Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Saturday, October 24, 2026

Updated: Saturday, October 24, 2026 · Hints reviewed by Omer Liban · New puzzle daily — free from The Athletic. · Puzzle editor: Will Jeanes.

This page has every level of help for the Connections: Soccer Edition puzzle of Saturday, October 24, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card.

Stuck on today's Soccer Edition? Work the tiers below exactly like regular Connections — one answer per group, then the themes, then the full explained solution — revealing only what you choose. (Yes, it's the football one — 'soccer' is just the branding.)

Connections: Soccer Edition is The Athletic's football version of Connections — four colour-coded groups from easiest 🟡 yellow to trickiest 🟣 purple, all about the beautiful game: players, clubs, competitions, moments. Free to play.

Soccer Connections hints (October 24, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “NEUTRAL”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “PARTIZAN”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “FIRST”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “FRATTON”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Types of fans”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Lost to real madrid in the european cup/champions league final”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “_____ team”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “_____ park”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Types of fans”, and its four answers are: NEUTRAL, PARTISAN, DIE-HARD, ULTRA.

Soccer Connections answers — October 24, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Types of fans”. The answers: NEUTRAL, PARTISAN, DIE-HARD, ULTRA.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Lost to real madrid in the european cup/champions league final”. The answers: PARTIZAN, VALENCIA, REIMS, FIORENTINA.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “_____ team”. The answers: FIRST, RESERVE, WOMEN'S, ACADEMY.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “_____ park”. The answers: FRATTON, HOME, EWOOD, SELHURST.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all football stadiums with "Park" in their names—Fratton Park, Home Park, Ewood Park, and Selhurst Park—which is why that connection felt so specific and tricky! The real bait here was PARTISAN, which absolutely screams "types of fans" and could've easily pulled you away from the PARTIZAN/Valencia/Reims/Fiorentina group (all Champions League final losers). HOME was also sneaky because it naturally fits with "_____ TEAM" alongside First, Reserve, and Academy, but it actually belongs to Home Park, the stadium in Plymouth. If you got hung up trying to make NEUTRAL or DIE-HARD work with other groups, that was the puzzle doing its job—those yellow answers were rock-solid and kept you confident, which made spotting the wordplay switch in purple even harder!

Next in today's routine: Today's Puzzle Answers → · every game's answers on one page. New puzzle daily — free from The Athletic. Bookmark this page for tomorrow's hints. Or play Soccer Connections on the official site.

More of today's puzzles

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Soccer Connections — common questions

What is Connections: Soccer Edition?

The Athletic's football version of Connections, launched in June 2026: sixteen answers, four hidden groups, all of it football — players, clubs, competitions, kits, iconic moments. Free to play, and separate from the sports edition.

Is Soccer Connections about football?

Yes — 'soccer' is the branding of The Athletic's US newsroom, but the puzzles are thoroughly football: Champions League history, World Cup winners, grounds and managers all feature.

What do the colours mean in Soccer Connections?

Same as every Connections: yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple the trickiest — typically wordplay or a link designed to catch fans out.

Previous Soccer Connections puzzles

Full Soccer Connections archive (157 puzzles) → · How to play Connections: Soccer Edition →