Now this is the future of online sports gaming right here. EA has unveiled Be A Pro: Online Team Play for FIFA 08. An extension of FIFA’s Be A Pro feature that lets you play as a single member of a soccer team throughout the course of a game, Online Team Play will let five players supported by AI teammates go head to head against another five via Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. “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 Soccer 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 realisation of this dream.”

The special mode will be released six to eight weeks after the game ships to stores, and if everything goes smoothly I just might have to buy my first ever soccer title.