On the weekend football was scheduled to recommence after its initial postponement, the fixture on everyone’s mind was Liverpool’s visit to Manchester City.
A win on April 5 for the Reds would have sealed a first top flight title in thirty years. Of course, it never happened and football is now suspended indefinitely. Now, the wait continues, and for who knows how long?
While it’ll be scant consolation for Reds fans, and the rest of a country looking to rain on the club’s parade, that first vs second clash could now be played out in FIFA 20 by star full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Benjamin Mendy.
EA Sports has announced the Stay And Play Cup, featuring Liverpool, City, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Ajax and 15 other European giants. Each team’s player – a member of their real-life squad – will be announced on the EA Sports FIFA Twitter in the run up to the single elimination tournament.
Related: PES 2020 Review
The tournament will be screened on the EA Sports FIFA Twitch channel from Wednesday April 15 to Sunday April 19. The Telegraph reports there are discussions with Sky Sports over bringing the tournament to TV, as the main broadcasters strive for content to fill their barren time slots.
The teams competing in the tournament are as follows:
England: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur
France: Olympique Lyonnais, Marseille, PSG
Germany: Dortmund
Spain: Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Valencia
Portugal: Porto
Italy: AS Roma
Netherlands: Ajax, PSV Eindhoven
Sweden: AIK, Djurgården
Finland: HJK Helsinki
Denmark: FC Copenhagen, Brondby
Both teams will compete with 85-rated squads with tied games to be decided by extra-time and penalties. The tournament will raise $1m for Global Giving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, while fans and viewers will be able to donate during the streams.
FIFA isn’t the first game where players will be taking to the esports realm to battle rivals. We’ve seen similar tournaments for games like NBA2K20 and Madden 20.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
