Squad Building Challenges in EA Sports FC 27 have received their biggest overhaul in years. The old formula of stacking chemistry links, hunting the right nationality combos, and praying your squad rating hits the threshold is gone for most SBCs. In its place is a score-based format called Streamlined SBCs, where every card you own carries a fixed point value and you simply feed cards in until you hit a target. No positions, no chemistry, no squad-building puzzle required.
What are Streamlined SBCs and how do they work?
Streamlined SBCs replace the traditional squad-building requirement for the majority of Player SBCs and Upgrade SBCs in FC 27. EA confirmed the system in the FUT Deep Dive Pitch Notes published in August 2026.
Instead of constructing an 11-player squad with chemistry links and a minimum squad OVR, you open the SBC interface and see every eligible item from your Club. You select which cards to submit, each card adds its Item Score to a running total, and once you hit the target score you claim the reward. Chemistry, position, nationality, and league are all irrelevant on most Streamlined SBCs.
The same Item Score formula powers the new FUT Gallery collection system, so every card you own has dual relevance: SBC completion and Gallery progression simultaneously.
What is Item Score in FC 27?
Item Score is the point value assigned to each card based on its OVR rating and rarity. The higher the OVR, the more points it contributes. Rarity also plays a role: special promo cards like POTM and TOTY versions will score higher than standard cards at the same OVR, though EA has confirmed exact values for those will be published at launch.
Here is the confirmed score table for standard Gold, Silver, and Bronze items:
The drop-off below 85 OVR is significant. Bronze and Silver cards stay useful for smaller targets or topping off progress, but a single high-rated Gold card can clear a large chunk of a big requirement on its own.
Holographic items add a bonus on top of the base score. A Holographic card shares the same attributes as its standard version but contributes more points to a Streamlined SBC and also counts toward your FUT Gallery score. A card that is both a promo special and Holographic beats every other version of the same player.
Can you submit duplicates in FC 27 Streamlined SBCs?
Yes. This is one of the most welcome changes in the new system.
You can submit multiple copies of the same player toward a Streamlined SBC target. Two copies of the same 83-rated midfielder you packed? Both count. Duplicate untradeables that previously clogged your Club now stack directly toward your score requirement regardless of nationality or league.
Can you partially complete a Streamlined SBC?
Yes. Partial progress is saved between sessions, which is a significant departure from how Traditional SBCs work.
You don't need to reach the target score in a single submission. Submit what you have, bank the progress, and return later with more cards. This is especially useful during launch week when your fodder supply builds gradually as you open packs.
If a time-limited Streamlined SBC expires before you finish it, EA has confirmed you will receive some packs in return for the cards you already submitted. You won't lose everything, though the exact pack values for partial completions have not been specified ahead of launch.
Do Streamlined SBCs still have any rating requirements?
Some do. Removing chemistry and positional rules doesn't mean every Streamlined SBC accepts any card.
EA's confirmed example is a Player of the Month SBC that requires a total Item Score while also setting a minimum OVR of 75 for every submitted card. Other Streamlined SBCs may have no minimum OVR at all, meaning the score target is the only thing standing between you and the reward.
The SBC interface will display which cards from your Club are eligible, so you don't need to sort manually. A minimum OVR restriction cuts off the cheapest solutions, and the best-value route will shift depending on the specific target and current Transfer Market prices.
Which SBCs keep the traditional format?
Traditional SBCs are not being removed. Marquee Matchups, Daily Puzzles, and other puzzle-style Challenge SBCs keep the standard squad-building format with chemistry, position requirements, and squad OVR thresholds. The squad-building puzzle is the point of those challenges, so the format stays.
For everything else — POTM player SBCs, upgrade packs, most milestone rewards — Streamlined is the default going forward. EA has also said it will adjust how often each format appears based on player feedback during FC 27.
The first Streamlined SBC confirmed at launch requires 20,000 points and awards Ayyoub Bouaddi's 83-rated Ones to Watch version, giving new players an immediate target to work toward from day one.
How does the FUT Gallery connect to Streamlined SBCs?
Both systems share the same Item Score formula, which creates a genuine strategic decision every time you consider submitting a card.
FUT Gallery is a permanent digital archive that records every card that has ever passed through your Club. Within it, Gallery Sets group cards by Nation, League, Club, and Campaign. As a Set reaches higher completion grades (D through S tier), you earn Gallery Tokens redeemable in the Gallery Token Store for kits, badges, cosmetics, and exclusive Hall of FUT historical items.
Before submitting a rare card to an SBC, check whether it would push a Gallery Set to the next grade. An untradeable POTM winger packed early in the season might be worth 5,500 SBC points at 87 OVR, but if he also moves your England Set from C grade to B grade and unlocks Gallery Tokens, holding him a week longer could deliver more total value. That trade-off didn't exist before FC 27.
For a deeper look at how the new SBC and Evolutions systems interact with your squad-building options, the EA FC 27 Ultimate Team SBCs and Evolutions guide covers the confirmed changes in full.
What is the best fodder strategy for FC 27 launch week?
The Item Score table creates three clear tiers for building an efficient fodder reserve.
Bulk tier (Bronze and Silver, 20–35 pts each): These cards flood the market during launch weekend as players open packs and upgrade their squads. Prices on low-rated cards from major leagues often drop to near-discard value within 48 hours of a big pack event. They're slow to accumulate score but cost almost nothing, and Bronze Pack Method remains relevant for smaller targets.
Mid tier (75–84 OVR, 90–830 pts each): The jump from 74 OVR (35 pts as Silver) to 75 OVR (90 pts as Gold) is significant. Cards in the 80–84 range offer a reasonable balance between cost and score contribution. Stack these during mid-week pack events when Rivals rewards flood the market with 81 to 83-rated cards every Thursday.
Premium tier (85+ OVR, 2,100+ pts each): Reserve for high-value SBCs where the reward justifies the spend. A single 88-rated card at 8,300 points can complete a meaningful portion of a mid-tier SBC requirement on its own. The coin efficiency is strong when the target reward is worth it.
To understand how Squad Battles rewards can feed your fodder supply week over week, check the FC 27 Ultimate Team Squad Battles rewards guide for every rank and payout breakdown.
Transfer Market fodder search
Practical score examples: how different card mixes hit a target
To illustrate how the math plays out, here's how different card combinations approach a hypothetical 10,000-point SBC target:
Real SBC targets will vary at launch. The first confirmed Streamlined SBC at 20,000 points means you'd need roughly 49 cards at 83-rated OVR to complete it purely from that tier.
When do Streamlined SBCs go live?
The full Streamlined SBC system launches on September 25, 2026 for console and PC players. Mobile Companion App support arrives in Season 1. An introductory objective group called Intro to Streamlined SBCs will be live at launch to walk through the mechanics with a practical first challenge.
For everything else happening in FC 27 Ultimate Team, the full EA Sports FC 27 guides collection has you covered from squad building to reward optimization.