Football Manager to include Premier League clubs with official kits

A massive deal for Sports Interactive

Sports Interactive / Sega / Premier League

Sports Interactive, the developer of the iconic Football Manager series, announced that it struck a four-year licensing deal with Premier League, the most important soccer competition in England and one of the world’s three top leagues alongside Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.

Starting with Football Manager 2025, which is due for release later this year, the series will depict all 20 Premier League clubs with their official logos, kits, and player images. Licensing is a major draw for sports games, so the studio landing the licensing rights for one of the most popular and competitive leagues on the globe is a massive get.

Previous editions of the successful management sim use placeholder clubs, players, and kits in lieu of their real counterparts, though modders often provide some more authentic assets for the players who want them.

Miles Jacobson, the studio director at Sports Interactive, commented: “Since Football Manager's inception, we have always wanted to work with the Premier League, and we're delighted to announce today that at last we are. The partnership isn't just about the huge in-game benefits it'll give our fans, but also the opportunities it provides us to help with the incredible things that the Premier League and their clubs do off the pitch. That includes community and charitable work, two things we're enormously passionate about, as well as the ability to work with some of their existing partners.”

“We are very grateful to the Premier League and their other partners in our space for enabling us to be an officially licensed product of the world's most commercially successful football league,” he added.

Will Brass, the Premier League’s CCO, said: “Football Manager has been a big part of the sporting landscape for decades, and is loved and enjoyed by millions of fans around the world. We are thrilled that the Premier League will now feature even more prominently in the game, helping to deliver a deeper, more authentic experience for anybody who takes on the challenge of managing a Premier League club.”

As Football Manager gears up for some massive changes in the upcoming series entries, this is another breath of fresh air and confidence for the franchise.