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Oct 28, 2026, 4:15 PM GMT
George is currently a sports journalist working for multiple websites, including GiveMeSport. Having enjoyed two wonderful years at National World covering Liverpool and Everton every day, he now has comendable experience writing and covering football at the highest level - both in-person and remotely.
Prior to that, he achieved a 1st Class Sports Journalism MA degree from Liverpool John Moores University whilst simultaneously earning the coveted NCTJ Gold Standard qualification.
Working the likes of The Sporting News, SportBible and 90min helped forge a strong reputation while work across other sports such as Archery, Badminton, Cricket, MMA and Boxing have helped to develop an all-round expertise of being a multimedia sports journalist, as well as displaying a strong versatility in this industry.
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Football Manager has always sold itself on its scale and real-life accuracy. Few games let you take charge of a part-time side in Iceland's second tier one week and a UEFA Champions League contender the next, and Football Manager 27 keeps that reach intact while also pushing its world a little further.
Sports Interactive's latest instalment, released on November 10 2026, builds on the playable map it rebuilt for FM26, the series' first title on the Unity engine. Saudi Arabia joins as a new playable nation, while women's football, introduced to the series in FM26, returns for its second edition.
Breadth is only half the story. Ultimately, licences decide whether a club walks out with its real badge, kit and player photos or a generic stand-in, and SI has secured fresh deals for FM27.
Here is every playable league and every official licence in the game.
FM27 features 59 playable nations in the men's game, one more than FM26's 58. The newcomer is Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi Pro League making its debut as a fully playable division. It continues a push beyond football's traditional heartlands, after FM26 handed Egypt, Lithuania and the UAE their series debuts as playable nations.
Depth varies widely from nation to nation. England is playable all the way down to the National League North and South, the sixth tier of the pyramid. Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden and Denmark each run four divisions deep, while France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Turkey, Japan and Brazil all offer three. At the other end of the scale, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the USA offer a single top flight apiece.
Beneath the headline addition, SI's pre-release deep dives confirmed more than 18 million database changes and around 1,500 competition updates. Chile and Peru gain new cup competitions, and Northern Ireland and Wales both have restructured league systems. In the women's game, England, France and Japan introduce Swiss-style league cups.
The women's side of the database spanned 14 leagues across 11 nations in FM26, plus the UEFA Women's Champions League. FM27 is reported to add a 12th nation.
Leagues are chosen at the start of a career through the Advanced Setup screen, where each nation can be set as playable or 'view only' to manage database size and game speed. Leagues can also be added or removed mid-save, taking effect on each nation's league update date, usually between the end of one season and the start of the next. Activating a league mid-save triggers a fresh batch of generated players to fill out its squads.
Africa
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| Egypt |
Egyptian Premier League |
| South Africa |
Premier Soccer League, National First Division |
Asia & Oceania
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| Australia |
A-League Men |
| China |
Super League, National First Division |
| Hong Kong |
Hong Kong Premier League |
| India |
National Football League |
| Indonesia |
League One, League Two |
| Japan |
J1 League, J2 League, J3 League |
| Malaysia |
Super League, Division Three |
| Saudi Arabia (NEW) |
Saudi Pro League |
| Singapore |
Singapore Premier League |
| South Korea |
K League 1, K League 2 |
| UAE |
ADNOC Pro League |
Europe
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| 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 |
First Division, Second Division |
| Denmark |
Superliga, 1st Division, 2nd Division, 3rd Division |
| England |
Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, National League, National League North/South |
| Finland |
Premier League, First Division |
| France |
Ligue 1, Ligue 2, National |
| Germany |
Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga |
| Gibraltar |
Gibraltar Football League |
| Greece |
Super League 1, Super League 2 |
| Hungary |
Division I, Division II |
| Iceland |
Premier Division, First Division |
| Ireland |
Premier Division, First Division |
| Israel |
Premier League, National League |
| Italy |
Serie A, Serie B, Serie C |
| Latvia |
Virsliga |
| Lithuania |
A Lyga |
| Netherlands |
Eredivisie, Keuken Kampioen Divisie |
| Northern Ireland |
Premiership, Championship, Premier Intermediate League [VERIFY – restructure] |
| Norway |
Premier Division, First Division, Second Division |
| Poland |
Ekstraklasa, First Division |
| Portugal |
Premier League, Second League, Third Division, Championship |
| Romania |
First League, Second League |
| Russia |
Premier League, First Division |
| Scotland |
Premiership, Championship, League One, League Two |
| Serbia |
SuperLeague, First League |
| Slovakia |
First Division, Second Division |
| Slovenia |
First League, Second League |
| Spain |
First Division, Second Division, Federation First Division, Federation Second Division |
| Sweden |
Premier Division, First Division Elite, First Division, Second Division |
| Switzerland |
Super League, Challenge League |
| Turkey |
Super League, 1. League, 2. League |
| Ukraine |
Premier League, First League |
| Wales |
Cymru Premier, Cymru North/South |
North America
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| Canada |
Canadian Premier League |
| Mexico |
First Division, Expansion League |
| USA |
Major League Soccer |
South America
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| Argentina |
Premier Division, Second Division |
| Brazil |
National First Division, National Second Division, National Third Division |
| Chile |
First Division, First Division B |
| Colombia |
First Division, Second Division |
| Peru |
First Division |
| Uruguay |
First Division, Second Professional Division |
| Nation |
Playable Divisions |
|---|---|
| Australia |
A-League Women |
| Denmark |
A-Liga |
| England |
Women's Super League, Women's Super League 2 |
| France |
Arkema Première Ligue |
| Germany |
Frauen-Bundesliga |
| Italy |
Serie A Femminile |
| Japan |
WE League |
| Spain |
Liga F, Primera Federación |
| Sweden |
Damallsvenskan, Elitettan |
| USA |
National Women's Soccer League |
| Wales |
Adran Premier |
| Continental |
UEFA Women's Champions League |
| 12th nation |
TBC |
Fees correct prior to summer 2026
All 10 found — excellent!
Licensing is where FM27 makes its most visible gains. SI confirmed two new fully licensed leagues during its pre-release deep dives. The first is the Arkema Première Ligue, France's top women's division, which arrives with official club logos, kits and player photos after going unlicensed in FM26.
SI has not officially named the second. The Saudi Pro League is the overwhelming favourite, with Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli all appearing with their official badges in deep-dive footage. Football Manager only uses real crests where it holds the rights.
The rest of the portfolio carries over from FM26, which SI billed as the biggest suite of licences in the series' history. The Premier League, signed up on a four-year deal in 2024, sits alongside the full EFL and National League. The SPFL deal covers all 42 Scottish clubs, while Germany's Bundesliga and DFB competitions and France's Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 are also licensed. UEFA's club competitions and FIFA's World Cups complete the headline set.
There are still notable gaps. La Liga remains unlicensed in the men's game, as do the top flights in Portugal and Brazil, while Serie A relies on individual club agreements rather than a league-wide deal. Where SI lacks the rights, clubs and competitions appear under generic names and placeholder crests, which the FM community routinely restores through unofficial add-ons.
The women's game is close to fully covered. In FM26, every women's league was licensed except France's top flight and Spain's top two divisions. The Arkema deal closes the first of those gaps, leaving Liga F and Primera Federación as the only unlicensed women's divisions in FM27.
| Rights Holder / Nation |
Licensed Competitions and Clubs |
|---|---|
| FIFA |
World Cup, Women's World Cup, Club World Cup |
| UEFA |
Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup, Youth League |
| Argentina |
River Plate |
| Australia |
A-League Men |
| Belgium |
Jupiler Pro League, Challenger Pro League |
| Canada |
Canadian Premier League |
| Croatia |
Dinamo Zagreb |
| Czech Republic |
Slavia Prague |
| Denmark |
Superliga, 1st Division, 2nd Division, 3rd Division |
| England |
Premier League; EFL (Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup, EFL Trophy); National League, National League North/South |
| France |
Ligue 1, Ligue 2 |
| Germany |
Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, Supercup; 3. Liga, DFB-Pokal; men's national team |
| Gibraltar |
Gibraltar Football League, national team |
| Italy |
Serie B; selected Serie A clubs [VERIFY – club list] |
| Japan |
J1 League, J2 League, J3 League |
| Latvia |
Virsliga |
| Lithuania |
A Lyga |
| Mexico |
Club América |
| Netherlands |
Eredivisie, Keuken Kampioen Divisie, Dutch national team |
| Northern Ireland |
Premiership, Championship, Premier Intermediate League |
| Poland |
Ekstraklasa |
| Portugal |
FC Porto, Benfica, Sporting CP |
| Saudi Arabia |
Saudi Pro League |
| Scotland |
Premiership, Championship, League One, League Two, League Cup, Challenge Cup |
| South Korea |
K League 1, K League 2 |
| UAE |
ADNOC Pro League, League Cup, Super Cup |
| USA |
Major League Soccer |
| Wales |
Cymru Premier, Cymru North, Cymru South, Welsh Cup, Cymru Premier League Cup |
| Rights Holder / Nation |
Licensed Competitions |
|---|---|
| UEFA |
Women's Champions League |
| Australia |
A-League Women |
| Denmark |
A-Liga |
| England |
Women's Super League, Women's Super League 2 |
| France (NEW) |
Arkema Première Ligue |
| Germany |
Frauen-Bundesliga |
| Italy |
Serie A Femminile |
| Japan |
WE League |
| Damallsvenskan, Elitettan |
|
| USA |
National Women's Soccer League |
| Wales |
Adran Premier |
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