Football Manager 26 is nearly with us, bringing with it a huge amount of changes and improvements. As well as overhauled Match Day presentation and in-game menus, Sports Interactive has added more countries and leagues to this year’s game. Three major additions feature in FM26, with Lithuania, U.A.E. and Egypt and their respective leagues now playable.
That being said, there are still some noticeable omissions in this year’s outing. For example, the fast-growing Saudi Pro League is just one that stands out, that’s until mods find a way to get it into the game. Below, we’ll go through all of the leagues and countries included in FM 26, as well as those that are missing.
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All Football Manager 26 leagues
There are a total of 58 playable nations for the men’s game in Football Manager 26, up from around 55 in FM 24. For the first time in the series, Women’s Football is included. At launch, there will be 14 playable leagues across 11 nations and three continents, Si has confirmed.
| Continent | Country / Nation | Men’s Leagues | Women’s Leagues |
| AFRICA | Egypt | Egyptian Premier League | – |
| South Africa | Premier Soccer League, National First Division Championship | – | |
| ASIA | Australia | Isuzu UTE A-League | A-League Women |
| China | Chinese Super League, Chinese National First Division | – | |
| Hong Kong (China PR) | Hong Kong Premier | – | |
| India | Indian National Football League | – | |
| Indonesia | Indonesian League One, Indonesian League Two | – | |
| Japan | Meiji Yasuda J1, J2, and J3 Leagues | WE League | |
| Malaysia | Malaysian Super League, Malaysian Division Three | – | |
| Singapore | Singaporean Premier League | – | |
| South Korea | Hana 1Q K LEAGUE 1, K LEAGUE 2 | – | |
| U.A.E. | UAE Pro League | – | |
| EUROPE | Continental | – | UEFA Women’s Champions League |
| Austria | Premier Division, First Division | – | |
| Belarus | Highest League, First League | – | |
| Belgium | Jupiler Pro League, Challenger Pro League, First Amateur Division | – | |
| Bulgaria | First League, Second League | – | |
| Croatia | First League, Second League | – | |
| Czech Republic | Czech First Division, Second Division | – | |
| Denmark | 3F Superliga, NordicBet Liga, 2. Division, 3. Division | A-Liga | |
| England | English Premier Division, Sky Bet Championship/League One/League Two, Vanarama National League (North/South) | Barclays Women’s Super League, WSL 2 | |
| Finland | Premier League, First Division | – | |
| France | Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Ligue 2 BKT, French National | Première Ligue | |
| Germany | Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga | Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga | |
| Gibraltar | Gib Football League | – | |
| Greece | Greek Super League 1, Super League 2 | – | |
| Hungary | Hungarian Division I, Division II | – | |
| Iceland | Premier Division, First Division | – | |
| Ireland | Irish Premier Division, First Division | – | |
| Israel | Israeli Premier League, National League | – | |
| Italy | Italian Serie A, Serie B, Serie C | Serie A Femminile | |
| Latvia | Optibet Virsliga | – | |
| Lithuania | A Lyga | – | |
| Netherlands | Eredivisie, Keuken Kampioen Divisie | – | |
| N. Ireland | Sports Direct Premiership, Playr-Fit Championship/Premier Intermediate League | – | |
| Norway | Premier Division, First Division, Second Division | – | |
| Poland | PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa, Polish First Division | – | |
| Portugal | Premier League, Second League, Third Division, Championship | – | |
| Romania | Romanian First League, Second League | – | |
| Russia | Russian Premier League, First Division | – | |
| Scotland | cinch Premiership, Championship, League 1, League 2 | – | |
| Serbia | Serbian SuperLeague, First League | – | |
| Slovakia | Slovak First Division, Second Division | – | |
| Slovenia | Slovenian First League, Second League | – | |
| Spain | Spanish First/Second Division, Federation First/Second Division | Liga F, Primera Federación | |
| Sweden | Premier Division, First Division Elite, First Division, Second Division | OBOS Damallsvenskan, Elitettan | |
| Switzerland | Swiss Super League, Challenge League | – | |
| Turkey | Turkish Super League, 1. League, 2. League | – | |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian Premier League, First League | – | |
| Wales | JD Cymru Premier, JD Cymru North/South | Adran Premier | |
| NORTH AMERICA | Canada | Canadian Premier League | – |
| Mexico | Mexican First Division, Mexican Expansion League | – | |
| U.S.A. | Major League Soccer | National Women’s Soccer League | |
| SOUTH AMERICA | Argentina | Argentine Premier Division, Second Division | – |
| Brazil | Brazilian National First, Second, and Third Divisions | – | |
| Chile | Chilean First Division, First Division B | – | |
| Colombia | Colombian First Division, Second Division | – | |
| Peru | Peruvian First Division | – | |
| Uruguay | Uruguayan First Division, Second Professional Division | – |
Analysis and opinion from OutofContext Football Manager
We asked our in-house expert, William Reid aka OutofContextFootballManager, what he thought of the new additions. “It’s always nice to get new leagues in Football Manager,” he told us. “Most of the fanbase learn all their geography from the game, so it’s good to see people who spend the majority of their time in their bedroom on the computer (including me) – learning about new countries and expanding their horizons.”
He added: “Lithuania is an intriguing prospect, as it’s a league that not many people know about. Egypt is also Africa’s most successful football nation, with some seriously impressive club sides. So it’ll be great to manage a team there. And UAE? Honestly, I haven’t got a clue about the state of football there. But that’s part of the joy of Football Manager! It’ll be great to test them out.”
“I haven’t got a clue about the state of football there. But that’s part of the joy of Football Manager! It’ll be great to test them out.”
OutofContextFootballManager
Leagues missing in FM26
There are a number of leagues that for whatever reason haven’t made the game. While it was rumored the likes of Saudi Arabia could make FM 26, that’s now clearly not on the cards. Here’s some notable countries and leagues that won’t be in the final game… for now, anyway.
The good news is that you’re able to use ‘fan made’ data once the game is out to ‘mod’ these missing leagues and countries in. Websites that focus on FM, like FM Scout, provide ‘editor data’ which can be downloaded to your game. “Thanks to the fantastic modding community, it doesn’t really matter which nations are added, as we get pretty much every country after a month anyway!” said Reid.
“Saying that, there are a few countries I’d love to see added in the future. Nigeria being the main one. Nigeria is on track to become one of the most populated countries in the world, and the whole country is football mad. I’d love a chance to find more about the nation and league!”
| Continent | Country / Nation | Men’s Leagues | Women’s Leagues |
| AFRICA | Morocco | Botola Pro, Botola Pro 2, National League, Amateurs League | – |
| Nigeria | Premiere Football League, National League, Nationwide League One, Nationwide League Division Two/Three | – | |
| ASIA | Qatar | Qatar Stars League, Qatari Second Division | – |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi Pro League, Saudi First/Second/Third Division League | – | |
| EUROPE | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Premier League, First League of the Federation, First League of Republika Srpska | Zenska nogometna liga (Women’s Football League) |
| Cyprus | Cypriot First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division | – | |
| SOUTH AMERICA | Ecuador | Liga PRO Ecuador Banco Pichincha (Serie A/B), Segunda Categoría |
Final thoughts
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Sports Interactive. The game has recently come under fire for the Regen faces, which – whilst never known for being realistic, are a bit of a let down given the hype around the overhauled presentation.
Again, though, there are community-developed tools to address these issues come launch. SI decided against releasing FM 25, claiming it would have ‘damaged‘ them, so pressure has been mounting on the London-based developer to deliver this year.
