The arcade-style play of Academy of Champions: Soccer is the primary focus of this particular soccer video game. The participant assumes the role of a new Brightfield Academy student specializing in soccer coaching. The mentor will either be Pelè or Mia Hamm, both of whom are former soccer players. This will be determined by the gender of the character that the player chooses to play. In this section, the player can develop the career by training minigames and matches, conversing with other people, selecting teammates, purchasing equipment that improves stats, or utilizing experience points obtained from previous sections to enhance their four ability scores. This mode is the most essential part of the game; aside from it, the only options are competing in rapid matches or minigames.
The arcade style is most visible on the field, where each team consists of only five athletes, and each player possesses a unique gift: an over-the-top super move as their individual “super move.” It cannot be used until the linked bar has been filled with successful acts, which is the only time it can be triggered. However, it can also be depleted by doing simple actions such as dodging projectiles or running. Regular minigames are played (mainly by hitting buttons) to decide which athlete will compete next in a battle between two athletes. The entirety of the game is rendered in a comic book style, and characters make cameo appearances from many other properties published by Ubisoft. Either the controls are streamlined (consisting of just the Remote) or standard (consisting of both the Remote and the Nunchuk). MotionPlus and Balance Board support are only available for select minigames.
