U.S. Soccer team captain Dempsey to front EA's FIFA 15

Posted Tuesday, July 22, 2014 by YAHOO Sport

Clint Dempsey led the men's U.S. soccer team further than many people expected it would go in the 2014 World Cup. Now Electronic Arts is hoping he'll lead people to the latest installment of FIFA.

EA has named Dempsey as the cover athlete for FIFA 15 in America (which will also feature Lionel Messi of Argentina).

Dempsey, who played forward for the U.S. team in Brazil, was one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, along with goalie Tim Howard. He also set a new bar for players, becoming the first American to score goals in three consecutive World Cups.

He's also an incredibly popular player for the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer. And that turned out to be something of a problem for EA.

The Sounders, you see, are sponsored by Microsoft and prominently display the Xbox One logo on their shirts. That's something that won't fly on the PlayStation 4 version of FIFA, so EA will instead dress him in his World Cup jersey for that version of the game.

“Clint Dempsey is a world-class athlete that embodies the heart and soul of the sport,” said Stuart Lang, VP of North America Marketing, Electronic Arts. “He showed his lethal combination of grace and toughness at the World Cup, and plays with enormous heart and determination on the pitch. He is the perfect ambassador for FIFA 15.”

FIFA 15 will launch on multiple platforms on September 23, including PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The game is always a popular one for EA. While the company has not released hard numbers for the most recent installment, last year's version - FIFA 13 - sold 14.5 million copies.