English soccer’s Premier League has announced a new four-year licensing agreement with video game production studio Sports Interactive (SI) based around its long-running Football Manager game series.
SI has now officially licensed the Premier League for use in Football Manager for the next four installments for the first time, beginning with its upcoming FM25 through to the 2028 edition.
Football Manager becomes the official football management video game of the Premier League and the two will collaborate on “partnership activities” later in 2024, likely closer to the game’s release.
Previously, only Premier League champions Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion had been licensed from the Premier League by SI for the game. All 20 of the league’s teams will now feature yearly.
Football Manager joins a number of the league’s official licensees, including collectibles company Panini (official trading card and sticker licensee), sportswear and labeling manufacturer Avery Dennison, crypto-based igaming platform Sorare, and sports training tool Rezzil.
Among Europe’s top domestic sports leagues, England joins France’s Ligue 1, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie, Scotland’s Premiership, and Belgium’s Pro League as in-game licensed competitions.
In 2022, Sports Interactive also licensed UEFA’s slate of international club competitions - the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League - for the game, growing its coverage of soccer’s top competitions.
