Matchmaking Latency in FC Pro Open Ladder Africa Region

To the EA SPORTS FC Development and Competition Teams,

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the current matchmaking implementation for the FC Pro Open Ladder, specifically within the Africa region.

Since the removal of the traditional match lobby, the game forces players directly from the matchmaking queue into the loading screen and onto the pitch. This design choice completely strips players of the ability to verify connection latency or back out of a high-ping match before it begins.

While my connection remains consistently excellent with low ping in standard modes like Division Rivals, the FC Pro Open Ladder exhibits a severe and frustrating "2 games in, 2 games out" pattern. The system regularly forces me onto distant European or Middle Eastern servers instead of local South African data centres to satisfy ELO parameters.

This issue ruins the competitive integrity of the mode for both sides:

• Unfair Gameplay Disadvantage: Playing a highly competitive mode with a sudden spike to 100ms+ ping makes precise inputs impossible.
• Frequent Forfeits and Wasted Time: The connection is often so unplayable that opponents who are matched against me on a bad server immediately forfeit the match as soon as it kicks off.

A competitive ladder should never force a match that breaks basic latency thresholds. I request that the development team either reinstates a pre-match ping indicator or tightens the regional matchmaking filters for the Africa region to prevent cross-continent routing.