FM26 World Cup Campaign
Football Manager, 2026
The content strategy that brought Football Manager 26’s FIFA World Cup licence to life across creators, partners and platform channels.
MY ROLE
Led the content strategy for FM26’s World Cup campaign, launching the FIFA license and return of international management across creators, partners and platform channels.
CONTEXT
International management was one of FM26’s most anticipated updates. Securing the FIFA license allowed Football Manager to be part of the World Cup for the first time in series history.
The campaign became the final opportunity to extend the FM26 cycle, showcase the update and place Football Manager in the world’s biggest football conversation before FM27.
STRATEGY
The FIFA licence gave Football Manager a place within the World Cup for the first time.
My objective was to make FM26 visible wherever fans were experiencing the tournament.
I built a connected content strategy across creators, platform partners and our organic channels:
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FIFA - launched the Curaçao Challenge, inviting players to take the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup and attempt the impossible with the prize a trip to the Caribbean.
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Influencer – worked with Copa 90 to activate creators across eight nations, turning FM26 into a tool for analysing squads, tactics and breakout stars at the World Cup
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Netflix – launched Football Manager’s first-ever social filter with a squad picker allowing fans to pick their ultimate World Cup 2026 XI
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Apple Arcade – showcased FM26 Touch through a content series following our social team's attempt to win multiple World Cups on the journey to New York.
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Fan Park Content – captured content with supporters across World Cup fan zones, turning tournament excitement into FM challenges, debates and social content.
The campaign connected the FIFA licence, international management update and wider World Cup conversation into a single story that ran throughout the tournament.
WHAT CHANGED
Football Manager's biggest World Cup campaign in series history.
The FIFA licence became a tournament-long content platform, keeping Football Manager present across creator content, partner channels and UGC throughout the summer.
12,000+
matches played in the
FIFAe Curaçao Challenge
8M
impressions for our FIFA x Netflix TikTok AR Filter
49
pieces of content developed across our FM channels
Images & Video: Sports Interactive, FIFAe