Fan spends 3 years making video game in frustration at teams being ignored

A frustrated video gamer has spent years creating a full set of leagues, teams and players after growing tired of them not being made available on existing titles.

Victor Daniyan, from Nigeria, became a big fan of existing titles such as FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer whilst studying at university. But he was annoyed that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) never featured and that the vast majority of Nigeria-based players were not represented on the games.

Now, after a painstaking process that lasted three years and involved plenty of coding, Victor has created 50 clubs and over 1,400 players ready to be downloaded in what he believes is the first African-based soccer game - Vikssen Virtual.

"I told somebody that one day we can even see ourselves in a video game, one of the players, and he said it is not possible, maybe in 2030 something or 2050 something. He said that in Nigeria it is not possible and that just reignited the spirit.

"(I was) like okay, it is possible, then I went back to my project, I saw it there and I continued."

The download is a modified version of Japanese game-maker Konami's copyright-free title Pro Evolution Soccer. Since its launch in May this year Victor's product has won plenty of plaudits. He says he is continuing to work on the next phase of the game and will eventually introduce more club teams from across the continent as well as look to include African music and commentators to future downloads.

Victor's work has also proved popular with the subjects of the game - the players.

Harrison Austin, who plays for second tier Nigerian side Ikorodu City FC, told news agency Reuters that having an avatar and a presence on such a platform could lead to more exposure and as a result a big future career move.

Ikorodu City FC owner Oluwatoyin Gafar said Vikseen Virtual would help promote the club: "It is going to increase funding, it is going to increase the followership, and it is going to create additional awareness."

Victor's work comes just a year after another video game-playing football fan put in tireless work to create replica in-game kits for all Championship sides in the FIFA 21 title.

Mirror Football told the story of how Reddit user Merman101 shared his tireless work on the social media site. He uploaded an impressive image of every single home and away kit for all 24 clubs in the second tier for the 2021-22 campaign. The painstaking process took him the best part of a month, with each individual kit design needing between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

FIFA is one of the best-selling games franchises in history but it was announced earlier this year that FIFA 23 will be the last game in the series bearing the FIFA name. Makers EA Sports confirmed that after 30 years it will be ending its partnership with FIFA and, from 2023, the series will be known as EA Sports FC.

It comes just a year after Pro Evolution Soccer, which at its height of success regularly competed with FIFA for sales, rebranded its games under the eFootball banner.