FIFA and presenting partners EA SPORTS™ and PlayStation® will be flying the 24 finalists of the world’s largest online gaming tournament to Dubai for a once in a lifetime experience and the chance to be crowned FIWC champion.
Former FIFA World Cup™ winner Christian Karembeu has been unveiled as an official FIWC ambassador and will be keeping a close eye on proceedings throughout the action-packed three-day tournament. Karembeu, part of the Task Force Football 2014 and a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group who assess the performance of players at FIFA events, will be hoping to test himself against some of the world’s best FIFA 12 players to see how his skills match up off the pitch as well on it.
Whilst the finalists are in Dubai they will get to sample all the city has to offer from indoor skiing to desert tours as well as visiting the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Over one million gamers from around the globe have competed with EA SPORTS FIFA 12 online via PlayStation®3 and at live qualification events in an effort to claim a seat at the Grand Final.
“I am delighted to be a part of this year’s FIWC Grand Final,” Karembeu says.
“The tournament gives football fans all over the globe the opportunity to become a real FIFA world champion. The fact that over one million players have taken part in this year’s tournament is astonishing and just goes to show how popular the FIWC is with football fans.”
Fifteen gamers from 10 different countries have already qualified for the Dubai Grand Final meaning that there are still nine places up for grabs.
In Oceania, the ‘FIWC 2012 Live Event Series’ kicked off in Tahiti last year and has now reached New Zealand where the country’s best gamers will compete in Auckland this Saturday at Sylvia Park shopping centre for a chance to take part in the OFC final, to be held later in the afternoon on Saturday.
Competing in the final will be the champions of Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Tahiti, with the eventual winner going on to represent Oceania at the FIWC Grand Final.
This year’s world champion will walk away with USD 20,000 and an invitation to attend the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2012.
The registration process for the New Zealand live qualifying event is open to the public via the following link:
http://OFC.form2go.com/FIWC-NZ-FINAL.html
For those who cannot make the live qualifying event but still want to participate, register here
To find out more go to www.fifa.com/interactiveworldcup/