EFL renews agreement with Football Manager game

 

Football Manager has renewed its licensing agreement with the EFL, extending a decade-long partnership which ensures that all 72 EFL clubs and five competitions will once again feature in the game ahead of the release of Football Manager 2026 on November 4. 

The EFL has been part of the Football Manager ecosystem since 2014, building on the League’s long-standing relationship with SEGA, Sports Interactive’s parent company, which dates back to 2004. 

The continuation of the agreement underlines the close ties between English football’s professional tiers and the world’s most famous management simulation – with the EFL proving to be an attractive option for players picking up the game as they strive to take their teams up the pyramid to the Premier League.

FM26 is the first edition of the game to be developed on the Unity engine, with Sports Interactive promising a “game-changing” matchday experience and a more intuitive interface. 

For fans managing in the Championship, League One or League Two, the continuation of full licensing is designed to ensure a seamless transition between the real-life EFL and its virtual equivalent.

As part of the renewed partnership, Football Manager and the EFL will collaborate on shared initiatives aimed at strengthening the connection between the league’s real-world competition and its digital representation. For the EFL, the link is seen as a way of deepening engagement with younger audiences who may first encounter the competition through gaming rather than the turnstiles.

Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive, said: “The EFL are one of our longest-running and most successful partners, so we’re delighted to have signed a long-term extension with them.

“Their popularity in our games has always been incredibly high, but in FM24 it broke all previous records; more than 8.6 million unique careers were started with EFL sides, a 473% increase on FM23, and the Carabao Cup was the most won domestic cup in-game.

“With the EFL competitions continuing to grow in real life too, we’re looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together on and off the pitch in the years to come.”

Ben Wright, Chief Commercial Officer at the EFL, said: “We’re incredibly proud to run some of the world’s most watched and respected competitions, with a fan base that continues to grow both in the UK and abroad.

“Football Manager has been a much-loved part of football fan culture over many years, and we’re delighted to extend a long-standing partnership which brings the excitement of EFL football directly to fans’ fingertips and creates more opportunities for us to engage with them throughout the season.”