Football Manager 26 is on its way — and this year’s edition marks a landmark moment for the series: the long-awaited introduction of women’s football.
Sports Interactive first revealed plans to bring the women’s game to the series back in 2021, with the cancelled FM25 originally set to debut it. Now, after years of preparation, research and development, that vision will finally become reality when FM26 launches on 4 November 2025. The Athletic recently took a deep dive into how the studio made this leap — and what players can expect when they load up the new edition.
What Sparked the Inclusion of the Women’s Game?
For Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson, the decision to include women’s football was partly personal.
He recalls two moments that pushed him towards making the change: first, a pointed question from his niece over Christmas dinner, and second, a public panel appearance where several England women’s internationals challenged his claim that it “wouldn’t be commercially viable.”
Both moments left their mark. Jacobson says he realised Football Manager could either be part of the problem — or part of the solution. That conversation lit the fuse.
Building a Database from Scratch
Bringing women’s football to FM wasn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Tina Keech, the studio’s head of women’s football research, spent eight months laying the foundations — manually creating players, teams, and leagues while working out how their attributes should function alongside the men’s.
The scale quickly grew. Today, nearly 40 researchers contribute to a database spanning 14 leagues, 11 nations and three continents, covering over 36,000 players and 5,000 staff members.
With limited footage available for some competitions, cross-referencing information became a major challenge. The studio held closed-door “FootTalks” with people inside the sport to get deeper insight into tactics, contracts, transfers and how teams are actually run.
Balancing Realism and Accessibility
While authenticity was key, Sports Interactive also wanted to keep FM26 enjoyable and approachable.
Jacobson explained:
“We aren’t comparing men to women. You can see from athletics that different physiologies create different results… We’ve reflected that in the ratings, so getting 20 for pace or acceleration as a woman means you’re being compared to the fastest women in the world.”
Some topics, such as pregnancy and menstrual cycles, sparked debate internally but were ultimately left out for this first iteration. Jacobson said these features may come in future editions once the legal and technical challenges are addressed.
Notably, hijabs for Muslim players will be included in FM26 where appropriate — a first for the series.
Motion Capture and the New Match Engine
FM26 also introduces an all-new Unity-powered match engine, one of the main reasons FM25 was scrapped. For the women’s side of the game, motion capture was crucial. Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse provided goalkeeper animations, while former players and now broadcasters Mollie and Rosie Kmita performed the outfield movements.
“We went every Friday for six months,” Mollie Kmita said. “We did hundreds of passes, headers, tackles, reactions — even getting sent off. To see it all in the game is surreal, and something we’ll always be proud of.”
The first teaser trailer of FM26’s gameplay has already pulled in over 8.4 million views on X, showing just how much excitement the overhaul has generated.
A Potential Game-Changer for Women’s Football
Sports Interactive see this launch as only the beginning. They hope that FM26 will not only attract women and girls who may have felt excluded from the series, but also encourage the existing global player base to engage with women’s football for the first time.
“Growing up, I never imagined playing Football Manager — it wasn’t a space for us,” said Mollie Kmita. “Now someone who’s never followed women’s football might start managing a team and learn about the players, leagues and history. That’s huge.”
When starting FM26, players can choose to run men’s leagues, women’s leagues, or both side by side — managing any club in either branch of the sport. Jacobson has also welcomed community feedback for future editions, admitting the studio won’t get everything perfect on its first attempt. This, he says, is just the start of a new era.
A Historic Step Forward
The arrival of women’s football in Football Manager 26 isn’t just another new feature — it’s a landmark moment for the series and for representation in sports gaming. After years of groundwork, debate and collaboration, Sports Interactive has opened the door to a whole new world of stories, rivalries and careers waiting to be written.
For the first time, players can guide women’s clubs to glory, discover new heroes, and shape the future of the game — both on the screen and, perhaps, beyond it.