October 17 – Manchester City have unveiled a new green fourth kit designed in collaboration with EA Sports — a project that pushes the boundaries of how clubs, brands and technology can merge the physical and digital sides of football.
Pep Guardiola’s side will debut the shirt in their next Champions League fixture away to Villarreal, with the design also available to players in EA Sports FC 26 from next Friday.
The kit, whilst sharp-looking, is more than meets the eye. At the centre of the club crest sits an NFC tag, allowing fans to scan the shirt with a smartphone to unlock exclusive in-game rewards and “additional surprises” from Manchester City, Puma and EA Sports FC.
The initiative is the latest step in a partnership between City and EA Sports that dates back to 2011, and is its most ambitious step yet, taking the partnership int the physical and wearable world for the first time.
“Football is evolving, and so are the ways fans connect with their Club,” said Marco Mueller, PUMA’s Senior Director of Product Line Management Performance Apparel. “This collaboration sets a new standard for innovation in kit design — uniting the physical, the digital, and the emotional.
“The project began in December 2023, when all three brands joined forces to co-design a kit with the intention to blur the lines between play in the digital game and the real pitch. The result is a unique product that really pushes the boundaries of kit design.”
Fans will be able to redeem in-game rewards unlocked through the NFC crest in two access windows — between October 15 and November 10, and again from November 11 to January 10, 2026.
Those rewards include the virtual version of the kit in Ultimate Team, custom items in FC26 Clubs mode, and exclusive City player picks.
The shirt will appear across Kick Off, Career and Club modes on FC 26, underscoring how deeply the partnership now runs across both the club’s and EA’s ecosystems.
The Manchester City collaboration headlines a busy campaign season for EA Sports, which has also extended its Pepsi MAX partnership into a third year. That deal has launched a UK-wide on-pack promotion offering in-game rewards for FC 26 players.
To mark the campaign, Sir David Beckham and Lauren James front a new film in which Beckham, surrounded by medals and memorabilia, calls Pepsi MAX “the ultimate silverware”.
Together, EA Sports’ twin partnerships with Manchester City and Pepsi continue to expand the reach of its rebranded EA SPORTS FC universe, bridging the gap between real-world football, fan engagement and digital play.
It’s esports circuit will begin at the Dreamhack Atlanta event at the end of October – with the FC Pro Open Qualifiers reborn for another year.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1760706822labto1760706822ofdlr1760706822owedi1760706822sni@g1760706822niwe.1760706822yrrah1760706822
Source link
Add Comment