After almost two years since fans of Football Manager have had something new to play, Football Manager 26 has finally hit the shelves. The latest edition of the iconic series has an exciting new addition. Women’s football.
Fans can now control teams from a staggering twelve leagues including, the WSL, WSL2, Frauen-Bundesliga, Arkema PL, Liga F, Adran Premier, the NWSL, Serie A Femminile, WE League, OBOS Damallsvenskan, Elitettan, the A-Liga and A-League Women, along with the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Three female Football Manager streamers, Katy, Jenna and Monique, shared their thoughts about the return of the game and the introduction of women’s football into the franchise:
Jenna said:
“I’m climbing the walls with excitement! Us FM players are creatures of habit and missing our annual fix has made the anticipation for FM26 even bigger than usual. Personally, I haven’t played any Football Manager since the cancellation so I’m just itching to get started again with a new save. The wait’s been long, but it also means that first “new game” click is going to feel better than ever.”
Katy shares Jenna’s eagerness for the release of the new game and its newest addition:
“Very excited; I can’t wait to dig into the women’s leagues, but also I think for some of the journey-woman type saves I tend to do, I think that adding women’s football brings a ton of new opportunities for storytelling within those!”
Ask anyone who has played the ever-popular game series and they will tell you there is nothing quite like guiding a team up through the leagues, unearthing the next big star, or bringing through a regenerated player from your academy to global stardom.
Monique was quick to highlight just how captivating a good Football Manager save is:
“My favourite save I’ve ever done in FM was with Ytterhogdals IK. A semi-pro team in the Swedish 4th tier. It’s been years since I played that. But I still religiously check their Instagram and try to keep up with how they’re doing because I accidentally fell in love. I think every FM player has one or more of these teams. In FM you explore, and you can end up anywhere.”
Jenna also paid homage to the obsessive Football Manager community and what that could bring to the world of virtual women’s football:
“The FM community is global and obsessive – once people are invested, the conversations will build on that, and women’s football will gain even more exposure.”
With the latest instalment of the ever-popular game series about to hit shops and laptops, the reception of the game amongst seasoned players remains to be seen.
However, women’s football in Football Manager is now being given the respect and love it so richly deserves.
Katy – https://x.com/InvWingbacks
Jenna – https://x.com/theFFM_
Monique – https://x.com/MooonoStreams
