With the worldwide launch of FC 26 on September 26, 2025, and early access beginning on September 19, the race to build the ultimate squad in Ultimate Team is officially on.
For newcomers and returning players alike one of the most pressing questions is: how do you unlock the transfer market?
This year the EA team have developed a new method to tackle transfer market manipulation.
For many players, the journey to the transfer market begins even before the full game is released.
The FC 26 Web App launches on September 17, and the Companion App follows on September 18. This is your first opportunity to get a head start.
Before diving into the unlock process, it’s important to understand who automatically receives Transfer Market access.
If you’re a returning player with a well established account from previous titles, you might be granted immediate access to the market on the Web or Companion App. This is a huge advantage, allowing you to start trading and building your initial coin balance ahead of early access.
If you played Ultimate Team in previous FC titles like FC 25 on the same platform and your account is in good standing (no coin trading or any other transfer market ban), you’ll receive immediate access to the Transfer Market when you first log into FC 26. This applies to Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch users.
If you a newer player and have not played any FC title, you will need to complete the long and lengthy process of completing the annoying Foundation Objectives.
While the exact requirements may be subject to change, they typically involve playing a series of matches and completing basic tasks. These objectives are your official application for market access.
Now here lies the problem. You need to complete all four groups in the foundations tab.
These are the objectives you need to complete:-
New Beginnings: This is very easy and can easily be done in 3 squad battle matches. You need to score 5 goals, play squad battles featured squad and complete the starter movement which is basically just complete some SBCs.
Venturing Out: This one is a bit of a grind but you get a squad foundations Kalulu card as a reward for completing it. You need to play 7 UT matches, 3 Rush Matches and 3 Live Event Matches that EA will release during the launch.
Diving In: This also gives us a Squad Foundations reward and you will receive a very good Conor Gallagher card for completing the challenges. All his core stats are 75+ and gives you a brilliant stater player for your squad. Again this is grindy too, you need to play 7 Rush matches again, 7 Squad Battle matches, Play 5 Rival matches and finally a total of 15 matches.
On Your Way: The final objective and it will reward you with a 84 rated Alphonso Davies card that has 95 pace. You need to play 10 matches and complete 2 SBCs.
You will unfortunately need to complete around 40-45 matches for this which is a bit of a farce considering the amount of effort it would take.
Luckily this will also help you understand the flow and game mechanics giving you a but of an edge. Not to mention you unlock 3 great starter players in Kalulu, Gallagher and Davies.
Once you’ve fulfilled the requirements, you will receive an in game message confirming that your market access has been unlocked.
Even then, you may have temporary restrictions, such as a limit on the number of buy actions you can perform in a short period where you will be limited to 8 buy actions.
After 24 hours luckily, you should be able to get unlimited access to the transfer market.
If you want to unlock the Web & Companion App here is what to do:
To qualify for Web App and Companion App access in EA Sports FC, you need to meet several requirements over a period of 2 to 7 days, although EA doesn’t provide a specific timeline.
To earn access, you must demonstrate consistent activity within the game. This includes playing a minimum of three full matches per day in any Ultimate Team mode and making legitimate transactions on the Transfer Market. So avoid coin sniping or listing players for higher than average prices or even selling players for dirt cheap.
I can understand that players will not find this welcoming but remember that EA isn’t focused on a specific number of matches, but on your consistent, daily engagement. The idea is to verify that you’re an active player, not a bot running an automated script.
While this system can feel like a chore, especially when you just want to get to the fun part of building your squad, it’s a necessary step to protect the game’s economy.
A stable market benefits everyone by ensuring fair prices and a level playing field. It is a bit of a hurdle if you are a new player or a player who was flagged for previous offences but it is a hurdle you will have to deal with if you want to enjoy FC 26.
