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EA kicks out FIFA cover athletes

Manchester U's Wayne Rooney and FC Barcelona's Ronaldinho land cover for soccer game.

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Electronic Arts today announced its cover athletes for the next edition of its soccer game, FIFA 06. Soccer stars Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho will lend their likeness to the game's box art. FIFA 06 is currently in production by EA's Canadian studios in Vancouver.

In addition to the previously announced PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube versions coming in November, a release from EA also mentions versions of the game will be striking on the PSP, DS, and Game Boy Advance. No release dates for the handheld versions were mentioned. Though no mention of an Xbox 360 or PC version were mentioned, both are expected to be released sometime in the future.

Wayne Rooney burst onto the soccer scene by scoring his first goal in a premiership game at just 16 years of age, and became the youngest player in England's history to score a goal for the national team just a year later. Currently, he is a striker for Manchester United and a member of the national team.

Ronaldinho gained fame as a member of Brazil's national team, taking part in the country's Copa America championship in 1999. Since then, he has taken over captainship of the national squad and helped lead the team to the 2002 World Cup. FIFA's World Player of the Year for 2004 now takes the field for FC Barcelona.

"Both players have been acknowledged for their exceptional achievements at a very young age. Their inspirational talent makes them the ideal cover stars for our best selling sports game," said Clive Downie, vice president of marketing at EA Sports Europe. "To reinforce this year's release of the game, a multi-national team in Canada has been focused on product development, which will make FIFA 06 a very different proposition, bringing a Total Football experience to the fingertips of gamers."

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