FIFA is kicking goals for women.

Female sports players don’t always get the same recognition as their male counterparts, or the same pay checks for that matter, but American gaming development royalty, EA Games are doing their part to bring women back into the foreground.

Alex Morgan and Lionel Messi on the FIFA 16 cover. Image: Forbes

EA games recently announced that the FIFA 16 game, for the very first time, will feature a female soccer player on the cover. Alex Morgan, currently playing forward for the Portland Thorns FC, has carefully been selected as the woman of choice and could not be happier with this decision.

“It’s a really great honour to be on the cover of the game,” Morgan told USA Today. “It’s going to tremendously help the women’s game in creating more awareness.”

The announcement was made following the United States women’s team astounding victory over Japan in the 2015 World Cup. Morgan will appear alongside FC Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, who is known as the face of the video game.

Morgan isn’t the only woman being brought to the front of the pack, with Canadian soccer sensation, Christine Sinclair, set to appear on all FIFA 16 versions sold in Canada. Sinclair says that this year’s World Cup showcased many unbelievable talents and skill sin women’s soccer.

“I’m thrilled that EA sports is celebrating female athletes in FIFA 16. To be featured in the game and to promote women’s soccer with Alex is really special and another exciting step for women in sports,” said Sinclair in EA’s press release.

Computerized version of Morgan Image: Denver Post

Another exciting element to the new FIFA game is the feature which allows gamers to now choose female characters to play as. The game will launch twelve women’s teams to choose from including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and the U.S.

If you’re not a seasoned FIFA player, not to worry because another new feature includes an on screen trainer that can help to bring out your inner soccer star.

North American marketing manager for EA sports, David Pekush Sr. believes that both Morgan and Sinclair are excellent choices as they are both “perfect cover athletes based on their accomplishments.”

EA games launched FIFA in 1993 which quickly built up a reputation to be the world’s best selling video game series. In 2010, over 100 million copies of the game were sold. In 2012, 4.5 million copies were sold worldwide within less than a week, making this edition the biggest video game sports launch of al time. This means the inclusion of female players is more important than ever, as we can see just how many people are invested in this gaming series.

Morgan for EA sports Image: Denver Post

There are still many steps to take in order to achieve equality on our sporting fields. The differences in wages between the genders are phenomenal. For example, Messi can be expected to acquire approximately $80 million per year from not only his salary, but also endorsements, whereas Morgan can expect $3 million annually.

FIFA also faced some heat in this years tournament because they only paid the U.S Women’s National Team $2 million for winning the tournament, compared to the $35 million that the German male team collected from their win in 2014.

However this wont stop Morgan, or “Baby Horse” as her team mates like to call her due to her speed and skill. She has not only aligned herself with EA sports, but also other big companies such as Coca-cola and Chapstick. She is paving the way for other female sporting stars to make their way into the spotlight and stand next to the men on the field.

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