Football Manager 26 brings an exciting new feature that will change the game and make FM history!
Football Manager 26 is bringing back a big feature later this month – but with two big changes that fans will notice. The game first came out in November, marking the first new Football Manager since FM25 got cancelled.
Miles Jacobson, the studio director at Sports Interactive, explained that “things went wrong” while making FM25. It was supposed to be the first FM game made using the Unity engine. Jacobson told The Athletic that he tried an early version before Christmas, which was planned for a March 2025 release. But he realized quickly it just wasn’t ready.
“I literally sat there and couldn’t find things in my own game,” he said. “It was pretty embarrassing. Within an hour, I thought: ‘We can’t release this.’”
Back in September 2024, SI announced that international management wouldn’t be part of FM25. They said only 5.6% of PC players used that mode, and it needed big changes. It also didn’t launch with FM26, even though SI signed a deal with FIFA before the 2026 World Cup.
Now, international management is officially coming back on May 26 – just under three weeks before the World Cup starts in the US, Canada, and Mexico. This will be the first FM where the World Cup is fully licensed. That means official logos, broadcast graphics, real kits (once released), and even the World Cup ball will be in the game.
For the first time, players will also be able to manage women’s international teams, since women’s football was added to FM when FM26 launched. The full list of national teams hasn’t been shared yet.
Jacobson said, “International Management will return as a free update for Football Manager 26, as well as the Console and Touch versions, on May 26.” He added that the date depends on platform approval and licensing deals, including with kit makers. More details will come soon.
He also mentioned a second update planned for June that will add final licensed details, like the official 26-player squads for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Jacobson also responded to some players’ concerns about the new user interface. The updated UI in FM26 has been a bit tricky for some to use compared to before.
“Our top priority for the next release is fixing the things players keep pointing out,” he said. “We want to make the game world, UI navigation, and the UI itself more immersive. We’re making good progress.”
He finished by saying, “Everyone at the studio wants to earn your trust again. We know we have to earn it, not expect it. We’ll keep you updated when the time is right and look forward to sharing more soon.”