Konami renewal keeps France central to eFootball strategy

Konami has signed a multi-year extension with the French Football Federation (FFF), retaining its status as the national team’s official football video game partner and continuing a commercial relationship established in 2022.The agreement preserves commercial, image and activation rights, alongside a branding and media package, while keeping the federation involved in selected esports events featuring other licensed national associations.Konami’s European president Shinji Namekawa described France’s football heritage, international standing and dedicated supporters as central to the value of the relationship, linking the renewal to the company’s ambition to bring fans closer to football through eFootball.Shinji Namekawa said: “We are honoured in extending our partnership with the French Football Federation. Continuing our partnership with a national association with passionate and dedicated fans is a proud moment for us as France’s rich football heritage and global prestige makes this a highly valuable collaboration. "As eFootball™ continues to grow as a platform for football fans around the world, we’re proud to build on our collaboration with the French Football Federation and find new ways to bring supporters closer to the game.”The extension was announced on October 1, continuing a partnership that combines national-team representation with promotional activity and competitive gaming rather than limiting the relationship to an in-game licence.Konami describes eFootball as a free-to-play platform with more than one billion downloads worldwide, although that cumulative figure represents downloads rather than a measure of its current active audience.Namekawa also identified the platform’s continued development as an opportunity to build on the collaboration and explore further ways of engaging supporters through the partnership.The original agreement, announced in August 2022, established an exclusive relationship running until 2026 and brought the French national team into the eFootball series.That initial package included image and activation rights, with the federation also participating in selected international esports events, establishing the combination of licensing and engagement activity maintained under the renewal.At the launch, the FFF identified Konami’s international presence as an opportunity to reach a wider football and gaming audience, while viewing the publisher’s expertise as a means of developing esports in France.The continuation therefore preserves an existing route for the federation to connect its national-team brand with gaming audiences, alongside its traditional football communications and commercial partnerships.The commercial significance lies in the combination of rights available to Konami, enabling national-team imagery, branding and promotional activity to support the same relationship rather than operating as separate arrangements.Continued esports participation also gives the partnership an event component, allowing the federation’s involvement to extend beyond supporters’ individual use of the game.The renewal confirms that both parties will continue working within that established structure, with France remaining part of Konami’s licensed national-association offering and its selected esports programme.