EA has just released a detailed sneak peek at what’s new for Football Ultimate Team (FUT) in EA Sports FC 26, and it’s packed with changes aimed at making the mode more varied, responsive, and player-friendly. 

Here’s a breakdown of the biggest updates and what they mean for how you’ll build and play your FUT squad:

What’s New in FUT 26?

1. Competitive Gameplay Tuning

For the first time, FUT will include gameplay tuning specifically for competitive play. That means controls, responsiveness, and consistency will be tweaked to reduce randomness and reward skill. 

Fewer “flukey” rebounds and odd deflections

Adjusted stamina so players maintain agility

More responsive one-touch passing and shooting (you can trigger commands as little as one frame early) 

2. Live Events & New Match Formats

EA introduces Live Events as a new pillar of competition. You’ll be able to play themed challenges with custom squad rules and match settings. 

Entry Requirements

Some events require your squad to meet certain criteria (league, chemistry, rarity, past objectives, etc.). 

Custom Rules & Settings

Expect surprises: match types like “First to X goals”, “Mystery Ball”, “Survival”, and more. 

Tournaments Return

Knock-out style tournaments make a comeback. These will appear at certain times rather than being always-on. 

Gauntlets

A brand-new format. You’ll play several matches in a row using different squads each round. The better you do, the better your rewards. 

3. Rivals & Champions Overhaul

EA is reshaping Rivals to address player feedback. 

Playoffs removed — no more needing to go through extra stages to reach Champions. 

Direct qualification to Champions by reaching certain Rivals divisions and gathering qualification points. 

Challengers tier added — a mid-level competitive tier with its own rewards, giving more players a taste of the Champions feel. 

Bounties — special match challenges (e.g. “score first”, “win by two”) that yield rewards even if you lose the game. 

Limited Checkpoints — loss thresholds that, if exceeded, cause you to drop a division. These reset each season to prevent stagnation. 

4. Match Outcomes & Quit/Disconnect Handling

EA is improving how match results are judged:

If an opponent quits or disconnects during a draw, under certain conditions you may be awarded a win. 

There will be limits on how many of these awarded wins one can receive per day or under certain conditions to prevent abuse. 

5. Evolutions, Goalkeepers & Cosmetics

Several enhancements to how players evolve and look:

Goalkeepers Evolutions (GK Evos) are finally enabled. 

Repeatable Evolutions: Some evolution paths can be done multiple times or used across multiple items, giving flexibility rather than a one-shot upgrade. 

Cosmetic Stacking & Rarity Layers: Your player’s look (badging, animations) will persist across evolutions, unless the evolution explicitly changes the rarity. 

Evolutions will preview which cosmetics or rarity changes they unlock, so you make informed decisions. 

6. Transfer Market & New Accounts

To protect the FUT economy:

Graduated Access to Transfer Market: New accounts (or those not meeting certain criteria) won't immediately have full market privileges. You’ll unlock them by completing “Foundation Objectives.” 

Returning FUT players on the same platform and in good standing will retain full access from the start. 

7. Objective Integration

Objectives will now be more visible and integrated into menu flow. You’ll see event objectives and entry requirements without navigating deeply. 

What It Means for You

FUT is becoming more dynamic — you’ll have more varied modes (Live Events, Gauntlets) to test your squad.

Competitive matches should feel more fair and responsive rather than decided by random moments.

Squad-building will matter more than ever, especially in Gauntlets or Live Events with restrictions.

Cosmetics and evolution paths now come with less risk — you won’t “lose” your visual identity too easily.

New or casual players get a gentler start thanks to the limited market access and objectives system.

With these changes, EA aims to make FUT in FC 26 not just deeper in mechanics, but more accessible, fair, and enjoyable.