La Liga broadcasts to use crowd noise from Fifa video games upon return this week

EA Sports and Norwegian production company Vizrt will respectively supply audio and visuals as broadcasts of Spain’s top two leagues return

La Liga has said that virtual fans and fake crowd noise from the Fifa video game series will feature in live broadcasts when Spain’s top two flights return later this week.

Stadia in Spain will be virtually recreated with scaled images of fans wearing home team colours, and pauses in action will allow these images to be replaced by a canvas for messaging.

While the virtual visuals come courtesy of Norwegian company Vizrt, crowd noise will be supplied by EA Sports, the studio behind the Fifa video games.

EA records audio from stadia for its games and has edited its files so that they can be used in real time when La Liga returns on 11 June.

Broadcasts with virtual fans and fake crowd noise will be available in Spain and internationally, though domestic supporters can also choose to watch games without the virtual imaging and audio.

“We have made these broadcasting changes so fans can enjoy La Liga,” said Javier Tebas, La Liga president.

“We work with global partners to offer a great viewer experience. We are in an exceptional situation, but for us it has been important to be able to adapt and offer a compelling, cutting-edge broadcast to our fans.”

La Liga broadcasts will also feature new camera angles that were previously unobtainable as they would have restricted the view of certain fans in the stadia.

The first fixture back in the Spanish top flight is the Seville derby between Sevilla and Real Betis.