FIFA 16 Will Have Female Player on Cover for the First Time Ever in Australia

For the first time in series history, FIFA 16 will have a female player on the cover--but only in Australia.

Steph Catley beat out two of her teammates on the Australian National Team in a fan vote to receive the honor. This is both the first time that a FIFA cover athlete has been chosen by a vote, and the first time a female has ever been the cover athlete.

She'll join Barcelona's Lionel Messi on the cover. This is the fifth consecutive appearance for Messi on the cover of a FIFA game.

In the United States, some fans were asking for a member of the US Woman's National Team to be on the cover of the American version of the game, but it seems that the cover will only feature Messi.

In the United Kingdom, Liverpool FC's Jordan Henderson was chosen to be Messi's co-cover athlete. Henderson beat out Sergio Aguero of Manchester City, Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea, and Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur.

The game launches on September 22 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. It will be the first FIFA game to have playable female teams.

You can check out our impressions of the game here. The developer is focusing on improving defenses to make them more competitive. Defenders have several new animations, and slide tackles have been overhauled to give them more strength.