Women’s football will be introduced in the long-awaited next edition of the Football Manager franchise and here SheKicks reveals all the details you need to know ahead of the release of FM26.
Football Manager 2026 release date and early access details
Football Manager 2026 will be released worldwide on Tuesday, November 4th.
The game will be released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Football Manager 2026 Mobile will also be launched on the same date as a Netflix exclusive.
Those wishing to play the game on Nintendo Switch will have to wait until a month later on December 4th.
However, fans can get early access if playing the game on PC or Mac if they pre-order the game via an approved retailer such as Steam or Amazon.
The beta went live on October 23rd and gamers can carry over their saves once the game is officially launched in November.
Does FM26 include women’s football?
Football Manager 2026 is the first in the title’s history to include women’s football.
Women’s and men’s football will co-exist within the same save and Sports Interactive has confirmed there will be over 36,000 players and 5,000 members of staff.
Women’s football was set to be introduced in Football Manager 2025, before Sports Interactive decided to cancel the game.
What differences are there in women’s to men’s football in FM26?
The game incorporates a transfer system that reflects the women’s game with lower transfer fees, shorter contracts and more free agent movement.
Injuries also reflect the women’s game. This could see an increase in the number of ACL injuries with the women’s game seeing a number of knee injuries this month.
The most recent ACL injury was suffered by Liverpool striker Sophie Roman Haug.
Manuela Zinsberger, Lena Oberdorf, Liana Joseph and Marie Hobinger have also suffered serious knee injuries in October.
Which women’s leagues are playable in FM26?
It was confirmed last month that the WSL and WSL 2 will be playable in FM26.
The following leagues and competitions will also be made available in the game.
- National Women’s Soccer League (USA)
- Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany)
- WE League (Japan)
- Serie A Femminile (Italy)
- OBOS Damallsvenskan (Sweden)
- Elitettan (Sweden)
- A-Liga (Denmark)
- A-League Women (Australia)
- Adran Premier (Wales)
- Premiere Ligue (France)
- Liga F (Spain)
- Primera Federacion (Spain)
- Women’s Champions League
Is international football available in FM26?
After concerns that international football would not be in the game, Football Manager and FIFA recently signed a multi-year deal.
The deal means that both the men’s and women’s World Cups and the men’s FIFA Club World Cup will be available in the game.
International management will be available in FM26 Mobile on Netflix from launch, but a date has not yet been confirmed for when it will be introduced to PC and console versions.
Why was Football Manager 2025 cancelled?
FM26 will be game’s first title in two years after Football Manager 2025 was cancelled after two delays.
In a statement published in February, the developers wrote: “Due to a variety of challenges that we’ve been open about, and many more unforeseen, we currently haven’t achieved what we set out to do in enough areas of the game, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team.”
“Each decision to delay the release was made with the aim of getting the game closer to the desired level but as we approached critical deadlines at the turn of the year, it became unmistakably clear that we would not achieve the standard required.”
