Few summer fairytales were as glorious in the world of sports as that of the Iceland national team and its run to the quarterfinals of the UEFA European Championships.
Between the insane fan following from the tiny island nation to the inspired play that got them nearly to the final — Iceland were the talk of the soccer world and beyond in the summer of 2016.
However, that team won’t be featured in FIFA 17 by EA Sports thanks to a dispute over the payment to the Icelandic national soccer federation.
Per the BBC, Iceland were offered a whole $15,000 to have their images and likenesses used in the game. To KSI president Geir Thorsteinsson, that simply was an insulting offer.
KSI allegedly countered, with EA Sports balking at the counter offer and leaving the national side out of its game for the year.
“I really feel if we are giving away rights, or offering rights, it has to be proper negotiations and fair fees.” said Thorsteinsson.
“I didn’t feel that this was done in a fair and open manner.”
Featuring in the game would’ve been new for KSI, as they were not asked to be part of any previous FIFA installment, but on the heels of its impressive and memorable performance over the summer, they were hoping to be included.
Clearly money, or the lack thereof, got in the way here.
No official word on if the Viking War Chant “Huh” will be included, but there was no bigger fan chant at the Euro’s than this:
Initial reports a week ago suggested the chant would be included, but the dispute with Iceland has muddied the waters.
[BBC]
