FIFA 21 COVERS

OFFICIAL FIFA 21 COVERS

Every single FIFA 21 cover

CONCEPT FIFA 21 COVERS

A selection of the best FIFA 21 covers made by members of the community


This amazing concept cover was created by Harrison James Hasouras


This amazing concept cover was created by Aquafut


This amazing concept cover was created by Aquafut


This amazing concept cover was created by Aquafut


This amazing concept cover was created by Harrison James Hasouras


This amazing concept cover was created by Aquafut

FIFA COVERS HISTORY

Featuring players and the stories behind the FIFA Covers.

FIFA SOCCER
David Platt Piotr Świerczewski
FIFA 95
Erik Thorstvedt
FIFA 96
Frank de Boer Jason McAteer
FIFA 97
David Ginola Bebeto
ROAD WC 98
FIFA 99
Dennis Bergkamp
FIFA 2000
FIFA 2001
FIFA 2002
FIFA 2003
Ryan Giggs Roberto Carlos
Edgar Davids
FIFA 2004
Thierry Henry Ronaldinho
Alessandro Del Piero
FIFA 2005
Patrick Vieira Fernando Morientes
Andriy Shevchenko
FIFA 06
Wayne Rooney Ronaldinho
FIFA 07
Wayne Rooney Ronaldinho
FIFA 08
Wayne Rooney Ronaldinho
FIFA 09
Wayne Rooney Ronaldinho
FIFA 10
Theo Walcott Frank Lampard
Wayne Rooney
FIFA 11
Wayne Rooney Kaká
FIFA 12
Wayne Rooney Jack Wilshere
FIFA 13
Lionel Messi
FIFA 14
Lionel Messi
FIFA 15
Lionel Messi
FIFA 16
Lionel Messi
FIFA 17
Marco Reus Eden Hazard
James Rodríguez Anthony Martial
FIFA 18
Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo Nazário
FIFA 19
Cristiano Ronaldo Neymar
Paulo Dybala Kevin De Bruyne
FIFA 20
Virgil Van Dijk Eden Hazard
Zinedine Zidane
FIFA 21
Kylian Mbappé
FIFA SOCCER
Packie Bonner Ruud Gullit
FIFA 95
Alexi Lalas
FIFA 96
FIFA 97
ROAD WC 98
Roy Lassiter David Beckham
Paolo Maldini David Ginola
Andreas Möller Raúl
FIFA 99
Kasey Keller Hidetoshi Nakata
Christian Vieri Fabien Barthez
Ahn Jung-hwan Fernando Morientes
Olaf Thon Rui Costa
FIFA 2000
Sol Campbell Vincenzo Montella
Pep Guardiola Emmanuel Petit
Jaap Stam Vassilios Tsiartas
Mehmet Scholl Raí
Simão Sabrosa Eddie Pope
Par Zetterberg Kim Byung-ji
FIFA 2001
Edgar Davids Paul Scholes
Gheorghe Hagi, Ben Olsen
Sá Pinto Gaizka Mendieta
Filippo Inzaghi Lothar Matthäus
Thierry Henry Leonardo
Shimon Gershon Ko Jong-Su
FIFA 2002
Hidetoshi Nakata Thierry Henry
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Nuno Gomes
Francesco Totti Ruud van Nistelrooy
İlhan Mansız Gerald Asamoah
Lampros Choutos Sibusiso Zuma
Nawaf Al-Temyat Hong Myung-bo
Tomasz Radzinski Roberto Carlos
Iker Casillas
FIFA 2003
Landon Donovan
FIFA 2004
FIFA 2005
Oswaldo Sanchez
FIFA 06
Omar Bravo Freddy Adu
FIFA 07
FIFA 08
FIFA 09
FIFA 10
Tim Cahill Andreas Ivanschitz
Wayne Rooney
FIFA 11
FIFA 12
FIFA 13
Joe Hart Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Roberto Soldado Claudio Marchisio
Karim Benzema
FIFA 14
Javier Hernández Stephan El Shaarawy
Arturo Vidal Radamel Falcão
Gareth Bale Michal Kadlec
Robert Lewandowski Balázs Dzsudzsák
Xherdan Shaqiri David Alaba
Mustafa Al-Bassas Tim Cahill
Makoto Hasebe Maya Yoshida
FIFA 15
Eden Hazard Gonzalo Higuaín
Clint Dempsey Tim Cahill
Robert Lewandowski David Alaba
Xherdan Shaqiri Javier Hernández
Arturo Vidal Michal Kadlec
Arda Turan Atsuto Uchida
Makoto Hasebe Maya Yoshida
Yahya Al-Shehri Robin van Persie
FIFA 16
Jordan Henderson Antoine Griezmann
Óscar Shinji Kagawa
Juan Cuadrado Marco Fabián
Andy Boyle Ciaran O’Connor
Arda Turan Mauro Icardi
David Alaba Mauro Icardi
Yasser Al-Shahrani Yann Sommer
Arek Milik Steph Catley
Christine Sinclair Alex Morgan
FIFA 17
FIFA 18
FIFA 19
FIFA 20
FIFA 21
List of the players represented on Global FIFA Covers
7
Wayne Rooney
5
Ronaldinho
4
Lionel Messi
2
Cristiano Ronaldo
Eden Hazard
1
 Alessandro Del Piero
  Andriy Shevchenko
  Anthony Martial
Bebeto
David Ginola
David Platt
 Dennis Bergkamp
  Edgar Davids
  Erik Thorstvedt
 Fernando Morientes
   Frank de Boer
Frank Lampard
 Jack Wilshere
 James Rodríguez
Jason McAteer
 Kaká
 Kevin De Bruyne
 Kylian Mbappé
 Marco Reus
Neymar
Patrick Vieira
 Paulo Dybala
  Piotr Świerczewski
 Roberto Carlos
 Ronaldo Nazário
  Ryan Giggs
 Theo Walcott
  Thierry Henry
  Virgil Van Dijk
   Zinedine Zidane
List of the nations represented on Global FIFA Covers
11
England
10
Brazil
6
France
5
Argentina
4
 Netherlands
3
Belgium
2
Cristiano Ronaldo
1
 Italy
  Ukraine
  Norway
 Spain
Colombia
Republic of Ireland
 Germany
  Poland
  Wales
FIFA’s success was part of a ground-breaking time in video games. EA’s timing in targeting the European market was impeccable. And who was the man they chose to lead the charge for the maiden title? David Platt. Then England’s Mr Reliable, the playmaker had just completed a 5.2 million move from UEFA Cup winners Juventus to Italian rivals Sampdoria, and he was chosen as FIFA’s first-ever cover star, in a photo showing him taking on Polish midfielder Piotr Swierczewski. Another version, for the later release on the SNES, showed Platt’s Dutch Sampdoria teammate, Ruud Gullit, being beaten to a cross by Irish keeper Packie Bonner. In turn, the Goldstar 3DO release showed the US team’s poster-boy, Alexi Lalas, winning a header against Norway, while the game itself boasted an array of improvements, including a rotating camera effect and enhanced graphics.

FIFA Soccer 95’s UK cover featured Tottenham goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, a member Norway’s World Cup squad — a slightly bemusing choice to the modern fan. The American version again featured Alexi Lalas (replete with a magnificent beard and stylish hairband), seemingly the only recognisable soccer star in the States – helped by a sterling World Cup showing on home soil, which was, for many local viewers, a first taste of the sport.

In 1998, EA used an image of David Beckham on the FIFA cover. There is no doubt that would have been another piece in the puzzle which led Beckham to be, arguably, the most marketable footballer on the planet. His image on the cover, in a World Cup year, would have shown a whole raft of potential sponsors and brands that he had everything in terms of marketability.

Being on the cover certainly shows to other brands the individual footballer in question has a very marketable presence which, if harnessed correctly, can generate a huge amount of revenue for the player. The gaming market is very interesting as, unlike other industries, such as music, for example, the physical product cannot be pirated or shared illegally; therefore, the physical product is sold in droves — with the player’s image walking into millions of people’s homes.

Back in the early years, though, it took a while for that status to be realised. FIFA 96, for instance, saw Frank de Boer joined by Jason McAteer — the newly signed Liverpool midfielder, seemingly only chosen as he happened to appear alongside reigning Champions League winner de Boer in an international clash between Holland and Ireland.

FIFA 97 featured Newcastle’s French winger David Ginola in full flow on their European cover art, while the rest of the world were treated to ageing Brazil star Bebeto. It wasn’t until the following year, with the release of FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, that the cover star started to become more obvious — that edition kept Ginola for the French version but also boasted David Beckham (UK), Raul (Spain), Paolo Maldini (Italy) and Andreas Möller (Germany).

This was yet another example of savvy marketing from EA Sports, using their expensively assembled licenses to drive sales and exert their dominance in the market. This was a new era of consumerism — a standard global cover wasn’t going to cut it (something EA were onto first). As Marc Aubanel explains: “It’s hard to find a player who’s not divisive, who’s going to work in Germany, Italy, Spain, England and not have one country say ‘we hate that team/ player’.

So Beckham was a big deal, but no more so than Maldini or Raul. Each was valuable to their region. In 1998, EA were trying to maximise the sales in each country. They were shipping a separate version to each country anyway, so why not have different players on the cover? There are very few players that transcend the sport and don’t become regional heroes that are negative figures in other countries.

FIFA 99’s worldwide cover star was Dennis Bergkamp, the stand-out player from the previous summer’s World Cup, while the UK versions of the next three titles featured bonafide Premier League stars Sol Campbell (FIFA 2000), Paul Scholes (2001) and Henry (2002). It was in 2003, as the series skyrocketed, that the familiar line-up of a trio of footballing juggernauts was debuted, with Roberto Carlos, Ryan Giggs and Edgar Davids the three selected. Landon Donovan replaced Carlos in the States. FIFA Football 2004 had Henry teaming up with Alessandro Del Piero and Ronaldinho; 2005 featured Patrick alongside Fernando Morientes and Andriy Shevchenko, before Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho shared four straight covers.

By FIFA 10, virtually every region had a different line-up on its cover, with Rooney a regular feature, appearing alongside international teammates Frank Lampard and Theo Walcott in the UK, before playing sidekick to Real Madrid star Kaka on FIFA 11, for which the Brazilian was the global face. FIFA 12 was a similar mash-up, Rooney, again prominent, was joined by Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere in the UK.

It was FIFA 13’s cover that confirmed the value of the cover star berth, though, when it was announced that Lionel Messi — previously the face of rival game Pro Evolution Soccer — had signed to front FIFA globally. He featured on the cover for four consecutive years.

In FIFA 17, the player on the front cover was chosen by the community. Reus was the winner. One year later, EA has decided to invest in the most marketable footballer, like they have made 20 years before. However, after the release of FIFA 19, Cristiano Ronaldo was removed from the covers (since 2017 that EA is realising separate covers for each edition), due to the sexual scandals, filling the spot with KDB, Neymar and Dybala. One year later, three other players were selected to the cover: Van Dijk, Hazard and Zidane.