EA Sports' FIFA Franchise to Provide Crowd Noise for Premier League, La Liga

Necessity is the mother of invention.

According to Joe Reedy of the Associated Press, the video game company Electronic Arts will provide crowd noise from its popular FIFA franchise for Spain's La Liga and England's Premier League with fans not allowed to attend games amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is definitely not a situation anyone thought of to show off our library," EA audio artist Paul Boechler said. "The important thing is hopefully it enhances the experience for someone watching a game."

The experiment made its debut Thursday during the La Liga contest between Sevilla and Real Betis, which the former won 2-0. The Premier League is scheduled to return Wednesday.

"The simple way to look at it is the sound operator will be like a DJ," EA Sports producer and designer Andrew Vance said. "He will have a mix board and sound board where he can hit the button for reaction from a tackle from an away player or a shot from the home team. There is nothing simulated or generic. It is all club-specific content. You are hearing everything that has been captured from home fans."

Vance also said there will be more than 800 sound clips available for each league.

Part of what makes FIFA so realistic is the timely chants, cheers and jeers from the virtual fans during games that are tailored to specific teams and players. Sound operators in charge of those effects will be tasked with making the games without fans seem more like what viewers are accustomed to when watching soccer.