TORONTO, ON – September 17, 2007 – The National Football League, EA SPORTS and Best Buy Canada announced today that they are searching for Canada’s best Madden NFL 08 players on Xbox 360.

EA Madden NFL 08 is the latest installment of the top-selling football video game franchise in North America, with more than 60 million copies sold.

The Canadian EA SPORTS™ Madden Challenge will feature 12 regional competitions, played on Xbox 360 at Best Buy stores across the country on October 20 and 27, 2007:

Madden players are encouraged to visit NFLRush.ca or BestBuy.ca/madden08 to register for their local tournament:

Date: Oct. 20
City Vancouver, BC
Venue: Cambie Best Buy
Address: Cambie & 6th Avenue
2220 Cambie Street

Date: Oct. 20
City Calgary, AB
Venue: Northland Best Buy
Address: Northland Village
5111 Northland Dr NW

Date: Oct. 20
City Edmonton, AB
Venue: Edmonton South Best Buy
Address: South Edm. Common
9931 19th Avenue NW

Date: Oct. 20
City Woodbridge, ON
Venue: Woodbridge Best Buy
Address: Piazza Del Sole
7850 Weston Road

Date: Oct. 20
City Oakville, ON
Venue: Oakville Best Buy
Address: Dundas & Hwy 403
2500 Winston Park Drive

Date: Oct. 20
City Mississauga, ON
Venue: Heartland Best Buy
Address: Heartland Town Centre
1 - 6075 Mavis Road

Date: Oct. 20
City Etobicoke, ON
Venue: Sherway Best Buy
Address: 167 North Queen Street

Date: Oct. 27
City Regina, SK
Venue: Regina Best Buy
Address: 2125 Prince of Wales Drive

Date: Oct. 27
City Winnipeg, MB
Venue: St. James Best Buy
Address: Next to Polo Park
810 St James Street

Date: Oct. 27
City Ottawa, ON
Venue: Ottawa East Best Buy
Address: Next to Linx Stadium
380 Coventry Road

Date: Oct. 27
City Laval, QC
Venue: Laval Best Buy
Address: Centre Laval
1560 boul. Le Corbusier

Date: Oct. 27
City Lasalle, QC
Venue: Lasalle Best Buy
Address: Carrefour Angrignon
7077 boul. Newman

Date: Nov. 18
City Toronto, ON
Venue: Metro Toronto Convention Ctr
Address: 255 Front Street West



“Last year’s Toronto stop for our Madden Challenge was one of the most exciting events on the tour,” said Brian Movalson, Director of Sports Marketing, EA SPORTS. “Taking these events internationally speaks to the popularity of the EA SPORTS experience and shows that these video game competitions have no borders.”


The top three finishers at each regional tournament will receive a Samsung 32” Widescreen LCD HDTV. Regional winners will then be flown to Toronto, given a first round bye in the national championship and a chance to represent Canada at the 2007 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals in December, where a total of $100,000 USD in cash and Best Buy gift cards will be awarded to the top-four finishers ($10,000 cash and a $50,000 Best Buy gift card for first place, $5,000 cash and a $25,000 Best Buy gift card for second place, and a $5,000 Best Buy gift card for the third and fourth place finishers). Mexico and the United Kingdom will also execute national tournaments and send representatives to Los Angeles. Winners from 26 U.S. cities will round out the competition.

2006 Canadian Finals Video