What Is SBC in EA Sports FC? Complete Beginner’s Guide

Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) represent one of Ultimate Team’s most rewarding yet complex features, offering players unique opportunities to earn exclusive cards and valuable rewards. These chemistry-based puzzles require strategic thinking, market knowledge, and careful resource management to complete successfully. Understanding SBC mechanics can transform your club-building experience, providing access to special player items, packs, and consumables that aren’t available through traditional methods. Mastering these challenges early will significantly enhance your Ultimate Team journey.

What Does SBC Stand For?

Squad Building Challenge is the full term behind the SBC acronym, representing a core gameplay mechanic within EA Sports FC’s Ultimate Team mode. These challenges task players with constructing squads that meet specific requirements, ranging from chemistry ratings to player nationalities and league affiliations. Each SBC presents unique constraints that must be satisfied before submission, creating puzzle-like scenarios that test your squad-building knowledge and creativity.

The concept originated as a way to add depth beyond traditional pack opening and transfer market activities. SBCs encourage players to think strategically about squad construction while providing alternative pathways to acquire rare players and valuable rewards. This system has evolved significantly since its introduction, now featuring hundreds of different challenges throughout each game cycle.

How SBCs Work in Ultimate Team

SBCs function through a submission system where players exchange their current squad members to complete predetermined challenges and receive rewards. Each challenge displays specific requirements such as minimum overall rating, chemistry points, player positions, and sometimes nationality or league restrictions. Once you’ve built a qualifying squad, you permanently submit best players in exchange for the promised rewards.

The chemistry system plays a crucial role in SBC completion, requiring players to understand how different nationalities, leagues, and clubs interact to generate the necessary chemistry points. Higher-rated challenges often demand perfect or near-perfect chemistry, making squad planning essential. Successfully navigating these requirements while minimizing costs separates experienced players from newcomers in the SBC landscape.

Types of SBCs: From Basic to ICON

The SBC ecosystem encompasses various challenge types, each serving different purposes and offering distinct reward structures. Understanding these categories helps players prioritize their resources and identify opportunities that align with their club-building goals. From daily objectives to premium player exchanges, the diversity ensures something for every player type and budget level. Let’s explore the main SBC categories you’ll encounter:

Basic SBCs

These entry-level challenges introduce new players to SBC mechanics without requiring significant investment or complex chemistry solutions. Basic SBCs typically feature low overall rating requirements and minimal chemistry constraints, making them perfect for learning the submission process. Rewards usually include bronze or silver packs, consumables, and small coin amounts that help beginners understand the risk-reward balance.

League SBCs

League-based challenges require players from specific competitions, creating demand for otherwise overlooked cards from various domestic leagues worldwide. These SBCs often feature multiple segments, with each club or section offering different rewards upon completion. Completing entire league SBCs typically grants exclusive player items and substantial pack rewards, though they require significant time and coin investment.

Player SBCs

These challenges offer specific player items as rewards, ranging from upgraded versions of existing cards to completely unique special items. Player SBCs vary dramatically in cost and complexity, with some requiring multiple high-rated squads and perfect chemistry solutions. The most prestigious player SBCs feature legendary icons and top-tier special cards worth hundreds of thousands of coins.

ICON SBCs

Representing the pinnacle of SBC challenges, ICON SBCs demand multiple high-rated squads and substantial coin investment to complete. These challenges often require 85+ rated teams with full chemistry, making them accessible primarily to experienced players with developed clubs. ICON SBCs provide access to legendary players who defined football history, offering unique gameplay experiences unavailable through other methods.

Rewards You Can Get (And Which Ones Are Worth It)

SBC rewards span a wide spectrum of valuable items, from basic consumables to game-changing player cards that can transform your Ultimate Team experience. Understanding reward values helps you make informed decisions about which challenges deserve your investment and which ones to avoid. The key lies in evaluating potential returns against submission costs, considering both immediate benefits and long-term club development goals. Here are the main reward categories you can expect:

• Player Cards: Special versions of current and former players with boosted statistics
• Packs: Various pack types containing random players, consumables, and club items
• Coins: Direct currency rewards for completing specific challenges
• Consumables: Chemistry styles, position changes, and fitness items
• Club Items: Stadiums, kits, badges, and other cosmetic customization options
• Tokens: Special currencies used for specific SBC series or events

SBC Tips for New Players (Avoiding Mistakes)

New players often make costly errors when approaching SBCs, leading to unnecessary expenses and missed opportunities for better rewards. Learning from common mistakes can save thousands of coins while maximizing your return on investment. Smart SBC completion requires patience, research, and understanding market dynamics that influence player prices and solution costs. Here are essential tips to avoid expensive mistakes:

• Always check solution websites before buying players to avoid overpaying
• Complete SBCs during rewards periods when pack weights are typically higher
• Focus on renewable SBCs rather than limited-time challenges when starting out
• Use untradeable players from your club before purchasing market alternatives
• Monitor player prices throughout the week to identify optimal buying opportunities
• Start with cheaper SBCs to build experience before attempting expensive challenges

Cheap Solution Tools (FUTBIN, etc.)

Third-party websites and tools have become indispensable resources for SBC completion, offering pre-built solutions and real-time price tracking that can save significant time and coins. These platforms aggregate community knowledge and market data to provide optimal squad configurations for virtually every SBC available. Understanding how to leverage these tools effectively can dramatically improve your SBC experience and profitability. Let’s examine the most valuable SBC solution resources:

FUTBIN

FUTBIN serves as the premier destination for SBC solutions, featuring community-submitted squads with real-time price calculations and alternative player suggestions. The platform’s solution database covers every available SBC, complete with chemistry breakdowns and cost estimates across different console markets. Users can filter solutions by price, rating, and specific player preferences, making it easy to find configurations that match their budget and available players.

FUTWIZ

FUTWIZ offers comprehensive SBC tracking alongside detailed player databases and market analysis tools that complement their solution offerings. The platform excels in providing historical price data and trend analysis, helping users identify optimal timing for SBC completion. Their solution system includes multiple alternatives for each position, allowing flexibility when certain players become overpriced or unavailable in the transfer market.

EA Sports FC Database

The official EA database provides accurate player information and chemistry calculations essential for manual SBC solving and solution verification. While not offering pre-built solutions, this resource ensures you have correct player ratings, positions, and links when creating custom squads. The platform serves as the definitive source for player attributes and chemistry mechanics that govern SBC requirements.

Final Thoughts: How SBCs Improve Your Club

SBCs represent a fundamental aspect of Ultimate Team progression, offering structured pathways to acquire premium players and valuable resources while developing strategic thinking skills. Regular SBC participation creates a sustainable cycle of improvement, where completed challenges provide resources for future submissions and club enhancement. The system rewards patience, research, and smart decision-making while punishing impulsive spending and poor planning.

FAQ

Q: How often do new SBCs get released?

A: EA typically releases new SBCs daily, with major additions during promotional events and special occasions. Weekend and weekday releases follow different patterns, with premium content usually dropping on Fridays.

Q: Can I get my submitted players back if I change my mind?

A: No, SBC submissions are permanent and irreversible. Once you confirm a squad submission, those players are permanently removed from your club in exchange for the stated rewards.

Q: Are expensive SBCs worth completing for new players?

A: Generally no, new players should focus on cheaper, renewable SBCs to build experience and resources before attempting high-cost challenges that require significant coin investment.

Q: Do SBC rewards expire if I don’t claim them immediately?

A: Rewards appear automatically in your club upon SBC completion and don’t expire. However, the SBC challenges themselves often have expiration dates after which they become unavailable.

Q: Can I use loan players in SBC submissions?

A: No, loan players cannot be submitted in SBCs. Only permanently owned players from your club can be used to complete squad building challenges.

Q: What happens if I submit a squad that doesn’t meet all requirements?

A: The game prevents submission of squads that don’t meet stated requirements. You’ll receive error messages indicating which criteria aren’t satisfied before you can complete the challenge.