Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that world famous Chelsea FC and former FIFA World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will be featured as the Academy Master of EA SPORTS Football Academy, the brand new interactive football gaming experience exclusively available on Nintendo DS in Europe on March 20th. As Academy Master, Scolari will use his expertise and coaching experience to guide consumers through the game, offering hints and tips on how to become a true football expert.

EA SPORTS Football Academy features 14 action packed mini games and over 90 hours of playing experience that will test football knowledge in all areas of the game and teach more about it, from identifying players and teams to understanding formations. Performance in the mini games is assessed via a Football IQ rating, so one can really see who has the best football brain – the more you practice, the better you get. The mini games also hold the key to building up your Academy team – every time you take a mini game test, you will earn new players to add to your squad.

As well as improving Football IQ, players are challenged to prove their knowledge on the pitch by assembling and developing their very own Academy dream team to take on the best teams in Europe and by collecting and trading players with friends to get the team they really want to complete their player collection. The objective is to get the blend of players to maximize team chemistry and the higher the Football IQ, the greater the on pitch response from the players to the management. Once the team is assembled, they’re ready to go to the stadium for the interactive match mode to take on the best teams in Europe. Players can prove their football knowledge by guiding the team to victory and making key in-game decisions that will affect the result, such as changing tactics and mentality and deciding how players will react to match situations.

Players can also compete with their own Academy team over Wi-Fi against friends and family to prove who has the best team and football expertise.

While progressing through the game, rewards are given in the form of Academy Badges. Once all are collected, the Academy training is complete and players can claim status as true football experts. And they shouldn’t forget to listen to Scolari’s advice as they progress!

EA SPORTS Football Academy is developed by EA Canada in Vancouver. It has been rated 3+ by PEGI. Please visit www.pegi.info/ for rating information and www.footballacademy.ea.com for more information on the game.