Smit wins 3rd FIFA Interactive World Cup

With a high-spirited, energetic crowd of fans cheering him on at the Westergasfabriek, Smit’s Brazil team defeated Austrian Wolfgang Meier’s Barcelona side 6:4. Felipe Stoyne from the USA with France secured the third place with a 4:2 victory over Norway’s Ragui Yogaranjan and his Chelsea side.

The FIFA Interactive World Cup champion will receive his winner’s trophy from Dutch international and Tottenham midfielder Edgar Davids prior to the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich on 18 December. Andries Smit will attend the Gala at the Zurich Opera House, where this year’s top male and female players will be crowned.

The third FIFA competition reached its climax in the Dutch capital as the best 128 players from all over the world battled it out on the virtual football pitch to determine the ultimate title in the football gaming calendar.

“I’m absolutely amazed, stunned and delighted! I thought that it was just great to be in the Grand Finale, but here I am leaving with the title and a trip to Zurich to the FIFA World Player Gala! I can’t believe it! The whole tournament was just brilliant,” said an elated Smit, after receiving the post-match plaudits and the USD 20,000 prize money from the official FIFA delegate and FIFA Executive Committee member, Chuck Blazer.

Successful one-twos and powerful shots on goal at the mere touch of a button highlighted the impressive display of football. The finalists showed great skill in guiding their heroes – Ronaldinho, Eto’o and co. – over the virtual pitch in much the same way as the “true” superstars.

"The tournament's impressive global success is a testament to FIFA’s initiative,” said Mr Blazer, who had closely followed the action on the final day. “It's been fantastic to see players from all over the world get so much enjoyment from playing virtual football. All of the finalists had trained hard for months to come this far, showing great ambition, discipline and stamina,” continued Mr Blazer.

Since October, 5,547 players from all over the world had tested their skills in close to 30,000 qualifying matches, scoring 65,000 goals in 63 off and on-line competitions across six confederations featuring EA SPORTS™ FIFA 07 on the Xbox 360™ and Xbox Live®. The FIFA Interactive World Cup unites passion for football and the world of interactive entertainment, and the launch of this annual football gaming competition in 2004 represented another milestone in the pioneering history of world football’s governing body. With the help of this innovative project, FIFA is able to explore further opportunities to promote and develop the game of football. This groundbreaking move also ensured that FIFA became the first international sports body to launch itself into the digital arena, thus creating a new footballing tradition which tests the skills of footballers in a whole new manner.