What Is an SBC? Which FC Ultimate Team SBCs Are Worth Doing and Which to Skip

SBC stands for Squad Building Challenge, the squad-building tasks in FC Ultimate Team. The game gives you a set of requirements, you build a squad that meets them, hand it in and get a reward. Sometimes that is a pack, sometimes a special player card. New players almost always ask the same thing: "Do I have to do all of them?" No, you don't, and picking the right ones is basically coin saving. This guide covers what an SBC is, how it works and which ones are worth your time.

How Does an SBC Work?

Every SBC comes with a list of requirements. Typical ones look like this:

• Total squad rating of at least a certain number
• A minimum number of players from a specific league
• Team chemistry above a certain value
• Players from a particular nation or club

You put cards that meet the requirements into the squad and submit it. The cards you hand in leave your club, and the reward arrives in return. In other words, an SBC is spending, and the reward is what you get for that spending.

Why Do They Matter?

SBCs give your spare cards somewhere to go. Some cards barely sell on the market but are wanted in SBCs, so cards that were just sitting there can turn into rewards. Some SBCs also offer special cards you simply couldn't buy on the market.

Cost Math: The Part That Really Matters

Before you start an SBC, do a quick calculation:

1. Which cards will I spend, and what is their combined market value?
2. What is the market value of the reward?
3. Will I use the reward myself or sell it?

If you spend more than the reward is worth, skipping that SBC is usually the smarter move. If you plan to sell the reward, remember that selling costs roughly a five percent tax. We explain it in more detail in our transfer market guide.

Types of SBCs

Repeatable SBCs

Some SBCs can be completed more than once. They usually give small, regular rewards. If doing them daily or weekly makes sense for you, those small gains add up.

One-off big SBCs

These cost more and give more valuable rewards. Don't rush. The cards you need often get cheaper as the SBC nears its end, because most people have already finished theirs. That's not guaranteed, only a common pattern.

Time-limited event SBCs

Event-only cards come with these. Once the timer runs out, those cards may never be obtainable again. If you collect, keep an eye on them. If you don't, skipping to protect your coins is perfectly fine.

Finding the Cheapest Way

Put in a little effort before you start. Work out how to reach the required rating with the cheapest cards. Go through the requirement counts, since some requirements are covered by just a few cards. If there is a chemistry requirement, grouping cards from the same league and nation meets it and cuts the cost. That effort can be worth as much as the reward itself.

My Advice for Beginners

In the first days, only look at small, easy and cheap SBCs. Big-reward SBCs look tempting but usually ask for expensive cards. As you get to know your squad and save up coins, you can move on to bigger ones. You can find how to play your first week in our first week guide.

SBCs are only one way of earning coins. For all of them, see our What Are FC Coins article.

A Worked Example: Pen and Paper Before You Start

The numbers below are made up purely to show the logic, they don't reflect real prices. Say an SBC asks for 11 cards and gives one player card as the reward.

1. Six of the required cards are already in your club. Selling them on the market would bring in 6,000 coins in total.
2. You have to buy the other 5 cards on the market, 9,000 coins in total.
3. Your total cost is 15,000 coins.
4. The reward card is worth 20,000 coins on the market.

At first glance that looks like 5,000 coins of profit. Now assume you will sell the card. After roughly five percent tax you end up with around 19,000, so the profit drops to 4,000. Still in the green, but there is more. When you buy those 5 cards at the same time, prices can climb, because everyone doing the same SBC is rushing for the same cards. If your shopping pushes the cost from 15,000 to 17,000, the profit nearly vanishes.

The lessons: don't treat a card already in your club as "free", because it has a selling value too. Include the sale tax. And collect your cards one by one without rushing.

If you plan to use the reward in your own squad, the math changes. Then the question isn't "what could I sell it for" but "do I need this card". If you were going to pay 20,000 on the market for a player you need, getting him through the SBC for 15,000 makes sense. If the reward is a pack, the contents are random, so you have to calculate with an average value. Some rewards may also not be tradable, so read the reward description on the SBC screen.

The Most Common SBC Mistakes

There is also a quiet mistake: deciding based on what other people do. A streamer may call an SBC "very profitable", but those cards were already sitting in their club. If you have to buy the same cards on the market, your math will come out differently.

In This Situation, Do This

• Low on coins and no urgent squad gap: Only look at small, repeatable, cheap SBCs and skip the rest.
• The SBC deadline is near and the cards are still expensive: If you don't truly need the reward, let it go. Prices might drop, or they might not, so decide accordingly.
• Your club is full of cards you never use: First check which SBCs consume those cards. That is the most sensible use of an SBC.
• The reward is a pack with random contents: Keep expectations low, do the math on average value and don't count on pulling a huge card.
• You're away from your computer but the SBC is expiring: SBCs can usually be seen in the Web App or Companion App too, though what's covered may change. We explained what they do in our Web App and Companion App guide.

Final Check Before You Submit

1. Are all the requirements green? Rating, chemistry, league, nation, card count.
2. Is there a card in the squad you wouldn't want to sell from your club?
3. Did you read the reward type and whether it can be traded?
4. Did you factor sale tax and price movement into your math?
5. Could the same cards be worth more in another SBC before this one ends?

Think about what happens if you run out of coins, too. If you're new to the market, our transfer market guide covers the basics of collecting cards cheaply. If you're considering buying coins from outside, read our what to watch out for when buying coins article first. EA's official route is FC Points, and purchases outside it may not match EA and platform terms, which means risk. The EA Help Center is the best source for current terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SBC?

It stands for Squad Building Challenge. These are Ultimate Team tasks where you submit a squad that meets certain requirements and receive a reward.

Do the cards I submit come back?

No. Cards used in an SBC leave your club. That is why you should work out whether the reward justifies the spending before you start.

Do I have to do every SBC?

No. Skipping high-cost SBCs is often the smarter play. Only do the ones you need or the ones that pay off.

How do I complete an SBC as cheaply as possible?

Find the lowest-value cards that reach the required rating, use cards from the same league or nation together if there is a chemistry requirement, and compare prices on the market.