Bayern Munich have signed a “long-term” partnership deal with Konami, ensuring a much longer wait for FIFA fans making a return to the world-renowned Allianz Arena.
EA SPORTS recently won a massive licensing battle by regaining licensing rights to Juventus for the first time in four years, but Electronic Arts couldn’t replicate the same magic with Bayern.
Konami has won some major battles over the years including, partnerships with Barcelona, Napoli, and Roma. Capturing the German football giants is a massive win for the rival game.
FIFA still retains the Bayern Munich logo and kits and, real player names, but eFootball has exclusive rights to the Allianz arena and full squad face scans.
Bayern Munich agrees to a “long-term” deal with Konami
Bayern Munich and Konami began their partnership in 2019. The Bayern Munich English Twitter account posted a video making the announcement of an extension to their partnership.
Adding fuel to the transfer rumor fire, superstar striker Robert Lewandowski was nowhere to be seen in the announcement video. He’s been linked heavily with a move to Barcelona, in Spain.
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FC Bayern ❌ eFootball 🤝
We are delighted to announce the extension of our partnership with @play_eFootball. We’ve enjoyed three successful years together already, and we cannot wait to see what is still to come. 🤩🎮
🔗 https://t.co/H25PZtiQ5m #efootball #setfootballfree pic.twitter.com/4PymVTFaX0
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) June 29, 2022
The German giants released a press release and it did not mention the exact length of their partnership besides stating it will be a “long-term extension.”
Naoki Morita, Konami Digital Entertainment European President said, “Being a pattern to one of Europe’s elite football clubs presents Konami and the club with many opportunities.”
Andreas Jung, FC Bayern board member for marketing stated, “the partnership with Konami is of great importance to us because this market is booming and is particularly popular with the young fans.”
Konami may have won this round, but there will be plenty of other licensing battles leading up to the FIFA 23 release.