How to Keep Football Manager 2024 Fun Until FM26

FM25 is cancelled, but that doesn’t mean you should stop playing FM24! Here’s how to keep the game fresh until FM26.

No FM25? No problem! Here’s how to keep enjoying FM24 until FM26 arrives.

I’ll be honest—I was gutted when I heard there wouldn’t be an FM25. A whole year without a new Football Manager? It felt like Christmas got cancelled. But after the initial shock wore off, I realised something: FM24 is still a brilliant game.

In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to fully immerse yourself in one of the deepest FM versions we’ve ever had. No rushing to start a new save just because a new version dropped. No losing progress. Just pure, uninterrupted Football Manager goodness.

So, if you’re wondering how to keep FM24 fresh while we wait for FM26, here’s how to fall in love with the game all over again.

1. Take on a New Challenge

Let’s be real—if you’ve been playing FM24 for a while, you’ve probably managed your favourite club to glory multiple times. You know the drill: big signings, dominant tactics, another trophy-laden season.

But that’s where FM gets boring.

Now is the perfect time to step outside your comfort zone and try a completely different type of save.

Ideas to Keep Things Fresh:

• The Journeyman Challenge – Start unemployed, no coaching badges, and work your way up from the depths of football.
• The Youth Academy Challenge – No signings allowed! Build a dynasty using only your club’s youth players.
• The National Team Club Challenge – Try to bring as many players from one national team into your club without managing the national side.
• The “Revenge on Saudi Money” Challenge – Only sign players from Saudi Arabian clubs and take your European club to the top.
• The Local Legends Save – Only sign players from within a 50km radius of your club’s stadium.

If you’ve never stepped out of your comfort zone, now is the time. FM is at its best when you push yourself into unfamiliar, difficult situations.

READ ALSO: Save Ideas for Football Manager 2024

2. Experiment with New Tactics (Or Recreate Real-Life Setups)

If you always stick to the same tactical philosophy, FM24 is probably feeling a bit repetitive by now. But what if you completely reinvented the way you play?

I used to be a die-hard Gegenpress manager—full throttle, high intensity, in-your-face football. It worked, but it got... predictable. So I decided to do something wild—I switched to Catenaccio, the ultra-defensive Italian system built on patience and tactical discipline.

The result? A completely different way to experience FM. Every 1-0 win felt like a Champions League final. The tension, the last-ditch tackles, the slow grind of a structured counter-attacking system—it completely changed the way I enjoyed the game.

Try This:

• Recreate real-life tactics – Can you copy Pep Guardiola’s positional play? Klopp’s heavy metal football? Simeone’s defensive masterclass?
• Go against your usual instincts – If you always play attacking football, try defensive. If you love short passing, try long-ball tactics.
• Use an obscure formation – 3-3-3-1? A strikerless 4-4-2? Why not?

Football Manager is a sandbox—you don’t have to play the same way every time.

TAKE A LOOK AT: Tactical Recreations for Football Manager 2024

3. Dive Deeper into Club and Player Development

Let’s be honest—how much attention do you really pay to your youth intake? If you’re like most FM players, you probably just check the star ratings, sign the best prospects, and ignore the rest.

But what if you fully immersed yourself in developing players?

Ways to Make This Fun:

• Take control of training – Instead of leaving it to your assistant, customise training schedules and track player development over time.
• Use mentoring groups properly – Pair experienced pros with young talents to accelerate their growth.
• Scout hidden wonderkids manually – Instead of relying on the game’s wonderkid lists, do your own scouting across obscure leagues.

If you love the long-term progression aspect of FM, this is the best way to make your save feel rewarding.

4. Go Back in Time with Retro Databases

One of the best things about FM’s modding community is that you can relive classic eras of football.

Fancy managing Prime AC Milan in 2004? Want to try Barcelona under peak Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta? Maybe you’ve always wondered what would happen if you took over Leeds United in the early 2000s before their financial collapse?

Where to Find These?

• FM Scout have brilliant retro databases for different years.
• You can manage classic teams and players, rewriting football history however you like.

If FM24 is feeling stale, playing in a completely different footballing era is one of the most immersive ways to keep it fresh.

5. Use the FM Editor to Create Your Own Narrative

Some FM purists hate the idea of using the in-game editor, but let’s be real—FM is a sandbox game, and if you use the editor correctly, you can create some of the wildest, most engaging stories ever.

Ways to Make FM Even More Fun with the Editor:

• Rebuild a Fallen Giant Instantly – What if Nottingham Forest had a billionaire owner?
• Create a "What If" Save – What if Zlatan Ibrahimović never left Sweden? What if Lionel Messi played for Newell’s Old Boys his whole career?
• Set Up the Ultimate Rivalry – Move clubs into the same league, tweak finances, and set up an FM version of the Premier League vs La Liga war.

Think of it like Football Manager story mode—you can create your own footballing soap opera however you like.

6. Share Your FM Stories with the Community

FM is best when it’s shared. Some of my favourite moments in Football Manager weren’t just the big wins or unbelievable promotions—they were the conversations, discussions, and banter I had with other FM players.

How to Stay Engaged with the Community:

• Join the biggest FM Group – our Facebook group is the biggest and most active FM community with over 175000 members.
• Share Your Save on Social Media – Twitter, Reddit, and Discord all have active FM communities.
• Watch FM Content Creators – Zealand, WorkTheSpace, and others always have interesting challenges going.

If you’re feeling burnt out, seeing other people’s FM adventures might reignite your motivation.

Final Thoughts – FM24 is Still Worth Playing!

No FM25? No problem. Instead of seeing this as a disappointment, think of it as an opportunity to play FM24 to its fullest.

There’s still so much you haven’t done. There’s a save idea you haven’t tried, a tactic you haven’t experimented with, and a wonderkid you haven’t discovered.