EA FC 27 The Grounds is a new open-world social football experience built around Clubs, Street Football, smaller multiplayer matches, and your created Pro.

Up to 100 players can share the same world, with The Grounds split across three football-inspired districts based on the United Kingdom, France, and Argentina. Instead of sitting in menus waiting for Clubmates, you can walk around, find other players, watch live matches, jump into 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 games, play Kickabouts, or enter larger Clubs experiences.

Everything also feeds back into your Pro. Playing across The Grounds earns Grounds Coins and Archetype XP (AXP), giving you another route to develop your character.

Here's everything you need to know about The Grounds in EA FC 27.

What is The Grounds in EA FC 27?

The Grounds is essentially the new social home of EA FC 27 Clubs.

Rather than Clubs existing almost entirely through menus, your Pro enters a shared football world containing other players, Clubmates, pitches, activities, shops, and access points for larger matches.

You don't need to be playing with your full Club to use it. You can enter smaller games with other players, find potential teammates, spectate matches, explore, or simply play while waiting for friends to come online.

The Grounds is available from the beginning, so you don't need to reach a certain level to unlock its different areas.

How many players can be in The Grounds?

The Grounds supports up to 100 players in the same shared world.

Players are spread across a central area called The Terrace and three surrounding districts.

The world is also designed around live activity. Matches happening on nearby pitches aren't just background animations. You can watch games from the sidelines, see how other players perform, and potentially find people to play with or recruit to your Club.

All EA FC 27 The Grounds districts

The Grounds contains three main districts, with The Terrace connecting them.

Each is inspired by a different football culture:

What can you play in EA FC 27 The Grounds?

The Grounds goes well beyond walking around an open social hub.

There are several types of football and multiplayer activities available throughout the world.

Street Football

Street Football provides smaller matches across The Grounds.

Available formats include:

• 1v1
• 2v2
• 3v3

You can find pitches around the world and check the information board beside each one before joining.

Once you've found a game, enter the queue area and select Play. You can watch the current match from the sidelines while waiting for enough players to join.

Kickabouts

Kickabouts are shorter multiplayer activities with alternative rules and objectives.

Rather than simply playing another standard football match, they mix football mechanics with different sports and challenges.

EA has confirmed activities inspired by basketball, dodgeball, and bocce ball, while its Help documentation lists games such as Bucketball, Balloon Ball, and Bocce Ball.

The available Kickabouts are designed to change over time, so The Grounds isn't limited to the activities available around launch.

Rush

Rush also returns as part of The Grounds.

You can access Ranked Rush and Rush Live Event Tournaments from locations inside the world. Stadium Rush can also be accessed through stadium entry points.

Entering one of these larger experiences can temporarily take you out of the current Grounds instance before returning afterwards.

Clubs 11v11

Traditional Clubs hasn't disappeared.

You can still play full 11v11 Clubs matches, with stadium access points around The Grounds providing entry into larger competitive experiences.

FC 27 also adds Club Tournaments and Live Events, giving Clubs additional competition outside the usual Seasons and Playoffs structure.

How to join games in The Grounds

You don't need to search through traditional menus every time you want to play.

Find a Street Football or Kickabout location and look for its information board and queue area.

The process is simple:

1. Find the activity you want to play.
2. Check the information board for its rules.
3. Enter the queue area.
4. Select Play.
5. Wait for enough players to join.

You can watch the match already happening while waiting.

Some activities can also create another match once enough players enter the queue, so you won't necessarily have to wait for the current game to finish.

How The Grounds progression works

Almost everything you play contributes to your Pro.

Matches and activities can reward:

• Archetype XP (AXP)
• Grounds Coins

AXP contributes to your Pro's Archetype progression, while Grounds Coins form part of the wider progression and customization economy.

This means playing 2v2 or experimenting with Kickabouts isn't completely separate from Clubs progression.

Limited-time modes such as Club Tournaments and Playoffs can provide greater rewards, giving competitive players another reason to move between activities rather than staying in one mode.

EA FC 27 Archetypes, Amps and Masteries explained

Archetypes remain central to how you build your Clubs Pro, but The Grounds introduces more ways to customize them.

Two of the most important additions are Amps and Masteries.

What are Amps?

Amps add signature abilities to an Archetype.

They can even give your player abilities that aren't normally associated with that position. EA uses the example of a left-back gaining a Roberto Carlos-style Power Shot.

Higher-tier Amps can be inspired by real footballers and performances, and more can be introduced alongside future FC campaigns and football events.

This gives you another way to specialize your Pro rather than simply chasing higher attributes.

What are Masteries?

Masteries encourage you to develop complementary Archetypes.

Fully mastering one Archetype can require progress in others.

For example, developing a striker may eventually require you to spend time working through midfield progression to unlock an ability associated with creative passing.

The idea is to reward more rounded player development rather than having everyone remain locked into one build forever.

What are Mentors in The Grounds?

You'll find football stars acting as Mentors around the three districts.

The initial mentors are:

• Kylian Mbappé
• Chloe Kelly
• Paulo Dybala

There is one associated with each district.

Mentors are designed to help players through The Grounds experience while reinforcing its street-to-stadium progression theme.

How to find players in The Grounds

The map makes it easier to see where everyone is.

Player markers use different colors:

How to fast travel in The Grounds

You don't always need to walk across the entire world.

Open the Menu, highlight a Street Football or Kickabout location, and select Travel to move directly there.
 

Fast travel is specifically available for these gameplay locations, making it useful when you already know what you want to play.

You can also place map waypoints for locations such as your Clubhouse, shops, Rush Drop-In, 11v11 Drop-In, and gameplay areas and then follow the marker normally.

How Clubs work with The Grounds

The Grounds isn't replacing Clubs. It is effectively expanding the world around it.

Your Club remains at the center of the experience, and what your team achieves can become visible in the world.

As your Club builds its reputation:

• more fans can wear your Club's kits;
• your Clubhouse can improve;
• your stadium can level up;

Club banners can appear around districts when Clubmates play together.

You can also use the social world to find potential Club recruits.

Because matches can be watched live from the sidelines, you can see another player performing before deciding whether you want to team up or potentially bring them into your Club.

Can you play The Grounds without friends?

Yes.

This is one of the main reasons The Grounds exists.

You don't need to wait until several Clubmates are online. You can find other players, join smaller games, enter Rush, explore activities, watch matches, or meet potential teammates.

Is The Grounds replacing VOLTA in EA FC 27?

The Grounds clearly occupies some of the space players may associate with EA's previous street-football experiences, but it is built much more closely around Clubs and your Pro.

The emphasis isn't simply on having a separate small-sided football mode.

Street Football, Kickabouts, social spaces, customization, Archetypes, Clubs progression, Rush and 11v11 are connected through one shared environment.

It's better to think of The Grounds as an open social layer around Clubs with street football built into it, rather than simply another standalone street-football mode.

Which platforms have EA FC 27 The Grounds?

The Grounds isn't available on every FC 27 platform.

It is available on:

• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X|S
• PC
• Nintendo Switch 2

The Grounds is not available on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Because Clubs is integrated into The Grounds on supported systems, this platform difference is important if you're deciding which version of FC 27 to play.

Is The Grounds open world?

Yes, although it is better described as a shared open-world football playground than a traditional open-world game.

You can freely move around its districts, encounter other players, watch live matches, visit locations, find activities and choose what you want to play.

Up to 100 players can occupy the shared environment, and the world connects smaller activities with the wider Clubs experience.

You aren't driving around a huge city or completing a traditional open-world campaign. The focus remains football, your Pro and the community around Clubs.

EA FC 27 The Grounds: What you need to know

The Grounds is FC 27's new shared social world and the new home of Clubs on supported platforms.

It combines up to 100 players, three football-inspired districts, The Terrace, Street Football, 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, Kickabouts, Rush, 11v11, Club Tournaments and social features in one environment.

Playing these activities also matters to your Pro because you can earn AXP and Grounds Coins, while Amps and Masteries expand how Archetypes develop.