EA SPORTS FC 24: Alisha Lehmann launches ‘Be Brave’ vanity kit in Ultimate Team™️ | OneFootball

Alisha Lehmann is one of the most recognizable female footballers globally, having amassed over 16.3 million followers online. Currently a forward for Women's Super League side Aston Villa, the Swiss national is not just known for her performances on the pitch, but also for her contributions off it, by using her large platform to empower and promote women’s involvement in the beautiful game.

To celebrate Lehmann’s commitment to driving women’s football forward and breaking boundaries, in collaboration with Ultimate Team™️ in EA SPORTS FC 24, the 24-year-old has launched a new bespoke vanity kit and suite entitled ‘Be Brave’, the second iteration of her successful ‘Brave Rose’ campaign.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT, Lehmann details how her partnership with the gaming giant came around, how the bespoke kit and suite came to fruition from an initial concept to the final product, and how she hopes her partnership with EA SPORTS FC 24 can transcend women’s football to even greater heights.

The journey from inspiration to integration into FC 24

EA FC 24 very quickly became one of the largest grossing sports games of 2023, with reports that it surpassed over 11.3 million global sales in its debut week, per GfK data obtained by GamesIndustry.biz. One of the key selling points of one of EA SPORTS' flagship games is FC Ultimate Team™️, whereby Lehmann’s bespoke vanity kit and suite is available to claim.

Donned by its centerpiece of roses with ‘Be Brave’ emblazoned across the center of the jersey, and the crest in which displays her initials ‘AL’, this iteration of the Brave Rose story offers FC 24 players the choice to select a Home, Away and Goalkeeper kit in the following colourways: Ice Blue on black, Liberty Pink on black and Liberty Pink on white. FC 24 say the kit is supported by matching stadium themes, crest, tifos and double-hold banners.

Lehmann is the first female footballer to collaborate with EA SPORTS on an Ultimate Team™️ suite item after initially launching the ‘Brave Rose’ campaign back in April 2023. Extending her partnership this season, the Swiss sensation commented on what it means to her to see her design incorporated into the game:

Lehmann detailed more about the creative process of how her vision for her Brave Rose campaign came to life, from the initial concept to becoming fully integrated into Ultimate Team™️. She described how important it was to her to have a kit which encompassed her femininity, as well as the symbol of the rose, which in the past she has expressed holds the meaning of ‘family, growing together and happiness’.

EA SPORTS FC’s impact on Women’s Football

EA FC 24 marked the first time ever that women's footballers have been included in Ultimate Team™️, which allows them to stand alongside their male counterparts in line-ups. This means some of the world's biggest names, including Lehmann, Sam Kerr, Alexia Putellas, Alex Morgan and Aitana Bonmati, feature in the most popular FC 24 game mode. Electronic Arts has outlined their strong belief that integrating women's footballers into this game mode was the 'right move' in successfully promoting women's football.

With the meteoric rise of women and girls' participation in football, Lehmann outlines how her collaboration with EA Sports FC may help improve pathways into the world's most popular sport, noting that its ability to be able to seamlessly merge sport with fashion and music holds the power of being able to 'boost the status' of the women's game.

While Lehmann's 'Be Brave' kit will mold to the players in FC 24 regardless of who wears it, in the real world, some women are still facing the harsh realities of having to wear kits that aren't tailored to their body-type, particularly at grassroots level.

You don't have to delve too far back in history to find a time in which even England's Lionesses struggled to have kits that were suitable for their needs. Instead, players such as Kelly Smith, Rachel Yankey and Alex Scott were part of England teams who were often provided with men's cut kits, which were unsurprisingly too big and baggy, and in-turn, restricted their on-pitch performances. Legendary Lioness Jill Scott even recalled a time in her early playing days at Sunderland where her team had been provided with the men's first team's hand-me-downs from the season prior to wear.

While women's cut shirts have since been made and are now widely accessible, this process was a long-drawn-out one, though, and it wasn't until 2019 when a monumental shift occurred.

In line with the 2019 Women's World Cup, the likes of sportswear giants Nike, who declared that '2019 was the year for women', Adidas, Puma and other brands alike, created entirely bespoke women's kits that took fit, length and optimal performance into consideration in their respective designs.

However, while strides are continuing to be made at the elite level, at grassroots level and in girls' football, in particular, they haven't been so fortunate, something which Alisha Lehmann feels is imperative to highlight via her Brave Rose story.

Undoubtedly, the growth of women's football, particularly in the UK, has been a spectacle to behold. Inflated by the Lionesses' success in the Women's European Championship back in 2022, and their subsequent call to action by penning an open letter to the government to endorse the right for girls to be allowed to play football at school, participation rates increased by 140% just one year on.

Boasting over 16 million followers on her Instagram page alone, which makes her the most followed female footballer in the world, Lehmann doesn't take her platform for granted, believing that it allows her to be able to use it to help grow the game she loves even further, while also hoping that she can strike up some inspiration to young girls who may engage with her social media posts.

England's heroes such as Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Mary Earps, who just this week became the recipient of the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, have quickly become household names, with many young girls citing them, along with international superstars, including Alisha Lehmann herself, as their role models.

However, with the game growing exponentially in such a short time span, the players can no longer accommodate every fan's needs to sign autographs and take selfies, which has, at times, drawn some unnecessary criticism. While recognising that she won't be able to please everyone on a game day, that doesn't stop the Villa forward from doing her best to engage with her supporters in person, though she is mindful that social media is her most useful tool to interact with those who may miss out.

With Alisha Lehmann's 'Be Brave' vanity suite now hitting EA SPORTS FC 24's Ultimate Team™️, there was only one question left to answer. When asked about what story she hopes the launch will tell to the world, the 24-year-old's message was a simple, yet clear and effective one.

A poignant and inspirational message from one of Europe's biggest footballing names to the next generation of budding young stars. Long may the rise of women's football continue.