EA Sports FC 24 does what FIFA never could by adding female players to Ultimate Team

Female players are coming to Ultimate Team to mark the switch from FIFA 23 to EA Sports FC 24.

The likes of Samantha Kerr (Chelsea), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) and Chloe Kelly (Manchester City) will all be available in packs from launch – and they can be blended in with male players to form mixed-gender line-ups.

Indeed, you earn a bonus chemistry point for lining up players from the same club – such as Kerr and Chelsea men’s forward Christoper Nkunku.

In all, the database overhaul encompasses six competitions, 74 teams, and 1,600 players, with the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany) and Liga F (Spain) being added to the game this year. It’s billed as the biggest update to FUT since it launched in FIFA 09.

For the purposes of Ultimate Team, female players will be considered on par with male counterparts of similar ratings. So a 91-rated Kerr walkout will be of similar caliber to a 91-rated Karim Benzema card.

“The ratings, the attributes, the animation systems: there’s no differences between men and women,” explains senior producer Gareth Reeder. “All these things work the same [in FUT]. When we look at how we do the ratings across men’s and women’s football, we’re doing those based on the respective competition they play against in the real world. So if you think about how amazing Sam Kerr is in the real-world WSL, we’re representing her in the game that way. In the same way as how Erling Haaland is represented for how he plays for Manchester City. Ultimate Team allows both of those worlds to come together.”

Another welcome first is a female co-commentator. Sue Smith, who won 93 caps for England before becoming a familiar face on UK show Soccer Saturday, lines up alongside experienced voiceover man Guy Mowbray, to offer an alternative to Derek Rae and Stewart Robson. The pair can be selected to narrate your matches in both kick-off mode, and Ultimate Team. 

I happened to predict the inclusion of female players in FUT last summer, when they were implemented alongside pro male hockey stars in NHL 23. “You’d expect this to act as a testbed for Euro 2022 winners Beth Mead and Ella Toone taking the field next to Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in FUT going forwards,” I suggested,  and that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do in FC 24.

EA Sports FC 24 is released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch on September 29. The Switch version is to receive a major overhaul this year, with EA promising further specifics to come closer to release.

EA Sports FC is the industry titan's attempt to supplant FIFA, so our list of the best sports games could be due for an upheaval soon.