Is Olympiacos in FIFA 23?
As a seasoned FIFA gamer who has logged thousands of matches across the series‘ iterations, I was devastated to learn of Olympiacos‘ exclusion from FIFA 23. This Greek giant is a powerhouse domestically and perennial UEFA Champions League contender, making their omission a huge blow to authenticity. After digging into the reasons behind it, I want to provide some expert analysis on the impact and what fans can expect moving forward.
Why Olympiacos is Missing: The Licensing Issue
Olympiacos is not in FIFA 23 purely due to an impasse in licensing negotiations with EA Sports as it pertained to image rights and related compensation. Similar issues have seen other major European clubs absent from recent versions, including AS Roma, Lazio and Napoli. With increasing scrutiny on things like rights of publicity and profit shares from likeness use in games, this is an unfortunate growing trend.
Specific details are scarce, but situations like this typically come down to complex back-and-forth between leagues, clubs, player unions, and the game publishers. With so many cooks in the kitchen, satisfying every party becomes difficult – and fans are the ones losing out with omitted teams.
Their Absence Leaves a Greek Football Shaped Hole
Olympiacos‘ exclusion doesn‘t just affect their own fans – it delivers a huge blow to FIFA 23‘s representation of top-level Greek football as a whole. Along with the missing Greek national team, having no Superleague champions and most internationally recognized club sinks authenticity for local fans.
As the most successful Greek club with 47 league titles and 29 domestic cups, Olympiacos‘ pedigree speaks for itself. Compare some key achievements between them and rivals:
| Club | European Coefficient | Total Trophies | FIFA Games Appeared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympiacos | 28.000 | 77 | 14 |
| Panathinaikos | 17.942 | 40 | 24 |
| AEK Athens | 10.828 | 32 | 21 |
As you can see, Olympiacos dominates the Greek football landscape. Missing them seriously harms authenticity for local fans and takes away a globally recognized European club from the available roster.
The Wider Impacts on FIFA Game Modes
Looking beyond Greece, Olympiacos‘ omission has some crucial impacts across popular FIFA 23 game modes like Career Mode, Kick Off and Ultimate Team.
In Career Mode, you lose the chance to manage this prestigious continental club and guide them from Greece towards Champions League glory. Their absence leaves a hole for those who enjoy taking smaller league teams onto the global stage via shrewd management.
In Kick Off and Online Friendlies, you miss out on pitting Olympiacos against European giants in dream matchups. Plus, try recreating classic Champions League clashes like their famous 1999 win over Juventus.
And without Olympiacos items in Ultimate Team packs, Greek league squad builders take a hit too. While some player items may remain as free agents, your coin balance won‘t see boosts from big ticket Olympiacos pieces.
Workarounds and Hopes for FIFA 24 Inclusion
All is not lost! Some workarounds exist for distraught Olympiacos fans who can‘t live without playing as their beloved club. Custom option files and option files exist for PC players to import the missing kits, logos and players into the game unofficially.
Additionally, the Creation Centre tool allows manually creating the team from scratch and inserting them into a custom Greek league in Career Mode or Online Seasons if you want to represent Olympiacos yourself.
Looking ahead, FIFA fans will hope the licensing issues can get resolved over the coming year. Generally if a club disappears for a single game, the problems are temporary and they return in the next annual release.
The likes of Juventus reappeared in FIFA 23 after a year‘s hiatus, so history tells us this may be a mere blip for one of Greece‘s biggest teams. Player faces may change given contract variables, but expect Olympiacos‘ red and whites gracing virtual pitches again soon.
The Final Whistle on A Greek Tragedy
In closing, Olympiacos‘ shock disappearance from the FIFA series in 23 is nothing short of dreadful for virtual footballers everywhere. This domestic and continental powerhouse boasts pedigree and history that will leave a gaping hole in gameplay authenticity and immersion for Greek fans.
While workarounds exist to manually insert the club, here‘s hoping EA Sports resolve image rights issues over the coming year and restore Olympiacos for FIFA 24. In the meantime, stay strong Olé Olé Olé supporters!
