The FC Pro Draft is a new addition to competitions in EA SPORTS FC 24. For the first time, squad building is a core aspect of the eSport with players making hard decisions about their squad similar to what a player experiences at home.
For the FC Pro Open, which gets underway on Monday, November 27, competitors must build a squad of their choice within a limited set budget. The first players to make their selections were Mark11, Lukas, Emre Yilmaz, and Umut, who will be competing against one another in Group A.
You can find their all-important squad selections below, but first, here is everything you need to know about the FC Pro Draft.
What is the FC Pro Draft?
With FC Pro Draft, competitors will be set a budget in coins that they must adhere to. For the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier earlier this month, the budget was set at 8,000,000 coins. Competitors need to build a full squad – their starting XI and subs – that stays within this budget and submit it before the deadline.
The budget has now been shrunk down for the FC Pro Open, making the job of building a competitive squad even tougher.
The cost of each player item will be set based on the in-game transfer market price of the item. The prices will be locked at a certain time each week and players will use those to build their squads.
In addition to the coin budget, competitors may also be set additional requirements they must meet with their squad. This can include incorporating player items from events in Ultimate Team such as Trailblazers or Centurions as well as requirements that highlight players from specific leagues and nations.
Over the course of FC Pro 24, we’ll see a variety of Draft requirements that will really allow competitors to flex their squad-building muscles.
FC Pro Open Draft requirements
Where players had 8,000,000 coins to spend on assembling their squads for the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier, the final stage of the competition sees them get just 5,000,000.
Naturally, this means squad building becomes even trickier, and will require some big decisions and sacrifices to be made.
However, they do have some bonus items at their disposal to enhance their squads, with each of the 20 FC Pro Open players getting a free Thunderstruck item.
Thunderstruck items
New for the FC Pro Open is the inclusion of Thunderstruck items, with each player receiving one item for free. The special cards offer players the choice of selecting a current footballer, or that of a legendary retired Icon.
Introduced on Black Friday, the highest-rated footballers available for selection by the FC Pro Open competitors are all Thunderstruck items. Indeed, the two top-rated items are Thunderstruck Icons Ronaldinho and Johan Cruyff - who are both 94 overall.
Just behind them are Ferenc Puskas and Gerd Muller at 93, with Thierry Henry at 92. In terms of current-day players, 90-rated Neymar Jr, Bernardo Silva, Vinicius Jr, Marie Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani are all available as upgraded Thunderstruck items.
Group A squads
Here are all five Group A squads ahead of Monday night's matches:
Mark11
Kicking us off in Group A is 2023 FIFAe World Cup runner-up Mark11. His squad for Week 1 of the FC Pro Open is set up in a fluid 4-3-3 formation, which has a dynamic attacking trio of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Caroline Graham Hansen.
Hansen's FC Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas slots into the midfield alongside an 87-rated TOTW Jude Bellingham, and the 94-rated Ronaldinho Thunderstruck Icon. The Brazilian is the highest-rated item in any of the five Group A squads - and was naturally selected by all five players as their free Thunderstruck item.
In defence for Mark 11 is Virgil van Dijk and Achraf Hakimi, with the 88-rated Trailblazer Joao Cancelo at Left-back, next to the 89-rated Lucio - which is a Hero card. Mark11's second icon, Peter Schmeichel, will be trying to keep the opposition at bay between the sticks.
All of his bench players are base items, with the likes of Heung-Min Son, Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele all featuring.
Emre Yilmaz
Emre Yilmaz, meanwhile, has opted for a 4-3-1-2 formation, with several personnel differences to that of rival Mark11.
For starters, the Dutchman is using TOTW Son alongside Mbappe and Ronaldinho, while also opting for the 88-rated Trailblazer Bellginham card.
It's a very attacking midfield with Putellas joined by TOTW Valverde in the middle, while the Uruguayan's Real Madrid teammates Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao also feature in defence to boost the squad chemistry.
Rounding out the rest of the team is the Trailblazer Cancelo item (at Right-back) with Liverpool duo Van Dijk and Alisson providing some additional steel. With several club links forged, the Team Gullit star has a squad chemistry of 26.
Lukas
Lukas has once again sprung a surprise by not selecting Mbappe - just as he did in the Global Qualifier. However, there is still plenty of quality in attack, with Vinicius Jr and Hansen flanking the 89-rated David Ginola Hero card.
There's a strong Barca continent in the German's starting XI, with Putellas, de Jong and Trailblazer Cancelo all present.
The second Trailblazer card used by Lukas is 88-rated Marquinhos in central defence, who slots in next to familiar face Van Dijk.
Deployed in a 4-3-3 formation, the Hansa Rostock player's squad has the highest chemistry of any in Group A - at 32.
H1dalgo
While many familiar faces feature in H1dalgo's squad, in the equally familiar formation of 4-3-3, we do see some unique selections.
For example, he is the only player to include the 89-rated Ousmane Dembele Champions League Live card, which creates a very dangerous club link with fellow PSG man Mbappe in attack.
Vinicius Jr will play on the left for H1dalgo, while TOTW Bellingham, Thunderstruck Icon Ronaldinho and base Valverde make up the midfield three.
The Real Betis man has selected three of the same defenders as rival Lukas, although he does opt for Theo Hernandez at Left-back over Trailblazer Cancelo.
H1dalgo is also the only player in Group A to select icon Edwin van der Sar as his goalkeeper, with 85-rated Thunderstruck Juan Cuadrado on the bench.
Umut
Last but by no means least is Umut, who, similar to Emre Yilmaz, is utilising a 4-3-1-2 formation.
The similarities between the two squads don't end there, as Umut also starts with a front three of TOTW Son and Mbappe, with Ronaldinho playing in the 10 role.
Trailblazer cards in the form of Bellingham and Cancelo were also selected by the RBLZ Gaming star, who is the only player in Group A to include Kyle Walker and Jules Kounde in the back-four.
Umut has plenty of firepower off the bench should he need it, with Neymar Jr, Dembele and Rafael Leao adding plenty of depth. The German squad's chemistry is 28 out of 33.
