Your first squad
The founding squad is enough to field a team. It is not finished: nobody in it is above OVR 300, and the market, the Store, crafting, refining and the academy are how it grows.
The numbers that bound a squad#
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Founding squad | 22 players, OVR 200 to 300 each: 2 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 8 midfielders, 4 strikers |
| Smallest squad | 18 players and 2 goalkeepers. If you are under either at season end, the game tops you up with OVR 100 fillers aged 18 to 27 |
| Contract cap | 26 at Office level 1, 50 at level 20 |
| Match squad | 11 starters and up to 6 on the bench |
| Energy to be picked | 20% or more |
| Skill cap | One player's six skills never add up to more than 999 |
Five ways to add a player#
- Transfers — auction lots of OVR 250 to 350, opening at the player's value and running until the displayed deadline.
- The Store — the paid welcome packs carry a 22-year-old at OVR 300 or 400.
- Crafting — the exact tier, age and position you want, for Scout Points: from a Rookie at OVR 300 for 275 to 325 up to a World Class player at OVR 925 for 3,800 to 4,800.
- Refining — three players folded into one, guaranteed OVR 300 to 925 by formula.
- The Youth Academy — one talent per season at level 1, arriving at OVR 200 to 230 with the free scout after a 480-hour search.
The Where players come from page has the detail of each route.
Rotation#
A full 90 minutes costs a player of 18 to 22 eight energy, a player of 23 to 27 ten, and a player of 28 to 33 twelve — more when he plays several matches in a row, and half in a cup match. A Recovery Centre session puts back 8 with the free Assistant physio, times 1.2 for the youngest band and 0.8 for the oldest. At level 1 there is one recovery slot and a session takes 23 hours, so you cannot recover the whole squad every day: who plays is a real decision from the first week.
See also Energy and Skills & OVR