FIFA Teams Up with Football Manager to Bring the 2026 World Cup to Gamers

FIFA has partnered with Sports Interactive (SI) to bring the 2026 World Cup to Football Manager 2026, marking the first-ever appearance of a FIFA tournament in the iconic football management series.

The multi-year partnership will debut next summer alongside the World Cup in North America. SI will launch a dedicated international management module in a future update following the game’s release on 4th November. Players will experience official kits for all 48 nations, authentic broadcast graphics, and a fully overhauled match engine. The deal also includes the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, marking the debut of women’s football in the series.

“Revealing this partnership with FIFA is an incredibly historic moment for the studio,” said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson. “Heading into a World Cup year, revamping International Management and making it a much more feature-rich module for our players was important. To be able to do that with the support of FIFA with an official license, giving us the tournament broadcast graphics and tournament kits in-game, is a real honour and something we’re delighted our fans will be able to experience next year. And this is just the start of our relationship – stay tuned for more to come in 2026 and beyond.”

The collaboration comes after FIFA’s high-profile split from EA Sports, marking the organisation’s first return to gaming since then. It remains unclear whether the 2026 World Cup license will feature in any other simulation titles, though reports have linked 2K Sports to potential future collaborations.

Football Manager 2026 is a landmark release for the series as it transitions to the Unity game engine for enhanced visuals and performance. Alongside the FIFA deal, the game will feature official Premier League and UEFA Champions League licenses for the first time.

For FIFA, the partnership represents a vital step in re-establishing its gaming presence ahead of next year’s tournament, introducing its brand to a new generation of fans through one of football’s most popular simulation franchises.