FIFA Fan Festival™ Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau eCup

The FIFA Fan Festival™ Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau eCup is a great opportunity for players to engage with the best in the region in a brand new FIFA 23 game mode in celebration of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™.

We will be hosting Online Qualifiers leading up to the FIFA Fan Festival™ with LAN Qualifiers and Finals taking place on the 20th August.

The event will celebrate the Women's World Cup with the brand new game mode. Online Qualifiers will require players to use the 13 WWC teams available in the Kick Off mode.

Sign Up from the 6th July and have a go at $10,000 NZD worth of prizes!

FIFA Fan Festival™ Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau eCup Ruleset and Information

1.0 New Zealand Football FIFA 23 information and Rules

NZF, LPL, Global Production Partners Limited (GPP) and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Limited (TAU) (collectively, the Organisers) are running the Competition. LPL is administering the Competition for the FIFA WWC Fan Event with the permission and authorisation of NZF, who provide the www.FIFA.gg platform to do so. These Rules govern the operation of the Competition and by entering the Competition you have agreed to be bound by these Rules.

If you do not agree with any of these Rules, you must not enter the Competition.

This tournament is not affiliated with or sponsored by Electronic Arts Inc. or its licensors.

LPL in conjunction with NZF may change the date or venue of the Competition at any time or cancel the Competition. If LPL does, LPL will let entrants know as soon as possible.

1.1 Player Eligibility:

Participating players must register at www.FIFA.gg to be considered for eligibility for the Competition. Players that meet the eligibility requirements in this Section (Player or Players or Competitor) must:

●       Be able to independently (at your cost) travel to Auckland, New Zealand for the Competition finals on Sunday, 20 August.

●       Must be at least 13 years old at the date of registration and above the minimum age needed to have a full (not underage) EA account in their country (13 years old in New Zealand). If under 18, Players must have obtained their parent or guardian’s consent to participate.

●       Be resident in New Zealand.

●       Have a complete and valid registration on www.FIFA.gg and abide by the FIFA Terms of Service.

●       Must own or have access to EA Sports’ FIFA 23 (FIFA 23)and its online features on a supported platform.

●      Must, if playing in the online and onsite qualifiers, use one of the 13 Women’s National teams available in FIFA 23's Kick Off mode that also qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

●       Must have a valid Xbox Gamertag or PSN ID and have it connected to valid FIFA.GG account.

●       Players are required to use their own Xbox Gamertag or PSN ID account. Using a shared account or one not owned by the Player will result in immediate disqualification.

●       Follow these Rules and any other rules notified to participants by LPL and NZF.

●       Failure to comply with these Rules will result in disqualification. In the event of disqualification after the online qualifiers, the Top 12 position will go to the next available Player in order of placement.

●       When the Player enters the Competition, they agree that they will become a member of NZF and enrolled in the NZF’s National Registration system and agree to abide by the NZF’s terms and conditions (NZF’s Terms). By entering the Competition, the Player confirms that he, she or they have read and agreed to these Rules and NZF’s Terms.

1.1.1 Prizes

The top 2 Players at the Competition Grand Final will win prizes to the value of NZD$5000 (1st place) and NZD$1200 (2nd place). 

1.2 Dates and Information:

Online and Onsite Qualifiers:

•        Online Qualifiers – 29th – 30th July 2023 10AM NZT, played until finish. Online Qualifiers format will be Single Elimination, Best of 1. No-shows Default wins will be enforced 15 minutes after the scheduled match start time. Individuals qualifying to Quarter Finals will qualify as Top 1-8 players. The Top 8-12 players will be determined based on the total score of the previous match in Round of 16.

All other events will follow the format below.

•        Format - Single Elimination, Best of 2. Player with the higher aggregate score wins.

•        If the aggregate score after two games is tied (i.e. 3-1 & 1-3), a third game will be started with the golden goal principle - meaning the first goal scored will win. Players must report this as one extra goal to the winning Player in the score of Game Two.

•        Should a tie-breaker game be played, Players must include a screenshot of the tie-breaker game’s result in the match report.

•        Game settings will be as described in Section 2.0.

•        The Top 12 Players from Online Qualifiers are invited to the next stage of the Competition. The Top 12 Players will be contacted upon qualification in the following business day.

•        The Top 12 Players from Online Qualifiers and the Top Player from Onsite Qualifiers each day on Saturday 22 July, Saturday 29 July, Saturday 5 August, Saturday 12 August (4 persons total) (Top 16 Players) that are Auckland-based, must attend the Round of 16 event at the FIFA Fan Festival at the Cloud, Auckland (FIFA Fan Festival) on Sunday 20 August. 

•        The Final 4 Players who qualify for Semi & Grand Finals on Sunday 20 August must attend the Finals event at FIFA Fan Festival in person on that day.

•        The Top 16 Players must agree to the terms of LPL's standard player agreement which will be sent to the qualifying players. All Top 16 Players and Final 4 Players will be required to play on a Playstation 5 and are required to use their own PSN ID account, in the Round of 16 event and the Semi and Grand Finals.

•        Players that qualify are required to provide proof of age and New Zealand residency. Failure to provide proof will result in disqualification (with no right to compensation) and the next seeded Player will be invited.

•        By entering into the Competition you consent that your name and/or Player alias (personal information) may be collected, used, retained and published in connection with the Competition and in related media and publications by NZF, LPL and FIFA. All personal information will be collected, used and retained in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and our Privacy Policy.

Round of 16 and Finals Events:

•               Round of 16: Sunday 20 August 2023.

•               Finals Events (Quarter Finals, Semi Finals & Grand Finals): Sunday 20 August 2023.

•               Limited Hotel Accommodation and Travel expenses may be covered by the Organisers at their sole discretion if a Player is travelling from outside of Auckland to attend the Semi & Grand Finals, subject to a total maximum limit of NZD$500 per Player.

2.0 Gameplay: 

●     Players must, if playing in the online and onsite qualifiers, use one of the 13 Women’s National teams available in FIFA 23's Kick Off mode that also qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

●     Players must, if playing in Round of 16/Quarters/Semis/Finals events, use one of the 32 teams available in FIFA 23's Women’s World Cup 2023 Game mode.

●    Once “Kick off” is selected, each match must be played in the relevant scenario setting. For example, the Grand Final of the Competition will be played in the “Final” mode, whereas qualifiers will be played in the “Group Stage” mode.

●     Custom controller and accessibility are allowed. However, there must be no changes to side selection or game settings once the match starts.

●     All “User Gameplay Customisation” settings must be set to 50.

●     “Rules” settings must be set to:

Injuries: Off.

Offsides: On

Bookings: On

Handball: On

Referee Strictness: Default

●     All games will use FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 default settings, including:

Training Centre: Off

Half Length: 6 minutes

Difficulty Level: Pro

Player Based Difficulty: Off

Attributes: Default

Game Speed: Default

Recommended Ball: Default

Pause Rules governed by in-game mechanics

·      Players must use the “LIVE FORM ON” setting to ensure teams are assigned the correct stats.

·      Trainer must be turned off.

·      Players are allowed to make changes to the team formation and substitutes, however, the roster must not be changed through the game settings.

IMPORTANT: Players are responsible for checking their opponent is using a “Qualified” team during the selection screen, and must report any issues immediately. Games that progress past the first half will be considered valid even in the case of an invalid team being used. The offending Player will be given a warning to comply by squad restrictions in future matches. Players finding an incorrect team should take a screenshot of the invalid squad and contact a Competition Administrator.

3.0 Communication

Quick and clear communication is the key for everyone to have a great Competition, so please contact an Competition Administrator if you have any issues. Please use FIFA’s Discord Channel [insert link] to contact Competition Administrator for the fastest support.

●     During Online Qualifiers, Players will be able to communicate with and add their opponent via www.FIFA.gg

●     Players that are not ready to play within 15 minutes of their scheduled match time will result in a forfeit loss.

4.0 General Rules

●      Players that are deemed disqualified by any means (including cheating and/or other severe misconduct) prior to the start of a game will not be allowed to play in the game.

●      Players that are disqualified during a game must disconnect from the game.

●      Players that are disqualified will not receive any benefits (prize, etc.) for their ranking. Such Players may also be subject to a ban from any future competition(s).

●      In order to dispute game results, Players must notify an Event Administrator that they would like to protest the game before a new game has begun. In order to dispute match results, Players must notify an Event Administrator that they would like to protest the match before the match results have been submitted.

●      LPL and NZF have permission to use including sublicensing parent organization names/logos, Player likeness, identification, pictures and videos for use on stage material, including but not limited to, social media posts and videos, (e.g., institutional promotion), and in connection therewith, LPL corporate partners and sponsors including FIFA, its commercial affiliates and TAU.

●      LPL or NZF may require Players to supply a portrait photos. The Player agrees to supply a photo in a suitable format on request.

5.0 Conduct

●      Players are expected to put their use their best efforts in participating in the Competition at all times.

●      Players may not communicate with a spectator (including any team representatives or team affiliated individuals except for other Players on such Player’s team and, during timeouts, the coach of such team), or another Player, during the course of a match.

●      Players, coaches and representatives may not engage in any other conduct that, at the discretion of Event Administrator, violates the spirit of these Rules, affects the ability of Event Administrator to conduct a fair and safe Competition, and/or is detrimental to the Organisers and/or their partners, including FIFA. 

●      Players may not intentionally forfeit a game or conspire to manipulate rankings or brackets.

●      Players agree to adhere to the NZF Code of Conduct [insert link] during this Competition.

6.0 Legal

●      Match fixing is defined as an attempt to arrange or influence, in advance, the outcome of a match, or events within the match, usually for the purpose of making money, often from betting. All participants (including Players, coaches and associated individuals) (Participants), directly or indirectly, are not allowed to accept from, or offer to, any person or entity (whether they are Participants or otherwise) any bribes/gifts/rewards of any nature in relation to seeking to influence the outcome, result of, conduct of, a match or the Competition. Participants are under a strict obligation to immediately report to a Competition Official any approach, or any offer of a bribe/gift/reward made to them, or any other Participant, related to seeking to influence the outcome, result, or conduct of a match or the Competition.

●      Any form of cheating and/or ghosting is strictly forbidden and may lead to immediate disqualification from a match, review of previous matches, deduction of points and/or disqualification of the Player from the Competition entirely.

●      Participants shall act in a professional and courteous manner at all times and shall refrain from acting in a vulgar, abusive, or offensive manner or engaging in any illegal activity.

●      Spirit of the Rules. Finality of all decisions regarding the interpretation of these Rules, Player eligibility, scheduling and penalties for misconduct, lie solely with LPL and NZF management, the decisions of which are final. LPL and NZF decisions relating to these Rules cannot be appealed and shall not give rise to any claim for monetary damages or other legal or equitable remedy. These rules may be amended, modified or supplemented by LPL and NZF, from time to time, in order to, among other things, ensure fair play and the integrity of the Competition.

●      To the fullest extent permitted by law and without limiting any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Organisers and any of their personnel shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever incurred or suffered including any direct, indirect and/or consequential loss), or personal injury suffered or sustained from your participation in this Competition.

●      Each Player must at all times inform NZF and/or LPL of any change in their circumstances which may affect his, her or their ability to compete in the Competition in accordance with these Rules or that may damage the reputation of the Competition, the Organisers or their partners (including FIFA). This includes any criminal prosecution or disciplinary action or sanction by any sporting or esports organisation.