In January 2011, the FIFA Interactive World Cup was officially recognised as the largest videogame tournament in the world.
FIFA President Joseph S. (Sepp) Blatter had the pleasure of welcoming a special guest to the home of FIFA when Nenad Stojkovic, FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion 2010, joined the celebrations to mark the tournament's entry into the latest version of the Guinness Book of Records.
The FIFA Interactive World Cup is now officially the largest gaming tournament in the world, with 775,000 competitors taking part in the 2010 edition of the event. This climaxed in Barcelona in May 2010 when Nenad was crowned champion after defeating 31 challengers at the Grand Final.
"The FIFA Interactive World Cup is of great importance to FIFA's portfolio of events," said Mr Blatter. "The tournament gives us the opportunity to engage with a wider target audience through a platform which is of high relevance to the next generation of football fans."
These words were echoed by the chief editor of the Guinness World Records, Gaz Deaves, who congratulated FIFA and its partners, EA SPORTS and Sony Computer Entertainment, saying "The strength of the FIFA Interactive World Cup is a hugely impressive achievement and its 775,000 participants are a testament not only to the popularity of sports videogames but also to the incredible effort it takes to organise the biggest gaming tournament in the world. We are pleased to award this record to FIFA and look forward to seeing it broken in 2011."
This year's edition of the FIFA Interactive World Cup promises to be larger than ever, surpassing its own record for the number of competitors. For the 2010/2011 season, the tournament has a new format, with six online seasons making the event more accessible than ever.
Sign up now in-game to get involved as you play your part in helping to make it another record-breaking year on PlayStation 3, and visit fifa.com/FIWC to find our more, including tips from 2010 champion Nenad Stojkovic.
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