What changed in Football Manager 26 in 2026

A special event inviting players to guide Curaçao in the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

A second update is scheduled to include remaining official kits and final tournament squads for FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Players can dive straight into FIFA World Cup 2026™ action with a new quick start option.

At launch, 47 of the 48 qualified nations for FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be playable.

Changes made to player condition to enhance recovery during international tournaments.

International Management has arrived with new tools and game upgrades for Football Manager 26.

New option to select Match Preparation training focuses before matches.

Updates include licensed assets for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

National Pool and National Shortlist have been updated for better player management.

Added Scouting Focuses to identify dual nationals and young players.

New tools for match preparation have been added to enhance gameplay.

Further improvements have been made to the User Interface.

In-game assets including branded headers, themed backgrounds, and new cutscenes.

Reworked squad registration flow with a new Provisional Squad selection system.

Ability to manage women’s national teams for the first time in FM history.

Updates have been made to the squad building mechanics in the game.

International management arrives in FM26 ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Players can continue their journeys in FM26 using saves from FM23 and FM24.

Multiple game screens have been redesigned for improved usability.

In-match Shouts feature has been reintroduced in FM26.

Play Football Manager 26 and Football Manager 26 Console for free until April 20th.

FM26 and FM26 Console have received updates to improve stability and performance.

Upgrades made to the Match Engine AI for enhanced gameplay.

Improvements made to in-game navigation for better user experience.

Opportunities to build a dynasty in the Ekstraklasa and improve Shrewsbury's league standing.

Includes thousands of player rating changes based on recent performances.

Experience managing the most successful club in Mexican football history.

TSG Hoffenheim's squad is highlighted as one of the most improved in the latest update.

Suggestions for new adventures including clubs like Parma, Aston Villa, and TSG Hoffenheim.

Significant upgrades for Motherwell's squad based on their impressive season performance.

New playable league featuring Briton Ferry Llansawel FC in the Adran Premier.

Reyes Cleary's Flair increased after his standout performances in League One.

Lennart Karl's Current Ability significantly increased due to his contributions in the UEFA Champions League.

Danny Ormerod's Current Ability increased following his outstanding performance in the National League North.

Romeo Vermant's Anticipation Attribute upgraded as he becomes a key player for Club Brugge.

Mateus Mane's Current Ability increased due to his performance as Wolves' youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer.

Yael Trepy's Current Ability increased following his impressive debut in Serie A.

Eli Junior Kroupi's Finishing Attribute upgraded following his prolific scoring in the Premier League.

Claudio Braga's Heading Attribute increased as he leads Hearts in their title challenge.

Viktor Dadason received a significant upgrade following his record-setting performances in the UEFA Champions League.

Yan Diomande's Finishing Attribute upgraded in recognition of his strong performance in the Bundesliga.

Aaron Drinan's Finishing Attribute increased as he enjoys a prolific season with Swindon Town.

Antoine Semenyo's Current Ability improved after scoring for Manchester City following his transfer.

Updated player transfers reflecting the January Transfer Window.

Enhanced performance for large user groups.

Includes updates for multiple leagues and tournaments.

Includes updates for African World Cup Qualifying and Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

Improvements to player decision-making, defensive positioning and Match AI

Allows players to continue their careers with new additions

Fixed an issue causing Women's Football news story to appear under Men's News classification.

Resolved inaccuracies in Player Biographies.

Addressed a crash issue when rapidly switching between In & Out Possession on the Tactics screen.

Enhanced the visual representation of the Club League History Graph.

Fixed an issue where league trophy celebrations wouldn’t trigger in certain leagues.

Resolved an issue where the incorrect Out of Possession Role tile could appear on Player Instructions.

Resolved a very rare issue making the user unable to enter matches after using Clear Squad or Quick Pick.

Enhanced defensive strategies against teams using strikerless formations.

Resolved an issue causing a black screen for several seconds when entering the second match as hot seat manager.

Resolved an issue where VAR captions would sometimes display over a goal replay.

Reduced the frequency of rain occurring in matches across all leagues.

Improved the quality of the 2D Discs when on 2D Classic View.

Resolved a crash occurring in Hotseat Mode after finishing the first match of the day.

Icons added next to the shout instructions on the Shouts dropdown menu.

Adjusted how frequently AI managers make substitutions during matches.

Pass Maps added to both in-match and Data Hub sections.

Removed duplicated responses within conversation with Agent regarding player availability.

'Knowledge' column can now be added on the Shortlist screen.

'Set for Next Match' button now highlights when selected within the Tactics screen.

Staff will now better action Opposition Instructions if set to do so via Staff Responsibilities.

Resolved issue with incorrect year winner qualifying for Intercontinental Cup.

Squad depth now displays when requesting a team report from an AI club.

Adjustments made to the amount of money spent on ageing players by Premier League/High Profile clubs.

XG in the player form tile now reflects the true figure.

Player Milestones now better reflect their actual achievements.

Making changes to stadium details now updates in real-time within the In-Game Editor.

Reasons for certain achievements not unlocking have been reworded to prevent ambiguity.

Fixed issue causing a player's displayed value to drop drastically without logical cause.

Adjustments made to player reputation boosts following matches.

Viewing Past Seasons within the Stages card now functions correctly.

Player names are now better displayed when signing multiple players for intensive language courses.

League history graph no longer defaults to any specific team initially.

Outgoing transfers now total correctly within Potential Transfer/Wage Budget Impact.

Improved functionality of customizing/rearranging column placement on the first team squad view.

Number of transfers in/out now correctly displays on saves ported from previous editions of FM.

Resolved issue causing game to freeze when using Instant Result during hotseat mode.

Stadium size now displays correctly regardless of graphics quality settings.

Fixed issue where news item discussed the team's last game at their current stadium despite the match being at a neutral venue.

Fixed issue where Squad Registration for continental competitions appeared closed despite the deadline not passing.

Squad list now updates in real-time when changes are made while the 'Pkd' column is selected.

Redesigned Season Preview tile to be full screen.

Stopped game from progressing to a Player report card when clicking attributes on the Player Edit tile.

'At Club Since' column now shows correct years instead of random numbers.

Added a scroll bar to Team/Player Analytics within the Data Hub.

Tweaks made to improve functionality of the Scroll Bar in In-Game Editor.

Continue Game Timeout preference option now functions as intended.

Fixed issue where 'Set Pieces' and 'Opposition Instructions' buttons were greyed out in Pre-Match Team Selection screen.

Fixed issue where Loan Offer message stated an optional fee of £0 agreed if no loan fee was set.

Various crash fixes implemented in In-Game Editor and Pre-Game Editor.

Fixed issue preventing Continental/International rules from verifying despite correct setup in Pre-Game Editor.

Transfer fees are now correctly allocated in the NWSL when conducting a player for cash trade.

WSL Awards no longer awarded to players not deemed eligible.

Fixed issue preventing users from offering wage previously agreed to by the player agent.

Improvements made to colour select field in In-Game Editor.

Fixed issue causing the Play/Pause button to stop working if skipping a replay.

Filtering players by dates now functions as intended within the Player Search.

Wages will now correctly display in accordance with the preference set (weekly, monthly, annually).

New full-screen design for the Stages tile.

Fixed functionality for comparison between Coaching, Recruitment, and Medical staff on the Club Site screen.

Users should receive more appropriate offers from AI Clubs when offering a player out via an Intermediary.

Tactics Induction now correctly prompted if user joins a new club via Apply for Job.

Improvements made to when the IGE button is disabled and enabled.

Adjustments made to AI player asking prices.

Added new editable fields to show OOP tactics data for AI managers.

Fixed issue causing cut off on inbox items when continuing with the New tab selected.

Transition speed preference no longer resets upon game restart.