Sports Interactive has announced a multi-year partnership with FIFA, bringing official licenses for major tournaments to Football Manager 2026. The deal includes the FIFA World Cup 26, Women's World Cup, and Club World Cup, with authentic kits, graphics, and branding. A revamped International Management module will launch via content update in 2026.
The Football Manager series, developed by Sports Interactive and published by SEGA, has entered a multi-year licensing agreement with FIFA, announced on October 17, 2025. This partnership marks the first time the franchise will feature official FIFA competitions, starting with Football Manager 2026 (FM26). The agreement covers the FIFA World Cup 26—the 23rd edition and largest to date, featuring 48 national teams hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the United States—as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Key Features and Additions
FM26 will include official kits for all 48 World Cup teams, alongside broadcast graphics and tournament branding. The Women's World Cup inclusion represents a series first, enhancing representation in football gaming. A free content update in 2026 will introduce a playable, revamped International Management module for FM26, FM26 Console, and FM26 Touch, timed ahead of the real World Cup kickoff in June. This module will offer deeper international management tools, including diplomacy and youth scouting. FM26 Mobile on Netflix will feature the module from launch.
Sports Interactive Studio Director Miles Jacobson described the deal as 'an incredibly historic moment for the studio.' He added, '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 license, giving us the tournament broadcast graphics and tournament kits in-game, is a real honor.'
This follows the cancellation of Football Manager 2025 earlier in the year, during which the series transitioned to the Unity Engine for FM26—the first entry built on it. FM26 launches worldwide on November 4, 2025, across platforms including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Android, iOS, and Netflix. FM26 Touch arrives on Nintendo Switch on December 4, 2025. An open beta is scheduled for October 24, 2025.
The partnership elevates the game's authenticity, allowing players to manage official FIFA events for the first time.