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Global Club Partnership Strategy

Football Manager, 2025

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Redesigning Football Manager’s club partnerships around football culture, strategic markets and stronger storytelling.

MY ROLE

Oversaw Football Manager’s club partnership strategy for FM26, identifying the markets and clubs that could drive audience growth and product storytelling.

CONTEXT

Football Manager’s club partnerships had grown deal by deal, without a clear strategy for where the game needed to grow. The partnerships offered access, but not always relevance, with little connection to the wider direction of the series.

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There was clear growth potential in Latin America, the Balkans and North America, where licences were limited and football culture carried more weight than official branding alone. 

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Club partners needed to mean something within those football cultures, using clubs to build relevance, identity and long-term player base growth.

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STRATEGY

Partnerships were rebuilt around clearer priorities: football culture, strategic markets and long-term relevance.

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Football Manager couldn’t partner with every club, so the focus shifted towards those with the strongest cultural identity, fanbase and storytelling potential. Inspired by

Red Bull’s approach to its football network, partnerships were viewed not as part of a wider ecosystem.

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We reassessed the existing roster to understand which clubs still aligned with FM’s direction and where gaps existed across key markets.

 

Content became part of the partnership from the outset. Ideas, access and formats were discussed directly with clubs during the pitch stage, making storytelling central to the partnerships.

WHAT CHANGED

Partnerships moved closer to marketing, with my content team shaping which clubs were pursued for deals.

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The FM26 network became more deliberate and intentional, aligning more directly with Football Manager’s growth markets and the game’s wider identity.

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  • Boca Juniors, River Plate and Club América strengthened Football Manager’s presence in Latin America

  • Dinamo Zagreb anchored the game’s relevance in the Balkans

  • Vancouver Whitecaps established a foothold in North America
     

Partnerships began to reflect how Football Manager already exists within football culture:
 

  • AS Monaco aligned naturally with wonderkid development

  • Brighton & Hove Albion represented modern, data-led recruitment

  • Angel City FC marked the arrival of women’s football
     

With nine club partners onboarded by the end of the cycle, our network became more connected and reflected a clearer direction for the series.

FIRST-EVER

club partnerships secured across the Balkans, Latin America and North America

280%

increase in social engagement across partnership content

38%

sales increase vs FM24 in Latin America

Images: Sports Interactive, Angel City FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Club América, Dinamo Zagreb

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