EFL extends Football Manager partnership

The English Football League has extended its longstanding partnership with Football Manager (FM), a series of football management simulation video games.

An Official Licensee of the EFL since 2014, FM is developed and published by Sports Interactive, which is owned by SEGA — also an EFL partner since 2004.

As per the extension, all EFL teams and competitions will be fully licensed in the upcoming FM title, Football Manager 26, which launches November 4 later this year.

Additionally, the two parties will work on content initiatives and fan-focused collaborations.

Ben Wright, Chief Commercial Officer of the EFL, commented:

“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.”

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.”