EA SPORTS rolled out a EA FC 26 Career Mode update for Manager Live and Live Start Points a few hours ago.
The update adds three new Manager Live challenges that change transfer strategy and squad-building, and it refreshes Live Start Points across many leagues so your Career Mode can reflect the real season more accurately.
ReFIFA first flagged this long-awaited Live Start Points refresh on social media a few days ago — it’s now live in-game.
Career Mode “Manager Live”
This update introduces three new Manager Live challenges that force different approaches to the market and roster management:
Deal Maker: Play with any club in LaLiga EA SPORTS, LaLiga Hypermotion, or Liga F Moeve and prove you can navigate multi-market deals. This long challenge asks you to balance buying power, timing and clever negotiation to build a competitive squad across Spanish competitions.
Trade Tactician: Open to any club in the game, this challenge rewards managers who execute clean, profitable deals to improve the team quickly. It’s a test of market reading, timing and squad planning — ideal if you enjoy bargain hunting and smart sales.
Transfer Embargo: A tougher, survival-style test for clubs in EFL Championship, LaLiga 2, Serie B, Bundesliga 2 and Ligue 2: operate under a transfer embargo and still achieve competitive success with only your existing squad. This challenge is short on market help and long on tactical creativity; it’s perfect for managers who want a pure coaching test.
Each challenge changes how you value contracts, loans and youth development — plan your scouting and wage structure accordingly.
Career Mode “Live Start Points”
Live Start Points received a major snapshot update, making dozens of leagues reflect more recent real-world fixtures. This is the Live Start Points data included in the Jan 7, 2026 update:
- Premier League: updated to gameweek 20 (January 07, 2026)
- EFL Championship: updated to gameweek 26 (January 06, 2026)
- EFL League One: updated to gameweek 24 (January 05, 2026)
- EFL League Two: updated to gameweek 24 (January 05, 2026)
- Ligue 1: updated to gameweek 17 (January 05, 2026)
- Ligue 2: updated to gameweek 18 (January 06, 2026)
- Bundesliga: updated to gameweek 15 (December 22, 2025)
- Bundesliga 2: updated to gameweek 17 (December 22, 2025)
- 3. Liga: updated to gameweek 19 (December 22, 2025)
- Serie A: updated to gameweek 17 (January 07, 2026)
- Serie B: updated to gameweek 18 (December 28, 2025)
- Eredivisie: updated to gameweek 17 (December 22, 2025)
- Liga Portugal: updated to gameweek 17 (January 05, 2026)
- Saudi Pro League: updated to gameweek 12 (January 05, 2026)
- LaLiga: updated to gameweek 19 (January 05, 2026)
- LaLiga 2: updated to gameweek 20 (January 05, 2026)
- Süper Lig: updated to gameweek 17 (December 23, 2025)
- Première Ligue: updated to gameweek 11 (December 21, 2025)
- Frauen-Bundesliga: updated to gameweek 14 (December 23, 2025)
These refreshed snapshots let you start a Career from a recent point in the season or pick a Live Start Point that better matches the real calendar — useful for streamers, saves that mirror current events, and for managers who want realistic mid-season transfers and fixtures.
Featured Snapshot
A new snapshot is available for the next major Premier League fixture: the North London derby — Arsenal vs Liverpool.
If you plan to start a Live Start Point around this marquee match, the snapshot is ready and includes up-to-date lineups and form.
New Real Faces
All the real faces added via Title Update 1.4.0 are now present in Career Mode Live Start Points. Notable examples that are immediately available in snapshots:
- Players: Maxime Estève, Lucas Perri, Éderson, Lennart Karl, and others added in the 1.4.0 Title Update.
- Managers: Régis Le Bris and Okan Buruk are now represented with real faces in Manager Live snapshots.
That means your Live Start Point saves will include the latest presentation fidelity — real likenesses for players and managers — improving immersion when you jump into an existing season.
Final Whistle
With the transfer window open and the leagues reaching their most intense stages, there has never been a better time to start a new save.
The addition of the Transfer Embargo challenge adds a layer of difficulty that veteran players will surely appreciate.
Which team are you picking for your new Live Start Points save? Let us know in the comments below!
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