FIFA Soccer 2002: Major League Soccer

October 29, 2001(25 years ago)·Full Release

EA Canada

Publisher: Electronic Arts Victor, Electronic Arts

★

7.2

76 user ratings

★

7.2

76 critic ratings

★★★★★★★★★★

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Genres: Sport

Platforms: PC, PS2, NGC

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Non-fictionSingle playerMultiplayerCo-operativeThird personBird view / IsometricESRB

Summary

FIFA Football 2002 (also known as FIFA Soccer 2002: Major League Soccer in North America and FIFA 2002: Road to FIFA World Cup in Japan), often referred to simply as FIFA 2002, is a football video game launched in 2001 by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports brand. It marks the ninth installment in the FIFA series. A power bar for passing was added, while dribbling was toned down to increase the game's difficulty. Players can adjust the power bar to match their playing style. The game features club badges for a wider range of European teams and major Dutch clubs like PSV, AFC Ajax, and Feyenoord, though the Dutch league itself was absent and grouped under the "Rest of World" category. For the first time, the Swiss Super League was included, replacing the Greek League. A new card reward system, licensed from Panini, was introduced, allowing players to unlock star player cards after winning specific tournaments. Additionally, a mini-game featuring the 2002 World Cup qualifiers (France, Japan, and South Korea) lets players boost their selected nation’s FIFA ranking through international friendlies. Many international teams in the game lack full licensing, with some even missing player names (such as the Netherlands), and smaller nations like Barbados only listing players by number. This version is also the last FIFA title (excluding World Cup editions) to include the Japanese national team, as the Japan Football Association later granted exclusive rights to Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series. FIFA Football 2002 remained the sole FIFA cover star for a decade, until Lionel Messi appeared alone on the cover of FIFA 13.