Electronic Arts today unveiled plans for a new feature called Be A Pro: Online Team Play that will enable10 people anywhere in the world to connect online to play a single match of FIFA 08. The new feature, available for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, will be offered as a free downloadable feature six to eight weeks after the game ships to stores. FIFA 08 will be available in stores in Europe on September 28 and beginning October 9 in North America.

Be A Pro: Online Team Play is the evolution of a new play mode featured in FIFA 08 called Be A Pro that locks you into the role of a single, fixed player the entire game and challenges you to master the same disciplines as a real football player—from positioning and tackling to reading the field and passing. Users receive real time feedback and analysis on the fly and a unique camera angle keeps both player and action in focus, zooming in when you’re on attack. Now in Be A Pro: Online Team Play, up to five friends on different consoles will be able to select and take control of their own individual players on the same team, supported by AI teammates, to play against up to five rivals of another team. Alternatively, online users can select to play with free roaming players, and teams can have a combination of both.

“At EA SPORTS our dream is to create a full 11 versus 11 online gameplay experience in which each user will have a set position during the match and train specifically for that position,” said Joe Booth, producer of FIFA 08. “Be A Pro is the first step in this direction, and now, with the ability to deliver five versus five online gameplay as free downloadable content, we are moving even closer towards the realization of this dream.”

“Be A Pro forces you to think and react like a professional player where you experience the whole range of emotions players go through during the course of a game,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Producer of FIFA 08. “Now we are taking this experience online for you to share with your friends. You will have to learn to work together as a team much like any real teams go through in order to be successful.”

In addition to Be A Pro: Online Team Play, the online feature set in FIFA 08 includes the award-winning Interactive Leagues, where you represent your club online against your rivals throughout the season in the F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League or Mexican 1st Division and features weekly in-game pod casts by the development team, and Online Leagues, where you create and organize your own multiplayer Friends Leagues and tournaments with all the tools in-game.

EA SPORTS FIFA 08 for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 will create a football experience that matches the complexity, finesse and beauty of the real-world game. FIFA 08 features a new, organic building-block system that enables you to combine tricks and skill moves together to recreate signature moves from the real-world superstars or define your own style of play. You can even capture video of your best moves and goals in-game and upload to the FIFA 08 website to show off your style and celebrate your glory with friends across the globe. In addition, FIFA 08 features a true next-generation ball-striking engine that re-creates the drama and unpredictable nature of shooting, and the inclusion of 576 licensed teams, 30 leagues, and more than 15,000 players.