EA SPORTS FC 25 | Clubs Deep Dive (2024)

Hey everyone, we are Clubs Associate Producers Timothy Abel and Brendan Douglas, and together we’re very excited to share some of the new features and improvements coming to Clubs in EA SPORTS FC™ 25. Between the introduction of the Clubhouse, the new Clubs Rush experience, the return of Relegation and other gameplay enhancements, there's a lot to look forward to. We hope you're as excited about these updates as we are, and your passion for Clubs keeps motivating us to continue improving the Clubs experience.

Features

Clubs Rush

A whole new way to play

Enjoy a more social experience with 5v5 Clubs Rush. Lobby up with friends or fly solo as you squad up with other players of your skill level. Every win earns a Victory Point to your club's tally, boosting your Rush rank on the road to exciting seasonal rewards.

The Clubhouse

Your house, your rules

Welcome to the Clubhouse, your home for social interaction and customisations in Clubs. The Clubhouse is a hub for your team, showcasing your Club’s identity along with your clubmates who will appear in the locker room when they join the mode.

Club Facilities

From hometown heroes to world-renowned

Grow your club and unlock higher facility budgets via the club’s reputation system. Allocate that budget towards different facilities like a weight room, new PlayStyles, or even a shooting coach.

League Updates

Raising the stakes

Relegation returns to the Clubs League. Losing matches decreases your number of division chances. Lose them all and take part in a Relegation Battle, one single match that will determine whether your Club will beat the drop, or be sent down a division.

Clubhouse

As the new menu experience in Clubs, the Clubhouse is a personalized social space that connects players and clubs in a modern football inspired environment, with the aim of faster navigation to everything you're looking for.

Social Space

The introduction of the Clubhouse marks a significant update to how players can interact with one another in Clubs. Entering Clubs will now feel like stepping inside the locker room with your clubmates as you get ready for the next match. It’s a space where we hope the essence of your team comes to life, encouraging you to bond further as you keep playing together. Whether your clubmates are gearing up for a match in the League Lobby or fine-tuning their player build, you'll be able to see where they are in the mode.

New Navigation

We are excited to announce a major overhaul of the Clubs menus. Our goal was to streamline your navigation, making it more efficient and intuitive. With the redesigned menus, we want you to get to your desired destination quicker than ever. The introduction of the Quick Switcher enables you to transition from customizing your Pro, to managing your club, before jumping into a match lobby, meaning less time navigating menus and more time playing.

Customize

The Clubhouse also showcases your Club Crest, Club Kit, and Stadium Bundle, bringing the spirit of your club into the menu experience. This means you can tailor the look and feel of your menus to match your preferences and identity.

Rush

Rush is a new 5-a-side experience with teams of four players plus one AI goalkeeper each competing across a much smaller playing field, with exciting updates to match formats and rules to keep the action flowing.

Clubs Rush offers both solo players and groups a unique way to engage with Clubs, earn rewards, and climb the ranks. Whether you're teaming up with friends or looking to make new ones, Clubs Rush looks to deliver a fun, competitive, and rewarding experience. Let's break down how you can participate, progress through the ranks, and contribute to your club's success.

The Basics

Clubs Rush is designed to be accessible and enjoyable by everyone, with layers of unique strategy for those who want to dive deep into it. If you search for a match solo, the game will pair you with other players, ensuring you're never left out of the action. For those who like to team up with friends, EA connect makes inviting them straightforward. Clubs Rush will always look to ensure you have a full squad of four before entering a match, but in the event that a full squad can’t be found, a team of two human players minimum can proceed to the match with two AI teammates filling the final spots. Similarly, if any of your teammates leave during a match, the CPU AI will control their Virtual Pro until the final whistle, ensuring you’re not at a disadvantage.

Rush Player Rank

Your journey through Clubs Rush is marked by your Rush Player Rank, which fluctuates based on your performance in matches. Winning a game could boost your Rank Points (RP), while a loss might see them decline.The amount of RP you gain or lose is influenced by several factors, including your current rank, the outcome of the match, and the RP difference between your team and the opponents. Achieving higher ranks not only brings prestige but also rewards, with each season offering incentives based on your highest rank achieved. Importantly, RP is partially reset each season, allowing for a fresh start while acknowledging your previous accomplishments.

Club Victory Points

Everything you do in Clubs should be For The Club. To that end, every match won in Clubs Rush earns Victory Points (VP) for your club, contributing to its place on the global Rush leaderboard. The more VP your club accumulates, the higher it climbs, unlocking rewards for the club and its contributing players at the end of each season. There’s also some exclusive rewards reserved for the top-performing clubs.

As a Club

For those who are part of a club, Clubs Rush offers the chance to compete under your club's banner, wearing your kit, crest, and name with pride. Simply group up with three clubmates to take to the pitch as a club and take on players and clubs from the sole Clubs Rush matchmaking pool. Whether you're defending your club's honor against another club or coming together as a group of strangers to topple a mighty opponent, our goal with Clubs Rush is to give you a fun arena in which you can prove your prowess and express your creativity.

For more information on Rush, be sure to visit the Rush Deep Dive.

Facilities

In EA SPORTS FC™ 25, we want managing your club to feel more impactful and authentic through the addition of Facilities. Facilities enable your club to grow in new and meaningful ways by developing resources that are available to all clubmates. This includes everything from hiring club staff like Equipment Managers, to building a Weight Room. Each facility is a choice that can shape the way your entire club plays and develops together.

Gameplay Impact

Facilities can be upgraded from a 1-star rating to a final 3-star rating. Every 1-star Facility enhances 2 Attributes for all clubmates, with the Attributes increase depending on the real-world application of that facility. If your club wants to improve their Sprint Speed and Stamina Attributes for example, the manager can choose to activate the Running Track Facility. Or if your club wants to improve their Vision and Short Pass Attributes, the manager can choose to invest in the Performance Analyst Facility.

3-star Facilities can provide even greater Attribute increasesas well as PlayStyles or PlayStyles+ for the full team, unlocking the potential for a 7th PlayStyle or 3rd PlayStyle+ on your pro . For example, the Performance Analyst Facility not only boosts the full teams’ Vision and Short Pass, but also provides the full team with the Tiki Taka PlayStyle so each club member can prioritize other PlayStyles in their player builds. Enhancements from Facilities apply to all player-controlled clubmates - not AI-controlled clubmates - during League, Playoff, and Friendly Matches.

Examples of what 3-Star Facilities will include

• Equipment Manager
  • Attributes: Jumping, Stamina
  • PlayStyle: Acrobatic
• Head Groundsman
  • Attributes: Ball Control, Balance
  • PlayStyle: Press Proven
• Performance Analyst
  • Attribute: Short Passing, Vision
  • PlayStyle: Tiki Taka
• Scout
  • Attributes: Att. Positioning, Def. Awareness
• Sports Psychologist
  • Attributes: Composure, Aggression
  • PlayStyle: Jockey
• Sports Scientist
  • Attributes: Acceleration, Reactions
  • PlayStyle: Quick Step
• Attacking Tactical Coach
  • Attributes: Vision, Att. Positioning
  • PlayStyle: Incisive Pass
• Defensive Tactical Coach
  • Attributes: Interceptions, Def. Awareness
  • PlayStyle: Press Proven
• Fitness Coach
  • Attributes: Stamina, Jumping
  • PlayStyle: Relentless
• GK Coach
  • Attributes: GK Positioning, GK Diving
• Passing Coach
  • Attributes: Long Passing, Short Passing
  • PlayStyle: Pinged Pass
• Shooting Coach
  • Attributes: Long Shots, Finishing
  • PlayStyle: Chip Shot
• Tackling Coach
  • Attributes: Sliding Tackle, Standing Tackle
  • PlayStyle: Slide Tackler
• Technical Coach
  • Attributes: Dribbling, Ball Control
  • PlayStyle: Technical
• Agility Poles
  • Attributes: Agility, Dribbling
  • PlayStyle: Trickster
• Ball Cannons
  • Attributes: GK Reflexes, GK Handling
• Finishing Net
  • Attributes: Finishing, Curve
  • PlayStyle: Finesse Shot
• Football Tennis Net
  • Attributes: Volleys, Heading Accuracy
  • PlayStyle: Aerial
• GPS Vests
  • Attributes: Attack Positioning, Stamina
• Mini Goals
  • Attributes: Finishing, Short Passing
  • PlayStyle: Trivela
• Rebounders
  • Attributes: Reactions, Volleys
  • PlayStyle: Flair
• Set Piece Mannequins
  • Attributes: FK Accuracy, Penalties
  • PlayStyle: Dead Ball
• Speed Parachute
  • Attributes: Acceleration, Sprint Speed
• Compression Boots
  • Attributes: Shot Power, Strength
  • PlayStyle: Power Shot
• Running Track
  • Attributes: Sprint Speed, Stamina
  • PlayStyle: Rapid
• Training Pitch
  • Attributes: Long Passing, Crossing
  • PlayStyle: Whipped Pass
• Weight Room
  • Attributes: Strength, Jumping
  • PlayStyle: Bruiser
• Yoga Instructor
  • Attributes: Balance, Agility
  • PlayStyle: First Touch

Earning Higher Facility Budgets

The journey of enhancing your club through Facilities begins with your budget. As your club's reputation grows through playing League and Playoff matches and gaining fans, so does your budget. This system helps ensure that your power to invest in Facilities evolves in tandem with your club's success. The more successful your club, the greater your capacity to improve and customize your team's abilities.

Activating Facilities

Managers have the ability to allocate their club’s Facility budget to activate various facilities on behalf of their club, each offering unique benefits to the team. The benefits of Facilities remain active for the club for as long as the manager has them activated. Budget is never lost and can always be freed up by deactivating active Facilities, allowing managers to tinker with their budget allocation and Facility combinations to complement the strengths of each player in the club and adapt their strategy to the evolving competitive landscape.

FC IQ/Tactics

FC IQ introduces new tactical options for Club Managers in EA SPORTS FC™ 25, enabling them to set up up to five distinct Tactics. When editing your Tactical Roles, know that your AI squadmates are all equipped with Role+ familiarity for every role, so whether you’re looking for your CDM to drop into a Centre-Half role, or your fullbacks to operate as Wingbacks, your AI will be able to handle your instruction with confidence. Additionally, updates to the Clubs Lobby have been implemented to improve communication and clarity among players regarding their roles and responsibilities before stepping onto the pitch. Our goal here is to update the strategic depth of team management and provide a more cohesive and informed gameplay experience for everyone.

To learn more about FC IQ and Tactics in EA SPORTS FC™ 25, be sure to check out the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes.

League Relegation

We’re always listening to the Clubs community and you made it clear to us that those epic comebacks and last-minute equalizers felt more satisfying when you simply couldn’t settle for a loss.

To that end, we've worked diligently to bring Relegation back to the Clubs League experience, with each match carrying just the right amount of tension as you climb through the divisions. However, it was important for us to bring back Relegation in an improved format, to give you more control over your club’s destiny.

Chances

In this new system, each club will be allocated a set number of chances upon entering a division. Think of these chances as your buffer against relegation. Each match loss will result in the loss of one chance. The real test comes when your chances are depleted and your club enters a Relegation Battle.

Relegation Battle

The Relegation Battle is a high-stakes, one-off match that determines whether your club stays in its current division or drops to a lower one. Matchmaking for these critical encounters will follow the standard League Matchmaking process which looks to pit you against a club of similar skill facing their own pivotal match. Victory in the Relegation Battle not only secures your divisional status but also resets your chances to their full count. A draw will also secure your place, but will only partially reset your chances, keeping the threat of relegation present. Note that clubs in the Elite division will not face Relegation at launch.

Deeper Pro Customization

To take your pro customization to the next level, we're introducing EA SPORTS™ Cranium Technology to customize your pro’s head and face. Cranium, a powerful new tool designed to give you more control over the appearance of your pro's head and face. In EA SPORTS FC™ 25, you can sculpt each individual aspect of your pro's face to give them more details and features than before, enabling you to customize to a degree that was not previously possible.

New Pro Cosmetics

We're introducing a wide array of new cosmetics for your pro, allowing you to further personalize your player's appearance. This includes an exciting selection of new hairstyles, headwear, facial hair, tattoos, boots, facial accessories, gloves, and arm sleeves. Notably, arm sleeves are making their debut in EA SPORTS FC™ 25 as new cosmetic options, providing even more ways to stand out during a match. All of these new cosmetics can be conveniently unlocked in the new Clubs Store, making it easier to customize your pro and create your unique style.

New Stadium Items

But it's not just about the players; we're also rolling out new ways to bring your stadium to life. Our range of new Stadium bundles, Club Kits, Tifos, and Trophies are designed to enhance the atmosphere of your home ground, with the intent of making every match feel like a special occasion. These cosmetics allow you to show off your club's fandom in style, creating a more immersive and engaging experience for you and your opponents.

Quick Chat

As mentioned in the Rush Deep Dive Pitch Notes, Quick Chat will be introduced to Rush and Clubs matches. It’s designed to promote team communication and camaraderie through simple, quick messages. Using the directional buttons, players can easily send messages like "Nice", "Thanks", "Sorry", and "Unlucky" to their teammates. Our goal is for Quick Chat to enable players to express reactions and emotions following key moments in a match, from acknowledging a well-placed assist to commiserating over a missed opportunity.

In Clubs, the captain can also access Quick Chat messages by pressing down on the d-pad.

To coincide with this change, the traditional call-for-pass iconography has also been updated to display short text messages, better-alerting teammates to your requests.

GK PlayStyles

In EA SPORTS FC™ 25, goalkeepers can act in more unique ways than before with the introduction of several new PlayStyles. Whether you’re a goalkeeper who excels at rushing out to thwart attackers or one who can distribute the ball quickly to launch counter attacks, our goal is to provide you with the tools to tailor your play to your preferences.

For more information on Goalkeeper PlayStyles, check out the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes.

Post-Match Timer

You’ll now be able to stay in the post-match menu much longer before being returned to the lobby. This gives you more time to review highlights, match stats, strategize for future games, or simply bask in the glory of a well-earned victory.

Clubs League Matchmaking

In an effort to ensure we are creating more balanced matches, matchmaking for Clubs League matches will now prioritize finding clubs of a similar Skill Rating. Clubs Playoffs will continue to prioritize your division when matchmaking, in order to maintain the Playoffs as a place for you to take on your divisional rivals.

Max Height

We’ve seen your feedback regarding the role of height in gameplay balance, so we’ve adjusted max height for all player positions. Player height of all Virtual Pros in EA SPORTS FC™ 25 will be capped at 6’5” or about 195.58 cm.

Thanks for checking out our EA SPORTS FC™ 25’s Clubs Deep Dive Pitch Notes! We can’t wait to see you on the pitch and are excited to hear your feedback about all of our changes and updates.

• The EA SPORTS FC™ Team

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