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The eventual winners of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ will not be the only world champions crowned in Brazil in July this year with the Grand Final of the record-breaking FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 2 and 3 July.
Ahead of this event, FIFA and Presenting Partners Sony PlayStation® and EA SPORTS™ are giving Brazilian football fans the opportunity to secure one of the 20 spots at the Grand Final with a Host Country Qualifier event taking place in Brazil on 24 April 2014.
The Host Country Qualifier event in April will be held at a venue to be confirmed very soon and will be contested by a selection of the best Brazilian players qualifying from Season 5 and Season 6 of the FIWC 14. For more detailed information on the qualification process please read the relevant related story.
The winner of the Host Country Qualifier event will qualify as a top seed for the FIWC Grand Final where they will test their skills against 19 other top FIWC stars from all over the world, including reigning champion Bruce ‘The Machine’ Grannec.
The excitement amongst the Brazilian FIWC community is already at a high; a feeling which is explained by five-time FIWC Grand Finalist Andre Buffo from Sao Paulo, who will be presenting the events in Brazil this year. “Having competed in FIWC events all over the world including Grand Finals in Los Angeles and Dubai, I’m delighted to see the event come to my country,” said Buffo. “I know that the talented Brazilian FIWC players are extremely excited about the possibility of battling to become a World Champion, just like our idols such as Neymar, Dani Alves and David Luiz.”
Ralph Straus, FIFA’s Head of Strategy & Brand Management, said: “We know all about the Brazilian national team’s world-class pedigree and their strong tradition of winning FIFA World Cups. And there’s no doubting that Brazilian skills in virtual football are also at a very high level. In fact the first ever FIWC Champion was a Brazilian. We’re very much looking forward to seeing whether a Brazilian FIWC player can benefit from home advantage and be crowned as a World Champion in Rio in July.”
Brazilian football fans can register for the online tournament which takes place on the PlayStation Network by accessing the latest version of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 14 on PS3. For more information on the FIWC, go to: www.fifa.com/fiwc, www.youtube.com/fifatv, or www.facebook.com/fiwc.