Designed to showcase a balance of tactical expertise and managerial skills that define the game, the inaugural FIFAe World Cup™ featuring Football Manager aims to create a groundbreaking format that seamlessly integrates Football Manager into the esports world. The competition features familiar faces from the community and conventional football, making the world of football management more accessible to fans of all backgrounds.

This event highlights all aspects of Football Manager and requires players to experience the thrill of managing a football team under pressure in their unique style. Our format is structured to be both accessible and engaging, ensuring a fair and exciting competition for the 20 players representing 19 different FIFA member associations. It also means the community at home can follow along as they manage their way to the top.

Not only will there be a total prize pool of USD 100,000 up for grabs, but also some unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunities – so stay tuned for more information.

1. Tournament Format and Onsite Days

The tournament format is designed to highlight the core aspects of Football Manager, focusing on both long-term managerial strategy skills and short-term tactical execution. Each of the invited Member Associations (MAs) will nominate one manager and one assistant manager to represent them, while the host nation will nominate two managers and two assistant managers. In total, there will be 20 Football Manager players and their assistants. These representatives must not only be highly knowledgeable about the game but also embody the qualities of an actual manager. This includes giving press conferences, making major decisions under time pressure, and justifying their strategies to the world and especially their domestic communities following from home.

We understand that the game offers various modes to challenge each other and there are probably countless other approaches to setting this competition up. This event will feature popular game modes, aiming at making the competition accessible and engaging for all viewers. The format highlights players' backgrounds and strategies, leading to a clear and exciting final where one World Champion will be crowned.

Group Stage

During the first four days, the competition will focus on the managerial aspects of running a club over multiple seasons. Players will be grouped into four groups of five, with each group assigned one club that all players in that group will manage. To ensure equal starting conditions, all clubs will be set up by an admin with the exact same settings and mods.

The clubs being managed have been chosen from a worldwide pool, and will be revealed to players just before the tournament begins. The goal is to test how well participants can adapt to a challenge on the go and apply their tactics to a newly assigned club.

This initial stage allow us to evaluate the players' performance as managers compared to their competitors with the same challenge. The cumulative ranking system will be calculated based on league position, cup progress, and managerial ratings (see below section).

While our classic broadcast will compile the 20 stories towards the end and connect the virtual storylines to the real world, we must pay tribute to the many aspects of the daily operations of the players. We believe that within this competition, and as part of the challenge of being a manager, it’s for the players themselves to provide us with background information on their actions. Each gaming station will, therefore, be equipped with various cameras, microphones, an interview area, screens for interactions with the community on the stream, etc., to allow the audience to directly follow along with all decisions and to tune in for mandatory competition updates.

Day 1 "Pre-season" (28 August)

• Players will be assigned to their groups via a randomized draw. This is also the moment they are presented with the club that they will be managing.

• We understand that upon setting up a new game, players need time to configure the club to their needs. Therefore, on this day, all players will be given an equal amount of time (approx. 2.5 hours) to carry this out and be ready for season 1.

• We want to see what the players are doing and listen in on their discussions with their assistant, so tactic templates, wishlists or similar are not permitted. The players will need to set all of this up manually from the limited notes they are allowed to bring into the gaming station.

• Once the time is up, players will not be allowed to access the saved game until the next day.

Day 2 "Season 1" (29 August)

• Players will lead their assigned clubs through the first season. The objective is to conclude the entire season, including the Winter and parts of the Summer Transfer Window, so they are prepared for the next season (Day 3).

• Each season must be completed within a maximum of 9 hours, split into 3 sessions of 3 hours each. A timer for everyone within a group will be ticking down, only stopped for the official breaks in between the sessions or technical pauses.

• Throughout the day, players will be required to give updates to their stakeholders, just like a proper manager. This means interacting with feedback and tackling critical questions from the media. At the end of each day, players will need to give an official press conference and interviews within an official setting.

  • To ensure everyone can follow along, participants who take additional time to explain their actions will be given a limited amount of extra time.

• Time management is fully up to the players. They can set their areas of focus according to their own preferences.

  • If they fail to complete the season towards the end of the third daily session, admins will ensure that players use the in-game mechanics, such as the “vacate” function, with little to no influence for the remaining in-game days.

• If a player is fired by the in-game board governing the club, said player is eliminated from the competition.

Day 3 "Season 2" (30 August)

• The second season follows the same guidelines, with players managing their clubs independently, adhering to defined start and endpoints.

Day 4 "Season 3" (31 August)

• The third season culminates with the last game of the season, focusing on completing the season without the need for the Summer Transfer Window.

After these 3 seasons, the table will identify one player per group as the top manager to advance to the final day.

Day 5 "Final Day" (1 September)

The final day is designed to capture all the excitement and energy of traditional esports events. Football Manager’s Fantasy Draft mode puts the tactical skills of our players to the test. The winners of each group will compete in an online Fantasy Draft format, drafting up to 25 new in-game players for their final-day squad. One draft pool and the same available budget, set by FIFA, will apply to all finalists and will be revealed to them before the one and only draft session for all final matchups. Upon the draft, players will be given some time to analyze the squad they have acquired and adjust their tactics.

From Day 1 to Day 3, players had participated from their offices. But on this day, participants will be moved into a studio setup. Here, all lights, attention, and pressure are on them as they prepare to send out the team with the best possible formation, instructions and strategy. The game mode will be straightforward, and the only limitation for players will lie on the duration of tactical pauses allowed during each game.

The day will feature two two-legged semifinals, with the winners advancing to the two-legged final to determine the FIFAe World Champion featuring Football Manager.

2. Ranking System

Our ranking system is designed to evaluate and compare the performance of players managing the same club under identical starting conditions. Obviously, after three seasons, we anticipate and encourage very different conditions in the once similar clubs. The system should, therefore, still consider individual and comparative performance metrics across various in-game competitions in which they might be competing and managerial aspects over three seasons. Based on the final four clubs selected, the ranking system might be slightly adjusted to reflect different league formats or continental competitions.

Key components will include:

• League Position: Points awarded based on the final league position. The allocation of points for each challenge will be shared prior to the tournament.

  • E.g., If you finish first within a 20-team league table, you receive 50 points, 40 points for a second-place finish, 30 points for a sixth-place finish, etc.

• Advancing in Cup Competitions:

  • E.g., A player participating in one National Cup, and the Europa League (for each round advancing in the main rounds of each cup, points will be allocated. In our example, each round in the National Cup is worth 2 points and each Europa League round 3 points.

• Winning trophies: Winning a cup trophy, similar to real life, should come with an extra bonus – staggered based on the complexity and competitiveness of winning such trophies.

  • The points awarded for winning a league trophy are already included in the overall league standings calculation.

• Managerial performance: We believe it's important to evaluate a manager's performance not only by the team's setup but also by how well they handle managerial tasks. Such aspects, however, are much more challenging to monitor; therefore, this is still a work in progress.

3. Community involvement

We have many passionate players, esports experts, and industry professionals who have contributed to the development of this format. We are committed to learning and improving, and your feedback is crucial for fine-tuning the ranking system and improving potential future iterations.

Together, we can build a competition that truly reflects the spirit of Football Manager, its most passionate and skilled players and merges with the world of esports. Thanks to everyone for contributing!

4. FAQ

• Where can I watch the competition?

All streams will be aggregated on FIFA.GG.

• Is there a way for me to participate in the competition?

The nomination for this inaugural competition is currently with the MAs and is about to be closed. However, through the competition, we will be offering unique opportunities to play alongside our top players and showcase your skills to be considered within the competitive ecosystem moving forward. Make sure to open your FIFA.GG account today to not miss out on any news.

• Where can I follow the competition results?

You can find live results, statistics and more information on FIFA.GG

• Which countries will be competing?

19 countries will be competing in the FIFAe World Cup featuring Football Manager: Belgium, England, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye and Switzerland.

• Where will the event be held?

The event will be taking place in Liverpool, England, making England the host nation.