Football Manager 2026 Features Wishlist

With Football Manager 2026 still a few weeks far from the expected release window, the discussions are already ongoing, the debates passionate, and the FM26 wishlists growing longer by the day.

As the final whistle blows on what has been a 2-in-1 Football Manager season, the ever-passionate community of virtual gaffers, tactical masterminds, and spreadsheet warriors immediately turns its gaze to the future.

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What new innovations will Sports Interactive bring to the franchise? More importantly, what does the community truly desire to see in the next iteration of the world's most immersive football management simulation?

To answer this question, we've asked our following and scoured the realms of the Football Manager faithful, sifting through hundreds of comments to highlight the community's most pressing desires.

Even though FM remains the best football simulation experience, there's always room for growth, deeper immersion, and features that push the boundaries of virtual football.

Published: 1 September 2025

As usual FM26 is anticipated to drop around late October or early November. There will be early access (aka beta) as confirmed, so it's not unrealistic to expect early access towards late October and the full release in early November.

Are you still playing FM24 with passion or has it gotten stale for you by now? How many long savegames have you had with FM24? Are you happy with the game?

What do YOU want to see in FM26?

There are 3 ways for you to make your own feature requests:

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Now let's get to the list of features you want to see!

This FM26 wishlist highlights the best feature requests from the FM community.

	Football Manager 26 Release Date
	FM26 New Features

Football Manager 26 New Features the FM community wants

After extensive research, we've identified the dominant feature requests for Football Manager 2026. These aren't just minor tweaks; many are calls for fundamental shifts and enhancements that promise to elevate the gameplay experience to new heights.

1. Revamped Match Engine & AI

The heartbeat of the game. Time and time again, the match engine and player AI surface as the most critical areas for improvement. While Sports Interactive has made strides, players yearn for a more realistic and less predictable on-pitch experience.

More Intelligent AI:
Managers hope to see opposition AI become more responsive to their strategies, identify their flaws, and take advantage of them. Their own players, on the other hand, ought to exhibit more tactical intelligence, make wiser choices in dire situations, and make fewer "brain-fade" mistakes that frequently seem out of character. As one Facebook user put it, "I want my defenders to actually mark their man, not stare at the ball like a deer in headlights."

Varied Goal-Scoring:
There's a strong desire for a wider array of goal types. While spectacular long-range efforts are thrilling, more intricate build-up play, clever deflections, and "poacher's goals" need to feel more authentic and less repetitive.

Set Piece Overhaul:
Set pieces (corners, free kicks, and throw-ins) are often seen as a black box. The community wants greater control, more realistic results, and less reliance on seemingly random events. Imagine designing intricate set-piece routines that genuinely work, rather than hoping for the best. Several YouTube creators have already put out videos dissecting current set-piece mechanics and offering creative solutions for FM26.

FM26 Match Engine First Look

2. Deeper Staff & Youth Development

Football Manager is as much about the backroom as it is about the pitch, mostly when it comes to nurturing the future generation. The roles of coaches, scouts, and physios are crucial, yet many feel these areas could offer more depth and impact.

Dynamic Staff Roles & Specializations:
Beyond the standard coaching badges, players envision more specialized staff roles. Perhaps a "Set Piece Coach" with a profound impact, or a "Mentality Coach" focused purely on player morale and resilience. This would add a new layer of strategy to building the perfect backroom team.

Youth Academy Overhaul:
The excitement of unearthing a "wonderkid" is a core FM experience. However, the youth academy structure itself often feels somewhat static. Players want more interaction with their youth teams, clearer pathways for development, and more visible impact of their youth staff. Some suggestions include direct input on youth training schedules or a more transparent system for promoting youngsters. A popular YouTube video showcased concepts for a "Youth Development Hub" that would centralize all youth-related activities, making the process more engaging.

Player Pathways & Loans:
Managing player progression, especially for promising youngsters, needs more nuance. Enhanced loan options, including specific development objectives for loanees and clearer feedback mechanisms from their temporary clubs, would be highly valued.

Football Manager 26 News

3. Enhanced Club Management & Immersion

Football Manager is more than just a game; it's a way of life. In order to make choices that have an impact outside of the tactics screen, the community longs for even more involvement in the day-to-day operations of a team.

Real-Time Negotiations & Interactions:
Imagine a more dynamic transfer market where negotiations aren't just a series of menu clicks. Real-time conversations with agents, chairmen, and players, perhaps with branching dialogue options, could add a layer of drama and realism. This extends to contract negotiations and even dealing with player issues. One X user mused, "I want to feel like I'm actually talking to Mino Raiola, not just sending an email."

Club Infrastructure & Development:
While facilities exist, deeper control over stadium expansions, training ground upgrades, and even community outreach could add significant long-term depth. Visualizing these changes and seeing their impact on revenue or fan engagement would be a welcome addition.

Media & Fan Interaction Overhaul:
Press conferences can become repetitive. The community desires more varied questions, more impactful responses, and a clearer connection between media interactions and fan sentiment. Imagine your public remarks causing the club's fanbase to either adore or resent you.

FM26 Reimagined UI

4. Quality of Life Improvements

Many requests are for improvements that make the whole experience more pleasurable and intuitive rather than for a game-changing feature; tweaks to make the edges smooth.

Improved Scouting & Data Presentation:
The scouting system is extensive, yet it might occasionally feel too much to handle. Customizing scouting reports, having more user-friendly filtering choices, and having clearer data visualization would all be very helpful.

Tactical Flexibility & Presets:
Pre-match preparation could be streamlined with easier tactical variant loading and saving, possibly even connected to certain opponent profiles.

User Interface Enhancements:
Although the user interface is updated annually, minor enhancements to accessibility, navigation, and customization possibilities are constantly valued.

	Football Manager 2026 Screenshots
	FM 2026 System Requirements

What FM26 Could Be

Ideas abound in the Football Manager community, and our enthusiasm is evidence of the game's timeless appeal. Sports Interactive certainly has its own FM26 roadmap, but for the company to succeed going forward, it is essential to pay attention to its fans.

Not just "more" is what is being asked for, but "better," more immersion, and a more demanding and fulfilling experience that reflects the beautiful, unpredictable game of football itself.

One thing is certain as we anxiously anticipate Football Manager 2026 first look: the discussion will go on, the wishlists will change, and the hopes of in-game glory will heighten the excitement.

The community is prepared for this next level, whether it involves overhauled staff interactions, a game-changing match engine, or minor quality of life enhancements.

We'll be there as always, crafting tactics, nurturing youth prospects, and aiming for that elusive perfect season.

Which FM26 features are you most looking forward to?

Wishlist Articles by FM Version

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