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According to the Associated Press, 13 soccer players who took part in this summer's Women's World Cup have been dropped from the FIFA 16 video game because of concerns from the NCAA.
This is the first year FIFA 16 has featured women's teams, with 12 women's national teams from the World Cup included in the game..
The dropped players hail from three coutries: six from Mexico, six from Canada and six from Spain.
The players risked losing their college eligibility, according to the AP.
The NCAA does not allow college players to profit from their likenesses.
EA Sports, the company that produces the FIFA video games, released a statement, which included the following:
We wanted to ensure all FIFA fans are updated on the final players and rosters. Of the hundreds of players on these rosters, 13 are currently attending or likely to attend NCAA-sanctioned schools in the U.S. The NCAA recently informed EA SPORTS that these 13 student-athletes would be risking their eligibility for collegiate athletics by being included in FIFA 16.
We do not agree with this position. All rights were secured following standard protocol with national governing bodies and federations, and none of these NCAA student-athletes or potential student athletes were to be individually compensated by EA SPORTS for their inclusion in the game.
We believe this decision denies these 13 athletes the opportunity to represent their countries in the game, but we have removed them from FIFA 16 to ensure there is no risk to their eligibility.
The complete list of players dropped: Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada), Jessie Fleming (Canada), Ashley Lawrence (Canada), Janine Beckie (Canada), Rebecca Quinn (Canada), Sura Yekka (Canada), Celia Jiménez (Spain), Tanya Samarzich (Mexico) Greta Espinoza (Mexico), Christina Murillo (Mexico), Amanda Perez (Mexico) Emily Alvarado (Mexico), Maria Sanchez (Mexico).
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
