Football Manager continue as official EFL partner

Sports Interactive are delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership with the English Football League (EFL). 

This extension of the long-term agreement between the two parties ensures that all EFL clubs and competitions will continue to appear as fully licensed entities in our next release, Football Manager 2024. 

More than 19.8 million fans attended EFL fixtures across the Championship, League One and League Two last season, meaning that all three divisions ranked among the top 20 best attended in Europe.

The 2022-23 campaign also bore witness to a unique collaboration between the EFL and Football Manager – the FM23 Papa Johns Trophy Challenge. The two-month competition culminated with FMFC member and Bolton Wanderers fan Ian Fraser winning the opportunity of a lifetime to present the Papa Johns Trophy to his beloved team’s captain Ricardo Santos at April’s Wembley final. 

Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive, said: “We are delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership with the EFL.

“The league’s clubs are among the most popular with our players; in FM23, more than 40 million games were played with EFL clubs across 1.5 million unique careers. 

“A highlight of last season was the Papa Johns Trophy collaboration, which saw the winner present the trophy to the winning captain at Wembley – a real ‘money can’t buy’ moment for one of our players.”

EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright, added: “We have sought to partner with brands long-term where we can develop and cultivate our partnerships and create deeper, more impactful connections with fans, customers, and communities.

“Our partnership with Football Manager has also exemplified our commercial portfolio objectives. The number of people playing Football Manager and engaging with EFL clubs is testament to the ever-growing popularity of the EFL. 

“We thank both Sports Interactive for the ongoing relationship and helping to continue engaging fans for this season and beyond.”