The EA Sports FIFA 22’s Ones to Watch promo will feature 28 newly-transferred players including PSG’s Lionel Messi and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo – six more than in FIFA 21.
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EA Sports has today announced the release date for their Ones to Watch promo in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team, with two teams to be released.
The Ones to Watch (OTW) promo is a yearly event that is released by EA in correlation with the FIFA release date, and the promo consists of giving a special dynamic item to all the high-profile and attention-drawing players who have transferred clubs during the summer transfer window.
Each special OTW dynamic item has the potential to upgrade based on how players perform for their new clubs. As players earn Team of the Week and Man of the Match Items throughout the season, their OTW Items will upgrade, too.
And brand-new for FIFA 22, OTW Items will be eligible for a ‘Wins to Watch’ upgrade, a one-time, +1 In-Form boost given to an OTW Item if their new club wins five out of their next ten domestic league games starting from October 1, 2021.
Here’s everything you need to know about the OTW promo’s release dates, confirmed players so far, and more information on the free OTW player item available to players who pre-ordered FIFA 22 Ultimate Edition.
Confirmed OTW release date
In FIFA 21, 22 players were involved in the OTW promo, with two teams of 11 players being released over a two-week period.
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Image:
EA SPORTS FIFA)
However, after one of the biggest summer transfer windows of all time, EA has decided to up the number of players in the promo from 22 to 28, adding an additional six players that will be released in groups of three for two ‘mini releases’.
The table below outlines each release date in the OTW promo between October 1 and October 13.
DATES |
PACK RELEASE |
October 1 – October 8 |
OTW Team 1 – First XI |
October 3 – October 8 |
OTW Team 1 – Mini Release |
October 8 – October 13 |
OTW Team 2 – First XI |
October 10 – October 13 |
OTW Team 2 – Mini Release |
As you can see from the table, the OTW Team 1 is set to be available from October 1 to 8, with the first mini release happening on October 3 and ending the same day.
Team 2 will then be released on October 8 and end on October 13, with the second mini release dropping on October 10 and also finishing on the 13th.
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EA SPORTS FIFA)
Players who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition of FIFA 22 will receive an untradable, guaranteed OTW item on October 1.
However, the item you receive will be based on when you open your pack containing the player, meaning you could save your pack and get a player from Team 2 instead.
The table below outlines what OTW item you could get based on the date you open your pack.
DATES |
OTW PRE-ORDER PACK CONTENT |
October 1 – October 3 |
OTW Team 1 First XI Only |
October 3 – October 8 |
OTW Team 1 Only |
October 8 – October 10 |
OTW Team 2 First XI Only |
October 10 – October 13 |
OTW Team 2 Only |
October 13 onwards |
OTW Team 1 and 2 |
Confirmed FIFA 22 OTW players so far
Eight of the 28 players have already been confirmed by EA to feature in the FIFA 22 OTW promo, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jack Grealish and David Alaba a couple of the standouts after their summer transfers.
The full list of players to be released is below:
- Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain – 93 rated
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United – 91 rated
- Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea – 88 rated
- Achraf Hakimi – Paris Saint-Germain – 85 rated
- David Alaba – Real Madrid – 84 rated
- Jack Grealish – Manchester City – 84 rated
- Georginio Wijnaldum – Paris Saint-Germain – 84 rated
- Ibrahim Konate – Liverpool – rating unknown
FIFA 22 will be released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021, with the game available on Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
Players who pre-order the Ultimate Edition of FIFA 22 on next-gen or current-gen will receive a free OTW player item as well as four days early access and will be able to play the game from Monday, September 27, 2021.