This year’s iteration of Football Manager will finally include official FIFA licensing for the first time.
A new multi-year licensing deal between Sports Interactive and FIFA has been signed, which will add official licenses to the game beginning with next year’s FIFA World Cup 26 in Canada, Mexico and USA, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
The inclusion coincides with a revamped International Management module in an update due next year in advance of the World Cup – that’s starting in June. The update will arrive across all versions of the game, including the Console and Touch versions.
As such, it means all official kits of the final 48 teams in the FIFA World Cup 26 will be included in the game, alongside broadcast graphics and tournament branding.
“Revealing this partnership with FIFA is an incredibly historic moment for the studio,” said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson.
“Heading into a World Cup year, revamping International Management and making it a much more feature-rich module for our players was important.
“To be able to do that with the support of FIFA with an official licence, giving us the tournament broadcast graphics and tournament kits in-game, is a real honour and something we’re delighted our fans will be able to experience next year.
“And this is just the start of our relationship – stay tuned for more to come in 2026 and beyond.”
News of the FIFA license follows the inclusion of the women’s game to Football Manager 26, in another first for the series.
Football Manager 26 will be released worldwide across all platforms on 4th November, made for the first time with the Unity Engine.
Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell recently went hands-on with Football Manager 26 to see how that new engine has impacted gameplay, for better and worse: “it’s going to take a lot of getting used to.”
