FIFA 21 was released in October 2020 and it features some of the biggest teams in the world, but there is one notable omission: Juventus .
(Image credit: EA) It’s not all bad news on the FIFA 21 Juventus front. The Piemonte Calcio replacement side has fake kits and a fake badge, yet all its players are real, with mostly accurate faces. Free download Fifa 21 Serie a Kits and mini-Kits.This includes home, away, goalkeeper and third kits. Click on the link below to download.
Instead, Piemonte Calcio take their place, entering into the game with a unique club badge and their own distinctive kit.
It is undoubtedly a blow to EA Sports to have a club of Juventus' stature absent from their flagship football title, but they will hope that Piemonte Calcio can do enough to fill the gap.
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So why has this unusual change happened? Goal takes a look at the reasons.
Why are Juventus called Piemonte Calcio on FIFA 21?
The end of the partnership between Juventus and EA Sports is the reason the Italian champions are called Piemonte Calcio in FIFA 21. They were also known as Piemonte Calcio in FIFA 20.
Juventus actually struck a deal with EA Sports' rivals Konami in 2019 to appear exclusively on their eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer games instead.
That deal prohibits EA Sports - or anyone other than Konami, for that matter - from using the Juventus brand, including their official badge and kits. For example, Juve are known as 'Zebre' in Football Manager.
Juventus are to be renamed as 'Piemonte Calcio' in #FIFA20 😵
What's your favourite fake name from a video game? 🎮 pic.twitter.com/X8OySFyg6J
Juve are not the only big name missing from the title though - you can see the list of missing teams here.
It has reversed fortunes somewhat, since Konami's titles - from International Superstar Soccer to Pro Evolution Soccer - earned cult status precisely because they did not have official team or player licenses.
The sudden severing of ties in came after EA Sports' decision to remove Juve star Cristiano Ronaldo - the cover star of FIFA 18 and FIFA 19 - from promotional imagery and as their sole cover star.
A trio of players, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne and Paul Dybala, appeared in Ronaldo's place in February 2019.
Why Piemonte Calcio? What does it mean?
Since EA Sports cannot use the real name of the team Juventus, they have had to use an alternative nom de guerre for the Serie A giants.
The name Piemonte Calcio literally means 'Piemonte Football' and is inspired by the region of Italy in which Juventus are based.
Piemonte - sometimes known as Piedmont - is situated in north-west Italy, on the borders of Switzerland and France.
It translates as 'At the foot of the Mountains', which is an acknowledgement of the area's famous Alps backdrop.
Piemonte Calcio follows a naming style that is used by a number of Italian clubs in real life - think Brescia Calcio, Cagliari Calcio or Associazione Calcio Milan (AC Milan).
Interestingly, Juventus were known as 'PM Black and White' (PM as an abbreviation for Piemonte) in Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
Do Piemonte Calcio have real Juventus players?
While the Juventus brand does not feature in FIFA 21, Piemonte Calcio does feature players who play for Juventus.
When the news was first confirmed, EA Sports explained: 'Real-world players, including authentic names and faces, will be used in the Piemonte Calcio squad.'
Matthijs De Ligt is going where no man has gone before 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/DpW52Q5ozd
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) July 17, 2019That means we see Matthijs de Ligt, Aaron Ramsey and Ronaldo lining out for the 'new' outfit, which is good news for any FIFA-playing Juventus fans.
Aside from cosmetic differences, Piemonte Calcio will strongly resemble Juventus and the team is fully incorporated into the game, playable in Kick-Off, Ultimate Team, Career Mode, and VOLTA Football.
However, despite that, fans will have to come to terms with the fact that Juventus' home venue, Allianz Stadium, does not feature in FIFA 21.
There was a bit of shock in the FIFA gaming community when it emerged that Juventus would not be included in FIFA 20, but that they would be in eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020.
It was a major coup for Konami to secure such a deal, one which deprived their rival brand of the biggest club in Italy - a club that had also just recently signed one of the biggest stars in football, Cristiano Ronaldo.
'Ronaldo coming into the mix [at Juventus] adds more value to us in terms of exposure and importance,' said Konami's Jonas Lygaard, who revealed the deal to 'get Juventus' was three years in the making.
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So what about the next installment of FIFA: FIFA 21?
Will Juventus still be locked out of the biggest and best-selling football video game in the world? Goal takes a look at what's in store.
Will Juventus be in FIFA 21?
Juventus will not officially be in FIFA 21.
The reason Juventus will not be in the game is the licensing agreement the Serie A club has with Konami to appear exclusively in their Pro Evolution Soccer franchise.
The deal Juve signed with Konami in 2019 will last three years, meaning the Italian champions will not officially be on a FIFA game for the next two installments at least, unless something drastically changes with the arrangement.
A club with the likeness to Juventus will be on FIFA 21, however, and it will feature all the proper players, but it won't be able to use the club name, badge, official kits or even the Allianz Stadium.
In FIFA 20, the Juventus substitute was 'Piemonte Calcio' and that is set to continue in FIFA 21.
Konami also has partnership deals with clubs such as Manchester United and Bayern Munich, but they are not exclusive, meaning the clubs also appear in their official guises in EA Sports' games.
Barcelona are another club with a wide-ranging agreement with Konami to appear on PES and, while the Spanish giants do appear on FIFA 20, their stadium - Camp Nou - was exclusive to PES 2020.
What is Piemonte Calcio?
Piemonte Calcio is the name for Juventus in EA Sports' FIFA franchise, beginning with the 2019 game FIFA 20.
The name is inspired by the region of northern Italy on the border of Switzerland and France in which Juve are based.
Piemonte (also known as Piedmont), where Turin is, translates to 'Foot of the Mountain' in English, which is a fitting name for a region which is bordered by the spectacular Alps mountain range.
Juventus Fifa 22
Juventus is no more in FIFA! â˜
Long live Piemonte Calcio! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3qQ4JYIVlZ
In Italy, it is common for the name of a club to follow the convention of region combined with the word 'calcio', which is Italian for football.
For example: Brescia Calcio or Cagliari Calcio, though both those clubs are generally known only by their first name.
EA Sports explained that Piemonte will be as real to Juventus as possible and playable on all modes of FIFA: 'Real-world players, including authentic names and faces, will be used in the Piemonte Calcio squad throughout FIFA 20 and FIFA 20 Ultimate Team,' the company said.
However, gamers will note that the Piemonte Calcio kits are actually not very similar to Juventus' classic Bianconeri (black and white) look.
Interestingly, it is not the first time Juventus have been dubbed Piemonte as a substitute name in a video game. In PES 2019, Juventus were known as 'PM Black and White', with the PM being an abbreviation of Piemonte.
Will FIFA 21 be missing any other clubs?
It is not yet clear exactly which other clubs will and will not be included in FIFA 21, but the EA Sports game is sure to have the most extensive offering of officially licensed clubs and leagues.
How To Get Juventus Kit In Fifa 21 Ps4
However, Juventus is not the only club that had to be altered in FIFA 20 due to licensing issues.
Argentina Superclasico rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate were known as 'Buenos Aires' and 'Nunez' respectively on the game until the Copa Libertadores update in March 2020.
Fifa 21 Juventus Kit
Juventus Kit Fifa 21 New
There were a number of minor licensing issues with some international teams too, including Colombia and Uruguay, with a variation of generic kits and/or players in place in some cases.