AFC Richmond and Ted Lasso included as a playable team in FIFA 23

Popular television character and American manager Ted Lasso will be available to use on FIFA 23, as will his newly promoted Premier League side AFC Richmond. You can see the trailer below.

FIFA 23 is just over a week away, or six days if you have early access through EA Play, and we're starting to learn more and more about the game.

As always, players stats and ratings have started coming out ahead of the release and fans believe they've already found the perfect front three for the latest edition of EA's popular franchise.

Wednesday's news might be the most exciting out of everything we know about the new game so far, with Lasso having become one of the most popular managers around.

Of course he's normally only seen on the touchline in Apple TV+'s popular television programme about a coach from American Football coming over to England to try his hand at 'soccer.'

The cast of Ted Lasso, some of them now playable characters on FIFA 23, celebrate winning Emmy awards. Image: Alamy

Now you'll actually be able to see how Ted takes charge of your team, as he'll be selectable as a playable manager in Career Mode.

He's not the only one however, as you could decide to see what Lasso's assistant can do instead, and pick the infamous Coach Beard as your leader, you have to imagine his style will be very tactical, turning football into a real chess match.

And you'll also be able to play with the likes of Jamie Tartt, Dani Rojas, Sam Obisanya, Isaac McAdoo, and of course Roy Kent in the Career Mode.

You can just transfer the whole AFC Richmond team into the league of your choice and play with the side, who got promoted back to the top tier in series two.

Some of AFC Richmond's most famous players on the game. Image: EA Sports

You'll also be able to play with the team in Kick-Off, Online Friendlies, and Online Seasons modes, and the games can take place at The Greyhounds’ Nelson Road home stadium.

There's also set to be FIFA Ultimate Team content for the club, including being able to pick Lasso or Beard for your team's manager.

It's certainly a fun bit of whimsy for a game that can often be taken a bit too seriously, even by the real life players who are in the game.

Inevitably when it is released players, including Champions League and World Cup winners, will be complaining about how low their ratings are, and it's already started.

AFC Richmond's famous home. Image: EA Sports

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr has already shown how offended he is for his low score when it comes to defending on the game, not exactly an attribute he's known for

And Ajax's Calvin Bassey is mad at EA Sports for 'disrespecting him,' despite being a key player in Rangers' run to the Europa League final last year.

Topics: Gaming, FIFA 23, FIFA

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

@Sidler28