FIFA 18: Controversy erupts as EA Sports omits Jammu & Kashmir from India map

In a surprising set of developments, it has appeared that EA Sports have included an incomplete India map in their flagship gaming label, FIFA 18.

FIFA 18 is set to hit the stores on 29th September and anticipation is high for the popular console game's impending release. However, while trying out an early released version of the game, this author found a quirk in EA Sports' latest offering - a map of India without the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

FIFA 18 promises to become the highest grossing EA Sports video game ever, and one reason for the game's popularity is the unveiling of new features on an annual basis with every release.

One such novelty in FIFA 18 is the Squad Battles mode. Squad Battles is the newest addition to FIFA Ultimate Team, an online game mode where gamers have to burn holes in their pockets to build the best available team to compete in matches. In Squad Battles mode, different AI Ultimate Teams are available for players to play against, and in one such instance, what I stumbled upon was the Indian map without the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

India's map in FIFA 18

While this can be shrugged off as a glitch on EA's part, the graveness of the situation cannot be ignored. This author has even written an online petition to EA Sports in a bid to force their hands and make the necessary changes before FIFA 18's big release four days later.

The petition can be found here.

Until now, 22 people have endorsed the petition which will be sent to Google and EA Sports.

According to Google Maps, this is India's map:

EA Sports would want to get their geography right; before the big release, this has come as an unwelcome piece of news. Whicheve way it pans out, for EA Sports to make such an elementary designing error reflects poorly on their burgeoning franchise, particularly when India is part of FIFA 18's roster of international teams.

With the growing interest of football in India and the increasing number of FIFA Ultimate Team players, EA Sports' footprint in India is only going to increase, with the retooled Indian Super League set to be part of FIFA's club teams in the near future. As such, such a glaring error needs to be corrected before FIFA 18 hits the shelves.