Scottish Football in Career Mode
If EA can take the time to fix and accurately represent the Mexican league — a league that was only added to EA Sports FC this year — then surely the same attention can be given to a league that has been part of the game since 2005.
The SPFL has been represented in EA's football games for over 20 years, yet Scottish football continues to have basic issues within Career Mode that have been raised repeatedly and remain unresolved.
This isn't asking for Scotland to receive special treatment. It's simply asking for the SPFL to be represented with the same level of authenticity and attention that other leagues receive.
I raised several of these issues repeatedly on the FC26 forums, but unfortunately they still appear to be present in FC27.
There are three main areas that really need to be addressed:
1. Scottish League Cup is completely missing
The Scottish League Cup is not included in Career Mode.
If this is due to a licensing issue, could EA not simply include a third Scottish domestic cup using the same format as the Scottish Cup already in the game, even if it cannot use the official League Cup branding?
For Scottish Career Mode players, the important thing is having the correct domestic competition structure represented.
Scotland having only one domestic cup competition in Career Mode is simply not an accurate representation of Scottish football.
2. The Scottish Premiership "Second Stage" fixtures are unrealistic
This is probably the biggest issue with the Scottish league structure.
After the first 33 games, the league splits into the top six and bottom six. However, Career Mode consistently generates unrealistic second-stage fixtures, including situations where 1st and 2nd place play each other on the final day.
As a result, when managing Rangers or Celtic, you regularly end up with Rangers v Celtic as the final fixture of the season.
That isn't how the Scottish Premiership fixture system works.
The second-stage fixtures need to take the home/away balance from the first 33 matches into account.
For example, if two teams have already played twice at one team's stadium, the corresponding fixture in the second stage should be played at the other team's stadium.
This would make the Scottish Premiership much more authentic and would prevent the same unrealistic fixtures being generated season after season.
3. Scottish Cup semi-finals
The Scottish Cup semi-finals are also not represented correctly.
The semi-finals should be played at a neutral venue rather than Career Mode simply giving one team home advantage.
EA already demonstrates that Career Mode can handle neutral semi-final venues with competitions such as the English FA Cup.
Ideally, the Scottish Cup semi-finals should be played at the same stadium used for the final, rather than being treated as standard home fixtures.
Why I'm raising this again
These aren't brand-new complaints.
I raised these issues repeatedly throughout FC26, and it is disappointing to see them continuing into FC27.
The point about the Mexican league is particularly relevant. If EA can make changes to the structure and authenticity of a league that has only recently been introduced into the game, then it demonstrates that league-specific authenticity is something the Career Mode team is capable of implementing.
The SPFL has been in EA's football games since 2005.
Scottish football has been represented in the game for more than two decades, yet basic aspects of its competition structure are still not accurately reflected in Career Mode.
This isn't asking for a completely new gameplay system or some unrealistic feature.
These are relatively straightforward issues involving:
- Competition structure
- Fixture generation
- Home and away scheduling
- Neutral venues
- Domestic cup representation
these details might seem minor, but they make a massive difference to the authenticity of Career MCareer
For someone managing a Scottish club, the whole point of Career Mode is to feel like you're actually managing that club within its real footballing environment.
If the SPFL is officially represented in EA Sports FC, Scottish players should be able to expect the league and its competitions to function as realistically as the game allows.
Scottish football deserves the same attention
I'm not expecting the SPFL to receive the same amount of resources as the Premier League, La Liga or other major leagues.
But there needs to be a level of consistency.
If newer leagues can receive attention to make their structures more authentic, why can't a league that has been part of EA's football games since 2005 receive the same treatment?
Scottish fans buy EA Sports FC. Scottish fans play Career Mode. Scottish fans have been doing so for years.
Please can someone from the Career Mode team acknowledge these issues and explain whether improving the authenticity of the SPFL is something being considered for future updates?
The SPFL has been in the game for over 20 years. It's time for Career Mode to treat it like it has.
