Bundesliga Moves eFootball Open Qualifier to Ultimate Team, Sets 16+ Age Limit
The league's open competition will now be held inside the game's card-pack system, which has a PEGI 16 rating for paid random items.
The Bundesliga will hold the open qualifier for its German eFootball singles championship inside the Ultimate Team mode of EA Sports FC 27, the league announced on Oct. 5.
The competition, renamed the VBL Player Championship by WOW, starts on Oct. 28 and replaces the previous VBL Open. Players will compete with their own Ultimate Team squads built from Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga players while representing one of the 36 clubs.
Felix Rentschler, Head of Virtual Bundesliga at the Bundesliga, said the minimum age for participation is 16. "We have therefore set a clear age limit, which also takes into account the international PEGI rating for EA SPORTS FC 27," he said.
The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) board rates EA Sports FC 27 at 16 with the descriptor "Paid random items," stating the game "received a PEGI 16 because it features the ability to purchase loot boxes." The binding rating in Germany from the USK is 12, with notices for increased purchase incentives and pressure to keep playing.
The qualifying format features four ladders running from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, Jan. 27 to Feb. 2, with the last ending on March 2. The top 15 players from each ladder advance to playoffs on April 3-4.
The final on April 16-17, 2027, at XPERION Hamburg has 16 places, with eight going to players from the VBL Club Championship and eight decided in the Player Championship playoffs. The prize pool is €100,000, the same as last season, and both finalists qualify for the FC Pro World Championship.
Rentschler said the mode "will generally use Bundesliga player items from EA SPORTS FC 27 Ultimate Team" and that squad restrictions will be defined by the Bundesliga and built into the game to ensure "that comparable sporting conditions are created for all participants." He did not specify whether cards from paid packs would be allowed or detail the restrictions.
He said the move follows "the actual playing behaviour of the EA SPORTS FC community." "Instead of having to use a separate competition mode, players will in future be able to take part in the VBL directly within their familiar gaming environment," Rentschler said.
Monica Dinsmore, Head of Esports at EA, said in the release that the redesign is meant to ensure "that competitors at every level have a clear and fair path to prove themselves."
Tobias Meyer, head of editorial at PC Games, criticized the move in an Oct. 5 column, calling Ultimate Team "the absolute opposite of a fair competition" and arguing players with little time or money will not be able to build top teams.
The age limit of 16 is not new, as VBL Open already required players to be at least 16 and resident in Germany. Rentschler said the new competition is open to players aged 16 and over who are ordinarily resident in Germany, as well as international players contracted to a Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga club who play their matches from Germany.
Players under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at offline events, he added.
German law does not treat Ultimate Team packs as gambling, and EA sells FC Points everywhere except Belgium and South Korea. Pressure is building in Germany, however, as the Bundesrat asked the federal government in November 2025 to examine rules for loot boxes, including mandatory age verification from 18.
The league did not disclose how many players took part in VBL Open. Rentschler said it has set participation targets for the new mode based on previous years, "however, we do not disclose the specific target figures publicly."
Details of the Player Championship format "will be published here in due time before the start," according to the league's page.
