EA has lifted the lid on a brand new multiplayer game mode called Ultimate Team that players of FIFA 09 on Xbox 360 and PS3 will be able to download from March 19th.

The publisher says that over 141m games of FIA 09 have been played across Xbox 360 and PS3 since the game was released late last September, and that an average of 1.25m online matches are played each day – that represents a 321 per cent increase over FIFA 08.

FIFA 09 Ultimate Team will be free to trial, though its full price has yet to be announced. It will allow players to collect 30 different types of bronze, silver and gold cards with which they can assemble a fantasy team with which to take on others online.

“Online is the next great frontier in sports gaming,” EA’s VP and executive producer for FIFA Andrew Wilson stated. “We are seeing a record number of individuals globally playing FIFA 09 online so we are focused on developing games that maximize the online experience. A dedicated team developed FIFA 09 Ultimate Team and they have created a game within the game, delivering a strategic new way to play FIFA 09 that will create hundreds of additional hours of playing time.”