Football Manager launches its own semi-imaginary football club

The latest salvo in the world's ongoing attempt to blend reality and unreality is that Football Manager now kinda-but-not-really has its own football club. The Football Manager Football Club, or more mercifully FMFC, basically allows Football Manager fans to link their Steam or other accounts and get the usual mix of email updates, blogs, and 'member rewards' which, at the moment, include the chance to win the strip of this virtual team.

Yes it is confusing. FMFC isn't real, but it has a strip made by Hummel and a club logo. It asks you to join the squad and offers signing-up bonuses. I suppose it would be easy to be cynical about what is basically Another Bespoke Game Account, but props to Sports Interactive for leaning into the fantasy in a way that the game's fanbase will surely enjoy. It also ties neatly into some of Football Manager 2021's new RPG-esque features.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this for Football Manager players is that SI intends to use the data it gathers from linked accounts to tailor FMFC's future content. "We’ll learn how you approach the game and, over time, aim to support your gameplay with content that helps you level-up and provides inspiration; for new challenges, tactics and anything the game world throws at you."

Football Manager 2021 launches November 25, and looks like the biggest overhaul the series has seen in years.