- Title song: "Bodyrock" by Moby
- Cover player: Paul Scholes
This title had a new graphics engine which allows each team to have its own detailed kit, and for some players, their own unique faces. Doing away with ordinary coloured pennants as club emblems, the license includes official club emblems for the first time, although certain leagues, like the Dutch league, are unlicensed. Slightly tweakable physics made the game a modding favorite for its fan community. The game also includes the entire Austrian Bundesliga as a playable league for the first time, albeit removing the Portuguese Liga and the Turkish Premier League. A "hack" feature is included, where the player can press R1 to attempt an intentional foul, such as a high sliding tackle. This title was the first game of the series with a power bar for shooting. Commentary is provided by John Motson and Mark Lawrenson.
The disc for this game was iconic, with a smell of grass coming from the disc with a 'scratch and sniff' feature.
A Nintendo 64 beta version of FIFA 2001 developed by THQ exists, though the game was not officially released for this platform.