EA SPORTS FC 26 FC 26 v1.5.3 Update Patch Notes (7th April 2026)

EA SPORTS FC 26 v1.5.3 is out today across all platforms, and the headliner is a gameplay change that anyone who's played online will appreciate: goalkeepers will now kick the ball out of play if a player repeatedly passes back to them to waste time. It's a niche scenario, but an infuriating one when you're on the receiving end.

Career Mode gets the most attention this patch. EA has fixed the bug where managers were incorrectly assigned to different teams during career creation with Icons and Heroes, sorted a case where League winners were dropped into the wrong European competition, and added a separator to European standings so you can actually tell which teams advance to playoffs at a glance. Managers with low job security at season's end will also now be bumped up to Okay status rather than left hanging.

On the Ultimate Team side, kit and badge search in the transfer market is fixed, as are broken Player Celebration animation previews. Compared to last week's v1.5.2, this one casts a wider net across the game's modes. Full patch notes below.

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EA SPORTS FC 26 version 1.5.3 is dropping soon for all platforms and includes the updates below.

Gameplay

Addressed the following issues:

• Goalkeepers will now kick the ball out of play if a player excessively wastes time by passing back to them over and over again.
• This change is to address rare scenarios that are inauthentic to football and does not impact a typical back pass.

Ultimate Team

Addressed the following issues:

• Some kits and badges were not searchable in the transfer market.
• Some Player Celebration animation previews did not display when selected.

Career Mode

Made the following changes:

• Added a missing separator in European competition standings, making it easier to see which teams advance to playoffs.
• In Career Mode, when applying for a job, it now automatically adds the team to your watchlist.
• Added labels next to team crests in challenge descriptions to clearly differentiate men's and women's teams.
• Added a clearer description on the challenge completion UI to explain how saves and career progress work after completion.
• Managers with low job security at season's end are now upgraded to Okay.

Addressed the following issues:

• Sometimes, Managers were incorrectly assigned to a different team when selecting Icons & Heroes in career creation.
• In the Manager Career, ICON players could have requested low wages during contract negotiations.
• In some cases, a League-winning team was placed in the incorrect European League.
• Addressed instances of incorrect or overlapping text.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

• Updated some names, overlays, kits, sponsors, crests, banners, scarves, flags, logos, hair, boots, star heads, ad boards.

Addressed the following issues:

• Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Want to provide us direct feedback about EA SPORTS FC 26? https://go.ea.com/fc26pfp and let us know what you think, it only takes a few minutes. Thank you for your continued feedback.

Make sure to join the Official EA SPORTS FC Discord for the latest news and updates.

The EA SPORTS FC Team

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