Surprise FIFA 21 update makes big CONMEBOL Libertadores & Sudamericana changes

Alex Tsiaoussidis
FIFA 21 Update CONMEBOL Libertadores & Sudamericana

EA SPORTS dropped FIFA 21 Title Update 15, and although it doesn’t have any major gameplay changes, it’s completely reworked the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana competitions in Career Mode.

FIFA 21’s latest update isn’t groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination. There’s nothing new in terms of gameplay, nor is there any groundbreaking new content – which is to be expected given the game is late in its cycle.

However, it does make some surprise changes to the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana competitions. It also addressed some issues in FIFA Ultimate Team and Career Mode. Let’s take a look at what they are.

CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana changes

It’s about time the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana got some love. The latest FIFA update has finally tweaked the competitions to better resemble how they function in the real world. More specifically, it’s re-worked the seeding and structure in Career Mode and Tournaments.

The update also added clubs who qualified for the 2021 CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana group stages. But that’s not all. It’s even updated the rosters for those already in the competition, which was sorely needed.

And last but not least, the update refreshed many player portraits, kits, badges, ad boards, broadcast and presentation packages, and interview backdrops. It’s pretty minor compared to the other changes, but it’s a nice touch.

FIFA 21 Update CONMEBOL Libertadores & Sudamericana
South America’s most prestigious club tournament, the CONMEBOL Libertadores, has been updated in FIFA 21.

FIFA Ultimate Team and Career Mode fixes

It’s not all about the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana, though. FIFA 21 Title Update 5 also addressed some issues in FIFA Ultimate Team and Career Mode.

This includes everything from Co-Op match lobbies displaying placeholder goalkeeper kits and leaderboards not displaying correctly to an issue where players could still control their team when using the Lock To Player function.

A full list of all the changes can be found below, courtesy of the developers.

FIFA 21 Title Update 15 patch notes

General, Audio, and Video

Made the following changes:

  • Updated CONMEBOL competitions.
  • Updated CONMEBOL Libertadores seeding in Career Mode and Tournaments.
  • Updated CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana competition structure for Career Mode.
  • Added clubs who qualified for the 2021 CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana group stages where appropriate and updated rosters for existing clubs.
  • Updated some player portraits, kits, badges, ad boards, broadcast and presentation packages, and interview backdrops.

Addressed the following issue:

  • Addressed further instances of balls not displaying shadows during a match.

FIFA Ultimate Team

Addressed the following issues:

  • After viewing and exiting the Transfer Market Live Search Results for a specific Stadium Club Item Type, the selected Club Item Type filter could unintentionally change.
  • The in-game pause menu incorrectly displayed Squad names instead of Club names.
  • Co-Op match lobbies could sometimes display a placeholder goalkeeper kit instead of the Captain’s selected kit.
  • Some leaderboards did not display an icon representing the player’s platform.
  • [Stadia Only] The Squad UI could incorrectly display that some Player Items were ineligible for the Three Nations Live FUT Friendly.

Career Mode

Addressed the following issues:

  • Elland Road was not a selectable stadium for Leeds United.
  • In some cases, players could still control their whole team as usual when attempting to use the Lock To Player function.

VOLTA FOOTBALL

Addressed the following issue:

  • Placeholder text was visible in a preview thumbnail of a long sleeve white crewneck.