FC 27 Ultimate Team Beginner Guide: How to Start FUT

Football Ultimate Team (FUT) is the squad-building mode in EA SPORTS FC 27. You collect player items, build a starting XI with good chemistry, and play matches online or against the AI to earn coins, packs and better players. This guide explains how the mode works in FC 27 and what changed from FC 26, based on EA's official FC 27 Launch Update Pitch Notes and FUT Deep Dive.

Last checked: November 9, 2026.

FC 27 Ultimate Team at a glance

How FUT works

The basic loop is simple: play matches and complete tasks to earn coins and items, use them to improve your squad, then take that squad into harder modes for bigger rewards.

You can add players in five main ways:

• Transfer Market. Buy and sell items with coins. EA made a much larger share of FC 27 rewards tradeable, and in its October 1 developer update it said coin balances were more than 50% higher than at the same point the year before.
• Squad Building Challenges (SBCs). Hand in items you don't need in exchange for packs or specific players. Most player and upgrade SBCs now use the new score-based format, explained in our FC 27 SBC guide.
• Evolutions. Upgrade players you already own by completing in-game tasks. FC 27 adds branching Pathways and an Evolution Chain Preview, and EA expanded Training Camp Evolutions to help lower-rated players get started.
• Objectives and the Season Pass. Season Points from matches and Objectives move you along the season reward track.
• Packs. These come from rewards or the Store. EA says it reduced promotional pack offers at launch and lowered purchase limits on some offers.

The FUT game modes

A few FC 27 changes matter here:

• Bigger match payouts. EA says a typical FC 26 match paid around 500 to 600 coins. In FC 27, Rivals and Champions can pay several times that, and Squad Battles pays more too.
• Easier Champions qualification. You now earn Champions Qualification Points (CQP) in both Rivals and Squad Battles, and the old Division 6 requirement is gone. Higher Rivals divisions earn CQP faster, but anyone who collects enough can qualify.
• Bounties return in Rivals and appear more often, giving extra Weekly Reward Points.
• Single-player Live Events are new. They pit you against themed AI squads, sometimes over several stages with rising difficulty. EA says they were the third most played FUT mode after Rivals and Squad Battles in the first days after launch.

As an example of the reward scale, EA listed Division 1 upgraded rewards at launch as 95,000 coins plus several gold player packs, a player pick and a Team of the Week pack.

How chemistry works in FC 27

Chemistry decides how much boost a player gets from their Chemistry Style. It doesn't reduce a player's base stats, so zero chemistry means no boost, not a penalty.

• Each starter can earn 0 to 3 chemistry points, so the squad maximum is 33.
• A player must be in one of their preferred positions to earn chemistry or count toward anyone else's.
• Links don't depend on where players stand in the formation. Any starters who share a club, league or nation count.
• Your manager gives +1 to any starter who shares the manager's nation or league, capped at one point per player.

The count includes the player whose chemistry you're working out. Substitutes don't count.

ICONs, Heroes and Hall of FUT

ICONs, Heroes and the new Hall of FUT items always get full chemistry when played in position. FC 27 cut how much they give teammates:

In practice, an ICON or Hero now needs one more teammate from the same nation or league to reach the same chemistry level as last year. EA also said it will give boosted chemistry to Campaign and other special items less often this year.

What's new in FC 27 Ultimate Team

• No more Common and Rare. Base items are now just Bronze, Silver or Gold. Packs no longer promise a minimum number of rares, and pack names use Mini, Small, Large, Jumbo and Giant to show size. EA says the odds of a base item rated 82 or lower are meant to stay in line with FC 26, and each pack's odds are on the in-game Pack Probability screen.
• Holographic items. Special items can drop in a rarer Holographic version with the same stats. Items rated 87 and below get a Regular Holographic version, and items rated 88 and above get a Pristine one.
• Slower upgrades. Items can have at most three PlayStyle+, Campaign squads are smaller, and there are about five fewer Campaign weeks across the year. The goal is for players you earn to stay useful longer.
• Role++ on special items. Campaign items launch with Role++ in every role for their positions, so they fit more formations.
• ICONs start at 88. Base ICONs now start at 88 OVR.
• FUT Gallery. Every item you earn is recorded in Gallery Sets that pay out cosmetics and Gallery Tokens, even after you sell the item. See our FUT Gallery guide.
• Streamlined SBCs. Many SBCs now ask only for a total item score instead of a full squad.

Your first week in FUT

1. Check the Objectives tab first. Objectives pay packs, coins and Season Points for set tasks, and many finish just by playing matches you'd play anyway.
2. Build one full-chemistry league team. Eleven players from one league with a few club and nation links is the cheapest way to get close to 33.
3. Learn in Squad Battles, then move to Rivals. Every eligible match now pays coins and Season Points, and both modes earn CQP. Defending is more manual this year, so read our FC 27 defending guide before going online.
4. Check the market before you quick sell. Most rewards are tradeable this year, so a gold player you don't need is often worth more listed than quick sold.
5. Feed duplicates into Streamlined SBCs. They accept duplicates and partial submissions, so spare items turn into rewards without building a squad.
6. Pick one Evolution target. Use the Chain Preview to see where a player can go before you spend.
7. Fill an easy Gallery Set early. Items count toward Sets even after they leave your club, so early gold players aren't wasted.
8. Use the Web App and Companion App. Both let you trade and manage your club away from the console, and Streamlined SBCs came to the Companion App on September 28.

Frequently asked questions

How does chemistry work in FC 27 Ultimate Team?

Each player in your starting XI earns 0 to 3 chemistry points from shared clubs, nations and leagues, as long as they play in a preferred position. The manager adds one more point to players who share the manager's nation or league. Chemistry only controls Chemistry Style boosts, so low chemistry never lowers base stats.

What is the max chemistry in FC 27?

The maximum squad chemistry is 33, which is 3 points for each of your 11 starters. Substitutes and reserves don't count.

How do you qualify for FUT Champions in FC 27?

Earn enough Champions Qualification Points by playing Division Rivals or Squad Battles. FC 27 removed the old Division 6 requirement, though higher Rivals divisions earn points faster. Once qualified, Finals are 15 matches.

How many Season Points can you earn per day in FC 27?

EA says eligible matches give 15 to 100 Season Points each, depending on the mode and result, up to 850 per day. Objectives can add more on top of that.

Did ICONs get a chemistry nerf in FC 27?

Partly. ICONs still get full chemistry in position and still give +1 to every league, but their nation link dropped from +2 to +1. Heroes lost half of their league link instead, and Hall of FUT items follow the Hero rules.

Are there Common and Rare cards in FC 27?

No. FC 27 removed the Common and Rare split, so base items are just Bronze, Silver or Gold. Rarity now shows up through special items and the new Holographic versions.

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