its original name in FIFA 22. Atalanta signed an exclusive partnership deal with Pro Evolution Soccer, becoming the fourth Serie A club to get a fictional name in the next FIFA game.

Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. today officially announced that Atalanta has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Pro Evolution Soccer. The club finished this last Serie A season in 3rd place and will therefore participate in the UEFA Champions League next season.

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In Konami's press release, CEO Naoki Morita expresses his satisfaction with the deal:

As we prepare to unveil the future of the eFootball PES series, I am pleased to announce this exclusive partnership with Atalanta B.C., a truly impressive club with an exciting future at the highest levels of European football. Working with our partner clubs is an important element of our strategy to deliver industry-leading video games to football fans around the world.

Luca Percassi, CEO of Atalanta, is also pleased with the future collaboration:

We are very pleased to announce the partnership with Konami. Konami is an international brand that needs no further introduction. The deal is representative of another important moment in Atalanta's growth.

FIFA 22 Without Juventus, Roma, Atalanta and Napoli

Although EA already secured the rights to AC Milan and Inter Milan for itself last year, it still seems like the FIFA publisher isn't necessarily concerned with continuing to secure Italian licenses for FIFA 22.

Atalanta is now the fourth Serie A team that won't be shown under its official name and club logo in the upcoming FIFA 22.

EA began losing ground in Italy with Juventus, which was renamed Piemonte Calcio for FIFA 20. Then followed AS Roma in FIFA 21, though the change was less dramatic. The capital team now goes by Roma FC.

Now, two more licenses have been lost to competitors Konami. From the 2021/22 season, Atalanta will be found exclusively in PES. Napoli will follow the next year, so enjoy them in FIFA 21. It's probably going to a while till we see them officially back in the EA series.

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We don't know how Atalanta are going to be called in FIFA 22, but something similar to Roma is probably on the cards. FC Bergamo doesn't sound that bad. It is funny, however, to see the joke turn around and have FIFA with the fake team names and crests.

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Original article by EarlyGame's Lukas Scherbaum.