Football Manager 26 Saves Guide: 10 Clubs and Challenges Worth Managing

Football Manager 26 Saves Guide: 10 Clubs and Challenges Worth Managing

Pretty much everyone in Football Manager’s growing fanbase now has November 4th marked in their diary, after finding out the release date of the highly anticipated ‘FM26’ last week. Users have had to play ‘FM24’ for almost two years after the 25 edition was cancelled in February due to it not being deemed ‘good enough’ by creators.

Now that we are just seven weeks away from the game's release, many gamers will already be planning their first save or challenge. Football Park have picked out 10 top ideas to try yourself, ranging in difficulty.

A Wait Worth 90 Years: Union Saint-Gilloise

Union SG are the most exciting team in Belgium right now. A club brimming with history, USG dominated Belgian football in the early 1900s before spending 48 years outside of the top-flight between 1973 and 2021.

Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom became the majority shareholder in 2018 and upon promotion to the top flight, the club have been extremely competitive, boasting some of the best young talents, and even winning their first title in 90 years this summer.

Starting a save with USG in FM26 coincides with the club's first-ever season in the Champions League, after the Europa League Quarter-Finals in 2022/23, with the likes of former Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface leading the line. USG once again have a squad full of youthful potential. What's more, you will not have to play qualification games with the club, as they automatically enter the UCL League Phase as Belgian Champions.

Using the club's close ties to Brighton & Hove (eight players have played for both clubs in the last seven years, including Simon Adingra, Deniz Undav, and Kauro Mitoma), transform USG into a giant not only on the domestic stage, but on the European scene as well.

🇧🇪 Union Saint-Gilloise from the Belgian capital of Brussels are national champions for the first time in 90 years and the 12th time in total!!!

USG were promoted only four years ago and have come agonisingly close to the title every season since but have now finally done it! pic.twitter.com/dOccO4s30o

— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) May 25, 2025

Save a Former Serie A Side From Falling Further: Benevento Calcio & Crotone

Fans of Benevento and Crotone have had an insane ride over the last decade. The pair were promoted to the Serie A for the first time in 2015/16 (Crotone) and 2016/17 (Benevento) and played in the top flight as recently as 2020/21 (both sides were relegated together). Since then, both have been on a downward spiral, with the pair now stuck in Serie C and heading into their third (Benevento) and fourth (Crotone) consecutive seasons in the third tier.

The objective is simple. Pick one and drag them up from the depths of Serie C. The city of Crotone was one of the first ever Greek settlements in the country, a path you could take with the team. They were also once the home of Nigerian striker Simy (remember him?), who managed to score 20 goals in their 2020/21 relegation season, breaking the record for the highest goalscorer to play for a relegated Serie A side.

Benevento’s recent managerial list includes the likes of Roberto De Zerbi, Fabio Cannavaro, and Filippo Inzaghi. Will you be the next?

🇳🇬 Simy's last 7 Serie A appearances

🆚 Atalanta ⚽️
🆚 Torino ⚽️⚽️
🆚 Lazio ⚽️⚽️
🆚 Bologna ⚽️
🆚 Napoli ⚽️⚽️
🆚 Spezia ⚽️
🆚 Udinese ⚽️

🥵 Doing all he can to keep Crotone in Serie A... pic.twitter.com/in43s86jwY

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) April 21, 2021

Become the New Dominant Welsh Non-League Force: Merthyr Town

With Wrexham long gone in the National League system, there is now just a single Welsh club below the EFL, Merthyr Town of the National League North. The perfect option for an English non-league save, whether you take them to the Premier League or simply to the top of the National League, it will still be an achievement regardless.

Merthyr are a phoenix club of the former Merthyr Tydfil, who were quite the non-league power back in the day, playing regularly at the 6th and 5th levels. Finally back where they belong after a long climb from the 10th tier, see how far you can take the Martyrs, tapping into young Welsh talent and loanees from the likes of Swansea, Wrexham, and Cardiff to aid your journey.

🚫⚽ Merthyr Town have rejected the FAW’s £6m offer to join the Cymru Premier and will stay in the English non-league system.

Still the only Welsh non-league club in England!
#BBCSport #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/lFN8xEnb6M

— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) January 25, 2025

Experience the Rule-Driven Game in America: MLS

Many football fans, especially in the UK and Europe, find themselves questioning the abnormal culture of American sports, especially its format. But how many have tried to understand why so many confusing roster rules are put in place? Becoming an MLS powerhouse whilst sticking to the rules is a tricky challenge, and will leave you having to make multiple decisions you’re not used to, like:

How will you use your SuperDraft picks? How much money will you invest in your three Designated Player spots? Who will you choose for your 20 Senior Player roster spots? How will you stay within the salary cap? And how will you keep up with the packed schedule and flipped transfer windows? The solutions are endless, if a little tricky, and understanding the mid-bending rules of the MLS registration system can be considered a Football Manager acheivement in itself.

The MLS is built for financial stability, but modern rules are now pushing youth development. With 30 teams to pick from, stretching from coast to coast, you’re spoilt for choice!

Prepare a Nation for Their World Cup Debut: Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan are a football nation on the rise, represented in their qualification for a first World Cup ever as an independent nation earlier this year. Led by legendary striker Eldor Shomurodov, the national team has plenty of upcoming talent, such as Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Abdukodir Khusanov, but how far can you take them in the 2026 tournament? And will you be able to build a new generation of Uzbek ballers for the 2030 World Cup?

International managing is a more laid-back approach to Football Manager, spending more time watching your players play (if you choose to) than actively managing games. Due to Uzbekistan’s qualification in June, you will start your save by preparing the squad for an upcoming World Cup, instead of having to worry about qualifying yourself.

Turn Hamburg Into the Greatest Footballing City in Europe: Hamburger SV & St. Pauli

For half a decade, Hamburg had no representation in the German top flight; Hamburger SV’s 55-year Bundesliga stay had come to a close, and St. Pauli were beginning their 11th straight season in the second tier. Now, both are in the Bundesliga for the first time in 14 years, bringing Germany's second-largest city back to footballing relevance.

Hamburger are former European champions, winning the European Cup in 1982/23. And while St. Pauli have almost no European experience, the culture surrounding the club is unique. Arguably, bringing European glory to Hamburg would be equally historic.

Whether you manage Hamburger SV, St. Pauli, or even both (Judas!), your goal is to bring glory back to a city truly deprived of first division success. Neither has a particularly strong squad, making the challenge that bit harder, but both are crying out for some European football in the city for the first time since 2010.

One of Germany's fiercest rivalries has returned with a bang 🎆

Incredible scenes for the Bundesliga's first Hamburg derby in 14 years.

St. Pauli ruined their rivals' home party with a 2-0 win. pic.twitter.com/PEbJkdWggG

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) August 30, 2025

Bring La Liga to Northern Africa: AD Ceuta

The Caballas were recently promoted to the Segunda Division for the first time in 57 years, and as one of a few clubs in Europe that are geographically on a different continent, it did not come without a challenge.

The city of Ceuta is one of five territories of Spain based on the North African coastline, and they have to travel to the mainland by ferry to play matches up to 1,000+ km away. Ceuta have never played in the top flight, and taking them to the heights of the Spanish game would be a real challenge in FM26, as Ceuta have one of the weakest squads in the league as a newly promoted side.

🇪🇸 Ceuta, a club from an enclave in continental Africa, have been promoted to Spain’s second tier, having been in the fourth tier only three years ago!

They are six points clear with two games to go but are guaranteed promotion due to their superior record against Real Murcia! pic.twitter.com/rV8kvEN8Yr

— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) May 11, 2025

Dethrone Scotland’s Big Two: SPFL

Football in Scotland has existed for almost as long as it has in England, as the Scottish FA is the second-oldest national football association in the world. This leads to a number of historic clubs existing in the top four tiers of Scottish football, dating back to the 1870s. Celtic and Rangers have won 85.2% of the 129 top-flight titles available, a dominance which simply has to end.

So, pick one of the many to choose from among the 40 clubs outside of the Old Firm in the SPFL. Whether it be Falkirk, who achieved back-to-back promotions to reach the Premiership for the first time in 15 years, or Dumbarton, the only Scottish Champion still to exist outside of the top flight. You could even try to bring glory back to the capital, Edinburgh, with one of Hearts or Hibernian.

After administration and relegation Dumbarton were at their lowest, but it now seems the Sons are back on track.

They’ve been taken over, rebuilt their squad, had incredible support with over 800 season tickets sold and at the weekend a crowd of almost 1,000

Brilliant stuff! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Ql0ID7467C

— The 30 ⚽️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@The_Thirty_) August 4, 2025

Club World Cup King: Journeyman

This journeyman-style FM challenge requires you to win the Club World Cup with a team from every continent (except Antarctica, of course). But if you want to make it slightly easier, you don’t have to include Oceania! Whilst winning the CWC with a European team might seem a breeze, it will gradually get harder as you hop from Europe to South America, to North America, and then over to Asia and Africa.

This challenge will require high FM skill levels, as you have one shot every four years at world glory. The new Club World Cup format will debut in FM for the first time in the 26 edition, so this is a great way to check it out.

Relegation Redemption Arc: Montpellier SC

Thirteen years ago Montpellier, with a young Olivier Giroud up top and Younes Belhanda running the midfield. They had been promoted three years prior, making it one of the greatest modern achievements in French football, and one of the last before PSG’s dominant era. This summer saw La Paillade drop out of the top flight for the first time since 2009.

The 2025/26 season hasn’t started brilliantly for Montpellier either, as they currently sit in the bottom half with one win in four games. But this fall off has not come about suddenly, the club have been sitting in midtable complacency ever since they won the league title, culminating in last season's disaster.

Your mission is to save Montpellier from suffering a similar fate to what Bordeaux has been through in the last couple of years, by hauling them back to the top flight as quickly as possible. Playing at the 32,900 seater Stade de la Mosson, a massive rebuild is required after all the former Ligue 1 stars lft the club. Why not take it even further and challenge PSG for the Ligue 1 title after establishing your squad in the top flight?