One of the best events in the Ultimate Team calendar has now come to a close, with the FUT Birthday festivities finishing after their second week in FIFA 23!
More fan-favourite players with big boosts and crazy upgrades entered the game, with the cards a yearly release in recognition of the inception of FUT - and this was one of the best promos EVER!
Check out everything you need to know about FUT Birthday in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team right here and stay on top of all the latest news and leaks.
FUT Birthday
FUT Birthday is a returning promo, which celebrates the anniversary of FIFA Ultimate Team.
Each year the event sees fan favourite players given enormous boosts, with cards released into packs, and also via SBCs and Objectives.
The cards released have boosts to skill moves and weak foot ability as well as the regular attributes, so it offers plenty of new and exciting options.
This year, just like last year, a Token Swaps system accompanies the event, something that is becoming more and more regular in FUT these days.
Key Dates
After plenty of confusion and then the release of the FUT Ballers promo, the FUT Birthday promo commenced on Friday, 24 March at the usual time of 1pm ET / 6pm GMT.
This release date fits with the history of the promo as it has always come in mid-March to match the original release of FUT on Thursday, 19 March 2009.
The promo will run for two weeks, with mini-releases arriving on Sundays for the Team 1 and Team 2 squads.
Team 2 arrived on Friday, 31 March, with a further mini-release following on Sunday, 2 April.
A Token Swaps campaign is also accompanying the event, with the first ones released on Monday, 20 March, and the corresponding SBCs going live on Monday, 27 March.
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All Cards
With Team 1 and Team 2 coming to packs, both with a Mini-Release, FUT Birthday Icons, and players coming via SBCs and Objectives, there are plenty of cards to keep on top of!
Team 1
The FUT Birthday Team 1 squad is now available in packs, and it is simply out of this world! Every player selected for a FUT Birthday item has been handed either five-star skill moves or a five-star weak foot... or both!
Portuguese duo Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix have both been given incredible cards that will no doubt cost a hefty sum on the transfer market.
Brazilian ballers Marquinhos and Emerson Royale also stand out, alongside German veteran and Bayern Munich playmaker Thomas Muller.
The entire FUT Birthday Team 1 squad is as follows:
- Bernardo Silva (OVR 93)
- Marquinhos (OVR 91)
- Thomas Muller (OVR 91)
- Joao Felix (OVR 89)
- Alban Lafont (OVR 89)
- Emerson Royale (OVR 88)
- Samuel Chukwueze (OVR 87)
- Yeray (OVR 86)
- Djibril Sow (OVR 86)
Mini-Release:
- Oleksandr Zinchenko (OVR 90)
- Darwin Nunez (OVR 89)
- Koke (OVR 88)
Team 2
The second FUT Birthday squad has now hit packs, with Team 2 bringing some incredible cards to FIFA 23 Ultimate Team.
The best of the lot has to be Vinicius Jr, with maximum pace as well as 5-Star Skill Moves and 5-Star Weak Foot!
His Brazilian compatriot Antony also has 5-Star in both, so get ready to face the duo a lot in Weekend League.
The entire FUT Birthday Team 2 squad is as follows:
- Vinicius Jr (OVR 92)
- Bruno Guimaraes (OVR 91)
- Mats Hummels (OVR 90)
- Stephen El Shaarawy (OVR 89)
- Alex Telles (OVR 89)
- Timo Werner (OVR 89)
- Antony (OVR 88)
- Andre Onana (OVR 88)
- Simon Kjaer (OVR 87)
Mini-Release:
- Matteo Guendouzi (OVR 88)
- Matteo Pessina (OVR 87)
- Joakim Maehle (OVR 86)
Objectives and SBCs
The following players have gained a special card during the FUT Birthday campaign:
- Joselu (OVR 88) - OBJ
- Gregore (OVR 85), Out of Position Daniel Maldini (OVR 85), Jesse Lingard (OVR 86) & Romain Alessandrini (OVR 87) - OBJ
- Pedri (OVR 91) - SBC
- FUT Birthday Icon Rivaldo (OVR 93) - SBC
- Alex Iwobi (OVR 89) - SBC
- Axel Disasi (OVR 87) - SBC
- Michail Antonio (OVR 89) - SBC
- Showdown Morgan Gibbs-White (OVR 88) & Matheus Cunha (OVR 88) - SBC
- N'Golo Kante (OVR 92) - SBC
- Alex Sandro (OVR 89) - SBC
- Piero Hincapie (OVR 87) - OBJ
- Christopher Nkunku (OVR 89) - SBC
- Winter Wildcards Giorgio Chiellini (OVR 87), FUT Centurions Ante Rebic (OVR 87), Future Stars Mohammed Kudus (OVR 87) & FUT Hero Ledley King (OVR 86) - OBJ
- FUT Birthday Icon Gennaro Gattuso (OVR 92) - SBC
- Jonathan Bamba (OVR 87) - SBC
- Adrien Rabiot (OVR 88) - SBC
- Pedro (OVR 88) - SBC
- Ridle Baku (OVR 87) - SBC
- Corentin Tolisso (OVR 89) - SBC
- Marcus Tavernier (OVR 74) - OBJ
- Showdown Thomas Meunier (OVR 87) & Showdown Jerome Roussillon (OVR 87) - SBC
- Nicolas Gonzalez (OVR 87) - SBC
FUT Birthday Icons
If the main teams and a Swaps Token system weren't enough, FUT Birthday Icons have also entered the game, bringing some of football's most iconic players to FUT's birthday celebrations.
The likes of Eric Cantona and Jairzinho were included in the first-ever release of FUT Birthday Icons, with the Frenchman receiving 5-Star ratings for both his Weak Foot and Skill Moves.
George Best and Ferenc Puskas were also among the eight Icons released on Friday, 24 March, with another eight added on Friday, 31 March.
Icon SBCs have not stopped either during FUT Birthday, and a special FUT Birthday Rivaldo is currently available to add to your club. Find out how to unlock FUT Birthday Rivaldo.
READ MORE: Check out all the FUT Birthday Icons here.
Twin Upgrades Mini-Release
We have seen mini-releases during FUT promos before, and FUT Birthday has had some new special items arrive in packs over the weekend!
This time though, EA has released "Twin Upgrades" for players, with a total of six new items added into packs in each mini-release.
The two versions for each player have the same attributes, but will either have 5-Star Weak Foot OR 5-Star Skill Moves.
For defenders and midfielders, this makes little difference, but there has been a big price gap between the two versions of Liverpool's Darwin Nunez...
Swaps System
As with last year, a Token Swaps system is accompanying the FUT Birthday event!
The Swaps campaign works just like previous events, where you gain Tokens from Objectives, SBCs, and the FUT Store, then trade them in via corresponding SBCs to unlock awesome rewards.
The rewards have now been revealed, with the SBCs available to be redeemed from Monday, 27 March.
The full list of FUT Birthday Swaps rewards is as follows:
- 1 Token - 81+ x11 Rare Players Pack
- 2 Tokens - World Cup Icon Hernan Crespo (OVR 89)
- 3 Tokens - FUT Birthday Team 1 Player Pack
- 5 Tokens - 82+ x20 Rare Players Pack
- 10 Tokens - 85+ x10 Rare Players Pack
- 15 Tokens - 87+ RTTF, Fantasy FUT Hero, Fantasy FUT or FUT Birthday Team 1 Player Pick (1 of 5)
- 17 Tokens - Prime Icon Rio Ferdinand (OVR 90)
- 20 Tokens - Two 84+ x20 Rare Players Packs
- 20 Tokens - FUT Birthday Icon Alan Shearer (OVR 92)
- 27 Tokens - 90+ Prime Icon Player Pick (1 of 4)
You can earn 30 Swaps Tokens in-game, as well as additional bonus ones through the FUT Store.
READ MORE: FUT Birthday Swaps Token Tracker
FUT Birthday Leaks
All the FUT Birthday leaks we saw for Team 1 have now appeared in-game, so we expect to see the following players come as SBCs or Objectives during the Team 2 release:
- EOAE Mesut Ozil (OVR 93) - SBC
- Saed Kolasinac (OVR 89) - OBJ/SBC