While I wish I could have been back at EA Redwood Shores on Tuesday for our annual Studio Showcase event (and the announcement of two next titles - Fight Night Champion and EA SPORTS Active NFL Training Camp)I’m certainly very pleased to be writing from here in the UK where we just completed an event a few hours ago here with our partners at the Premier League.

This morning here in London, I was joined by a number of executives from the Premier League to announce new exclusive partnership to become the Official Sports Technology Partner of the world’s most popular and most watched sports league.  The Premier League is viewed by people from more than 200 countries around the world, and it certainly has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, having first attended a game in the former First Division back in 1959 with my dad. Hundreds if not thousands of games watched later, it is a proud day for me and all of us at EA SPORTS to be able to make this ground-breaking announcement.

What does today’s announcement mean for fans?  This partnership is far more than a typical licensing agreement - it’s something that enables us to connect with millions of football fans in even more ways by opening the door to new and enhanced features in our FIFA games in the coming years. Of course, this deal includes branding and other integrated marketing opportunities, but we’re all very excited about partnering to bring the power of our technology and passionate fan base - more than 775 million online game sessions have been played in FIFA 10 since last fall - with the world’s most popular sports league.

It’s been a great year for our FIFA business and the sport of soccer in general.  So many of us are still buzzing from the excitement of one of the most watched World Cups in history - despite a disappointing showing from England - and with the combination of FIFA Superstars on Facebook, FIFA Online coming to market soon and FIFA 11 now just a few months away, we continue to break new ground in how we bring interactive soccer to passionate fans around the world.  Today’s announcement is yet another example and something that will make our games even more engaging and authentic in the years to come.