Today, Wednesday, no further Team of the Week will be released in FIFA Ultimate Team. EA is ending TOTW after 36 editions for FIFA 22, leaving out the Nations League and the Champions League Final.
For FUT players, Wednesday evening at the start of each new season is something very special. This is because the new Team of the Week is released weekly at 7pm German time. The TOTW is made up of players who have performed particularly well for their club on the real pitch on the previous match day.
The so-called ‘Informs’ are particularly sought-after due to special cards with upgraded statistics. TOTWs are also often needed to complete Squad Building Challenges. After 36 teams, EA Sports has stopped the promotion for this season. A little bit of a pity, because achievements of the upcoming Nations League group stage and the Champions League final from last weekend will not be honoured in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team now.
High expectations at the start – frustration towards the end
The publisher has thus shortened the editions of TOTW as it did last year. In FIFA 21, Team of the Week ended after 35 teams. Looking at past instalments of the FIFA series, it is clear that the weekly adulation of footballers has stopped earlier and earlier.
Just five years ago, TOTW spanned the entire year and brought an average of 52 special teams into play. FIFA 18 then cut back to teams for the first time, FIFA 19 (46 TOTWs) and FIFA 20 (42 TOTWs) continued the trend.
Although EA already announced the featured versions before the release, this innovation could not ensure that the TOTW in FIFA 22 is of greater interest for a longer time. Yet it is precisely the players who can still improve late in the season that should provide long-term motivation. However, due to the constant flood of promos and special cards, the only slightly improved cards in the team of the week gradually became a minor matter.
For the FIFA development team, the question for the coming season is: How can the TOTW be improved? Good advice is expensive here, because there is more than one construction site for the TOTW cards.
In addition to the disappointing featured variants, which were distributed too often to players who did not improve significantly in the game, low probabilities on TOTW superstars in the packs also caused frustration. At the start of FIFA 23, changes to the Team of the Week would be useful to keep it attractive throughout the annual cycle.
