Fans to decide FIFA 17 cover star

EA Sports have revealed that fans will have the power to select the cover star of EA SPORTS FIFA 17. Four previously-announced ambassadors (James Rodriguez of Real Madrid C.F., Anthony Martial of Manchester United, Eden Hazard of Chelsea FC, or Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund) will go head-to-head in the official FIFA 17 Global Cover Vote.

All voting will take place on the official FIFA Cover Vote Website beginning today and running through to July 20 at 6:59pm NZ time. Fans can vote online once per day for their favourite player and earn extra votes by utilizing the auto-share feature with the hashtag #FIFA17CoverReward. Fans can also show their support by Tweeting with the athlete's hashtag (#FIFA17Hazard, #FIFA17James, #FIFA17Martial or #FIFA17Reus). The winner will be revealed on the official FIFA Cover Vote website later in July.

FIFA 17's four cover contenders – all individually known for their attacking style of play – are also global ambassadors for FIFA 17 and worked with EA SPORTS to influence gameplay and bring innovation to the way players think and move, physically interact with opponents, take set pieces, and use new techniques in attack.

"James, Martial, Hazard, and Reus represent exciting, attacking football and epitomize the innovative play that fans can expect in FIFA 17," said Nick Channon, Senior Producer for EA SPORTS FIFA. "We're excited to see fans rally around their favourite players and see who they select as the cover star for the franchise, and the footballer who will represent FIFA 17 globally.

With a new game engine and new gameplay features that let fans own every moment on the pitch, FIFA 17 brings an overhaul to physical play, a set piece rewrite, new attacking techniques as well as a brand new active intelligence system.

EA SPORTS FIFA 17 is being developed by EA Vancouver and will be available in New Zealand on September 29 on Windows PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.