FIFPRO
FIFPRO
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05/11/2025
  • Football Manager 26 launches today with addition of women players
  • Players from seven countries included under licensing deal with FIFPRO
  • The video game will help further lift the profile of women’s football

Football Manager, the iconic video game that dates to 1992, will feature women’s football players for the first time under a breakthrough agreement between Sports Interactive and FIFPRO.

Football Manager 26, which launches today, includes women’s football players from Australia, Denmark, England, France, Italy, Japan and Sweden under a licensing deal brokered by FIFPRO and national unions in those countries on behalf of players.

The new title will for the first time allow fans to test their skill and knowledge of both the men’s and women’s game. Football Manager already counts on football men’s players from 55 countries under an existing long-running naming rights deal.

The first Football Manager game made with the Unity engine, FM26 refreshes the entire managerial experience and marks the start of a new era in Sports Interactive™’s and SEGA©’s iconic history.

Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive Studio Director, said: "FIFPRO is a long-running partner of the studio and SEGA, so I’m delighted that we’re expanding our relationship for FM26.

"To ensure women’s football arrived in FM with the authenticity and legitimacy that our games are renowned for, we needed the support of FIFPRO, and we’re really pleased with what we’ve already been able to achieve together. FIFPRO does so much good work with players worldwide and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the coming years."

FIFPRO is a not-for-profit organisation representing 70 national player associations with a combined membership of more than 65,000 men's and women's football players. FIFPRO and its affiliated national unions have helped to advance the rights of women’s football players for decades.

Al Buset, FIFPRO Commercial Director, said: "This is one of the most exciting agreements that we have worked on in recent times: FM26 increases the spotlight on women’s football players and allows fans to deepen their enthusiasm for the women’s game.

"We applaud Sports Interactive’s important first step in the women’s game, and we are committed to keep working with them on new opportunities."