Football Manager 24, the latest edition in the long running simulation series, is set to be available to buy free of cost from September 5th to 12th on the Epic Games Store. This provides football enthusiasts the perfect opportunity to delve into not only one of the most in depth management simulations around, but also a chance to be part of a community that comes together as a wholly passion driven workforce to co-construct one of the biggest crowdsourced footballing databases in the world.
In what is a uniquely symbiotic relationship, the Football Manager community imparts a sense of mutual influence on the game and real life football. The simulated actions of players and the real-life transfer market influence each other quite a bit. Apart from the transfer market, the community built database is regularly used by clubs and national teams.
Among some famous examples is the case of Southampton forward Ben Brereton. After a researcher of the game discovered via a club interview that Brereton was half Chilean, he added it to the Football Manager database. This resulted in Brereton getting regular call-ups to Chile’s national team in the game.
This was noted by a Football Manager streamer from Chile which helped spread the info further. Brereton was then encouraged by Reinaldo Rueda, then head coach of Chile, to apply for a Chilean passport. In the end, Brereton ended up debuting for Chile as a substitute against Argentina in the Copa America. Since then he has gone on to play for Chile a total of 33 times.
Will Still, current manager of French Ligue 1 side Lens also credited Football Manager for influencing him to be a manager. When Still took over as manager at Stade de Reims in 2022, there was quite some ruckus in the French media due to the fact that Still had yet to secure a UEFA Pro License which is a requirement for the French top division. This resulted in a £22,000 fine for each game Still managed until he earned the license.
Even FIFA has hopped on the wagon recently with the inaugural FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager which took place recently. Indonesia claimed the titles as well as the lion’s share in a $100,000 prize pool.
Football Manager is fun but also contributes to the footballing landscape as a whole. So take this chance and snap it up for free. Who knows, much like how this writer developed his own fantasy database of the Pakistani Football pyramid, you might find something too.
Can you share the purchase link?
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/football-manager-2024 it will go free sometime later today