FIFA, EA and PlayStation Confirm Player Line-up for the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2008 Final

After seven months of intense competition, FIFA, EA and PlayStation today congratulate the 32 finalists who have secured their place in the Grand Final of the fourth annual FIFA Interactive World Cup. On the virtual soccer pitches of EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 08, players spanning the globe from Australia to South Africa, Brazil to Korea to the USA and Italy, dribbled and scored their way through the tournament’s 20 live qualifiers, while over 25,000 players competed in the online leg via PLAYSTATION®Network. The finalists will compete to become the FIFA Interactive World Player of the Year at the Sony Center in Berlin on May 24. ”I am very impressed with the level of the participants. It is clear that they have been practicing hard, and like any football event, practice is one of the most important things. The FIFA Interactive World Cup is establishing itself as a premier gaming tournament, and the only one under the FIFA banner,” explained Chuck Blazer, FIFA Executive Committee Member, who added "I think it is apt that there are now 32 competitors which mirrors the number of teams in the FIFA World Cup. This tournament is a serious one, and like its big brother tournament, the FIFA World Cup, it is the pride of being crowned the FIFA World Champion that encourages these great performances.” Defending champion Andries Smit from the Netherlands will be vying for the crown for a second year running. Hoping to prevent this from happening are the other 31 finalists, including Michael Labelle of Houston, Texas, who won the Los Angeles qualifying competition, and online tournament winners Didi Agbai of South Carolina and Michael Ribeiro of New Jersey. They join Chris Bullard from the UK, the only previous winner to have reached three FIWC Grand Finals in the tournament’s four year history; or Davor Brescakovic from Switzerland, who showed his true determination by competing in and winning the New Zealand qualifier having lost in the semi-finals of the Swiss event. They’ll all be keeping an eye on the next generation of virtual soccer virtuosos, including Ivan Pastyrcák from Slovakia and Sachith Reddy from India - both only 14. All finalists will be in hot competition to be crowned FIFA Interactive Player of the year, win an invitation to the FIFA World Player Gala 2008 and a cash prize of USD $20,000. "FIFA 08 is a highly competitive game that has all the fast paced adrenaline pumping action of watching real football and requires a tactical mind and a love for football. The Grand Final will be played in a real football ambience and will provide the opportunity to experience a live tournament with all the thrills spectators and players feel with a FIFA World Cup title on the line,” says Anthony Baffoe, former Ghanaian international and the first African player in the German Bundesliga, who will not only be one of the many soccer guests that evening but also the co-host of the event. Everybody is welcome to cheer on the finalists at the Grand Final in Berlin and enjoy the free entertainment set up during this one day virtual football extravaganza set to kick off at 11am CET. Live entertainment will include German hip-hop artist Das Bo. List of Finalists     Bjorn Diedricks South Africa Gwan Hyeong Kim Korea Sachith Reddy India Chan Charm Wah Hong Kong Andries Smit Netherlands Roland Csaszar Hungary Christian Lonhart Denmark Pedro Caiado Portugal Alex Barets France Karol Rogaczewski Poland Alfonso Ramos Spain Dominik Posch Austria Ivan Pastyrcak Slovakia Michael Labelle Texas Davor Brescakovic Croatia Roberto Garrapa Italy Ruben Morales Zerecero Mexico Tunc Polat Switzerland Buey Siong Tay Australia Ivan Soberon Spain Michael Pommer Australia Max Fayers England Marko Krivokapic Germany Abubakr Ebrahim Akhalwaya South Africa Stephen Coorey Australia Andre Casagrande Buffo Brazil Didi Agbai South Carolina Michael Ribeiro New Jersey Carl Condliffe New Zealand Chris Bullard England Danny Taylor England Mustafa Agyuez Germany For official terms and conditions of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, visit: http://www.fifa.com/interactiveworldcup/organisation/documents/ index.html. Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists. About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) and PLAYSTATION®Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 10.5 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 127 million consoles worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 34 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 5 million people have registered to the PLAYSTATION Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and 81 million items downloaded. More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com. PlayStation, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. About FIFA For more than 100 years, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA, has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter guides the organisation today with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic association. The basis of the world’s football family is formed by FIFA’s members. From the founding seven, the family has today grown to 208 affiliated football associations, also organised into six confederations spanning the globe. FIFA’s worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions, such as the world’s biggest single-sport event, the FIFA World Cup™. In football development projects such as the FIFA GOAL Programme as well as in corporate social responsibility activities (including the Football for Hope movement to support through football social and human development) FIFA makes material, financial and promotional contributions to develop the game and make the world a better place. For the Game. For the World. To find out more about FIFA and its initiatives please check out www.FIFA.com.