Football
ESPN staff 8y

Iceland refuse EA Sports' $15,000 offer to be added to FIFA 17 video game

Iceland will not be in the new FIFA 17 video game after the country's football association (KSI) refused an offer to sell the rights to developers EA Sports.

The island nation knocked out England to reach the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 and captured the hearts of many neutral fans with their style of play, fanatical support and "thunderclap" celebration.

And as result, KSI has insisted that EA's offer of $15,000 (£11,501) to cover trademarks and image rights needed to be increased if they were to appear in the FIFA 17 game.

"They are the ones buying these rights and they almost want it for free," said KSI president Geir Thorsteinsson, in quotes reported by the BBC. "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."

EA Sports declined to comment when contacted by ESPN.

Iceland, now ranked 27th in the world, have never appeared in the FIFA series before. There are 47 other international sides included in the game with India, 148th in the world, the lowest-ranked side to feature.

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