FM Guide: 24 Teams To Manage On FM24

With Football Manager 2024 edging ever closer, it’s time to start thinking about the exciting challenges we want to take on in the new game. So if you’re a little short on inspiration for where or who to manage in FM24, we’ve pulled together a few ideas.

Below, we offer up teams that we think make for an interesting adventure across the major playable European countries (except for Spain and Portugal, because I couldn’t find any). We’ll also explore some teams to take on outside of these bigger European nations then turn our eye to the Americas and beyond…. “J-League,” I hear you cry?

Top European Nation Challenges

Avoiding obvious challenges like new boys Luton, rebuilding Chelsea or Tottenham, and managing Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, we’ve come up with a few interesting challenges in the so-called major European footballing nations. But honestly, I couldn’t find an interesting Spanish challenge outside of Malaga, which was a bit too obvious, so feel free to suggest one!

Rochdale AFC, England

If ever a club deserved success, surely it has to be Rochdale. In 116 years of existence, Rochdale has only ever had three promotions (1969, 2010, 2014) and five relegations (1959, 1974, 2012, 2021, 2023). They’ve played the most seasons in the Football League without reaching the top two tiers and endured an all-time record of 36 years in tier four between 1974 and 2010. But new lows were reached in April, when 102 years as a Football League side ended by finishing bottom of League Two, joining the likes of Oldham, Hartlepool, Southend and York in the National League. Can you be the manager to finally bring a little joy to this corner of the North West of England in FM24? Another option is Scunthorpe United, who dropped into the National League North 12 years after being in the Championship.

Truro City FC, England

Basd on my brief research (could be wrong), Cornwall is the largest county not to have a team compete in the English Football League. According to UK Population Data, the county is home to 568,210 people, which makes it the 40th most-populated, and measures 1,375 square miles, which makes it the 13th largest. Yet no football club from Cornwall has ever made it out of non-league. However, you could change that by assuming control of Truro City. The club was founded in 1889 and spent most of its existence in the lower regions of English football, with its biggest claims to fame being an FA Vase success in 2007 and a singular FA Cup first-round appearance in 2018. However, Truro gained promotion from Southern League Premier Division South last season, which makes them playable in FM24 as they take their place in Vanarama National South. So your mission is to help them become Cornwall’s first-ever Football League club and then kick on to even greater things.

Le Havre Athletic Club, France

Le Havre is the oldest French club still in existence, having been founded in 1884. It also has a rich tradition of developing young talent, including household names like Paul Pogba, Edouard and Ferland Mendy, Ibrahim Ba, Charles N’Zogbia, Vikash Dhorasoo and Riyad Mahrez. The club’s had a tough time since Ligue 1 relegation in 2009 but finally booked its place back in the top tier for this season. That success, which made Le Havre the record 6-time Ligue 2 winners, was secured by promising young talents and a solid defence that conceded just 19 in 38 – which was the fewest in the top two tiers of the five major European domestic nations. Whether that strong youth and defence is reflected in FM24 remains to be seen, but keeping Le Havre up and then challenging PSG sounds like fun.

Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine, France

Going into the final day of the 2007/8 campaign, Nancy sat 3rd in Ligue 1 but a 3-2 loss to Rennes saw them miss out on Champions League qualification by one point. That 4th place finish was a joint-record club high, while their 30 goals conceded was a joint low. However, things have gone low for very different reasons since then. The club that’s probably best known for producing Michel Platini now finds itself in France’s third-tier Championnat National, and only avoided relegation to tier 4 by three points last season. So this is a club very much in need of a freshen-up.

Sportvereinigung 07 Elversberg e.V., Germany

SV Elversberg may well be one of the most interesting challenges awaiting you on FM24. Elversberg lingered in the lower reaches of German football for most of its 116-year existence. But it reached 3. Liga for the first time in 2013, immediately suffered relegation and lost a promotion playoff the following two seasons. It finally gained promotion by winning Regionalliga Südwest in 2022 then impressively won 3. Liga at the first attempt to reach the second tier for the first time in the club’s history this season. So can you keep Elversberg in tier two and continue the club’s quest for unprecedented greatness?

Benevento Calcio, Italy

If you fancy your ability to arrest the fortunes of a club, then Benevento is very much an option. The club brilliantly known as Gli Stregoni (The Sorcerers) was only promoted to Serie B for the first time in its history in 2016 then reached Serie A 12 months later. It went on to lose the first 14 matches in Serie A and was unsurprisingly relegated at the first attempt, then returned to Serie A in 2020 before being relegated again a year later. But there was no return this time around, as Benevento finished bottom of Serie B last season. The challenge now is to bounce back, lead I Giallorossi into Serie A, survive for the first time, and begin to challenge Italy’s big boys.

Alkmaar Zaanstreek (AZ Alkmaar), Netherlands

Think of Dutch football and you likely imagine the dominant Ajax youth academy that’s consistently produced some of the best players in the world over the last few decades. However, last season, the AZ Alkmaar youth team achieved something that Ajax never has – it won the UEFA Youth League. Its first team finished 4th in Eredivisie, only two points behind Ajax, last season, started this season by winning the first 5 league games and had recent success, winning the KNVB Cup in 2020 and Eredivisie in 2009. It remains to be seen whether the talent of its youth team trickles through into FM24, but if so, establishing this club as the dominant force in the Netherlands could be an exciting challenge.

Hamilton Academicals, Scotland

They may have a great name but things have not been great on the pitch for Accies, who were relegated to tier 3 last season courtesy of losing a playoff against Lanarkshire rivals Airdrie. That said, the club’s youth team won the Scottish title last season, which suggests there could be plenty of promise coming through the ranks. So, if that’s reflected in FM24 (big if), the challenge is to lead a young Accies side back up the leagues and take on the Old Firm.

The Spartans, Scotland

For Sparta! This has all the makings of an epic Football Manager adventure. And, in light of the rise of Luton, this is quite an apt one, given no team has ever gone from non-league into the Scottish Premiership. The Spartans have an amazing name and they’ll be competing in the top four tiers of Scottish football for the first time after beating Albion in a playoff. I have to admit I’d never heard of them before Googling who got promoted into League Two, but taking The Spartans into the Premiership and challenging the big boys would be an amazing but very difficult adventure. And I’m certainly tempted – more on that in our post on potential save plans on Friday.

Other European Challenges

Fancy stepping outside of these big-profile European leagues? Well then, here are a few teams from across the rest of Europe that could be fun to take on in FM24.

Hajduk Split, Croatia

If you thought the likes of Bayern, PSG and Man City were dominant then how about Dinamo Zagreb, who’ve won six titles on the bounce and 17 of the last 18. Despite that, they sacked Ante Cacic and replaced him with former Liverpool midfielder Igor Biscan, who I presume is as terrible a manager as he was a player. Hajduk seems the most obvious option to try and battle Dinamo, while the likes of Osijek and Rijeka tend to have good youth recruitment if you fancy a stiffer challenge.

Banik Ostrava, Czech Republic

Great facilities and youth recruitment are vital to progression in FM. And in Banik Ostrava, you have both as, in FM23 at least, they had 18 youth facilities and 16 training facilities, youth coaching and youth recruitment, which are among the best facilities in the Czech Republic. Banik are four-time title winners, most recently in 2004 after successes in 1976, 1980 and 1981. But last season, they only finished 12th on 35 points from 30 games, which took them into the relegation group that they finished top of. So it’s clear they need someone to come in and take advantage of their solid facilities.

Budapest Honvéd, Hungary

The legendary Ferenc Puskas’ former club are 14-time Hungarian champions, a tally only bettered by Ferencváros, MTK and Újpest. But Honvéd suffered relegation for just the second time in their 114-year history last season. So your challenge is to help them bounce back, win that 15th title then hunt down the 34 (and counting) titles of Ferencváros. Six-time champions Vasas were also relegated and newly promoted Kecscemeti were narrowly pipped to the title, if you fancy a different Hungarian challenge.

Vålerenga Fotball, Norway

If a Scandinavian save tickles your fancy then Norway is a great option, given so many of its clubs have decent facilities and strong youth recruitment. In addition to Bodø/Glimt, you have the likes of Brann, Lillestrøm, Molde, Odds BK, Rosenborg, Tromsø and Viking. But for me, the team that represents the most interesting opportunity would be Vålerenga, who have perfect 20 youth recruitment and solid facilities but are struggling towards the bottom of the league this season.

Legia Warszawa Spółka Akcyjna, Poland

Poland was one of several smaller European nations to have a shock champion as unfancied Raków Czestochowa won its maiden title last season. My recommendation for Poland would be to attempt a build the nation save as, in FM23 at least, plenty of clubs in the country have top facilities plus fantastic youth recruitment in Cracovia (15), Lech Poznan (20), Legia (20), Pogon Szczecin (15), Wisla Krakow (15) and Zaglebie Lubin (18). So pick your preferred Polish club and focus on youth production to try and make the Ekstraklasa the best league in Europe.

Fudbalski Klub Partizan, Serbia

Speaking of countries with great youth production brings us to Serbia. Partizan Belgrade is a club with 27 national titles to its name (across Yugoslavia, Serbia & Montenegro and Serbia) and was European Cup runner-up in 1966. However, it’s not won the Serbian title since 2017 and only finished 4th last season, a massive 25 points behind city rivals Crvena Zvezda (Red Star). So the challenge here is to take the club intriguingly known as Grobari (The Undertakers or Gravediggers) back to the top of Serbian football. Helpfully, they tend to have excellent youth recruitment, which may be your best route to success.

FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda, Slovenia

Always the bridesmaids and never the bride, DAC finished 2nd three times in five years in Slovenia’s Niké Liga. But with seven games remaining last season, they enjoyed a six-point lead and seemed destined to end that hoodoo. But no, an injury-time penalty in a late defeat to Slovan Bratislava handed their rivals a 5th successive title and DAC yet again finished 2nd. So can you finally get DAC over the line and win that elusive maiden title?

Bursaspor Kulübü Derneğ, Turkey

If you’re looking for a really big challenge, then how about popping off to the Turkish third tier? Bursaspor was only founded in 1988 and won its maiden, and still only, Turkish title in 2010. However, the club found itself relegated 9 years later and dropped into the third tier in 2022 then only finished 15th last season, so remains firmly stuck in tier 3. So your mission is to arrest this decline, lead Bursaspor back to the top and to its 2nd title. Also, how could you pass up managing in this wild crocodile-shaped stadium?!

Adventures in the Americas

If you fancy escaping Europe altogether to spend some time managing in the Americas on FM24, then here are a few suggestions to tickle your FM tastebuds.

Associação Chapecoense de Futebol, Brazil

Chapecoense, only founded in 1973, was a team very much on the up until tragedy struck. The club reached Série B for the first time in 2013 then Série A a year later. A strong financial position helped it qualify for Copa Sudamericana in 2015 then finish 8th in Série A in 2016. But its biggest achievement was reaching the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Final against Colombian side Atlético Nacional. However, en route to Medellín for the first leg, the team’s plane ran out of fuel and crashed, killing 71 of 77 passengers, including 19 players and the whole coaching team, and only 3 players survived, one of whom Jakson Follmann had his leg amputated.

Unsurprisingly, things haven’t been great since, suffering relegation in 2019 and again in 2021 in their first season back in Série A, and they remain in the second tier. So the challenge is to lead Chapecoense out of Série B, overcome Brazil’s best and take on the rest of South America.

Club Atlético Independiente, Argentina

Traditionally seen as one of Buenos Aires’ “big five,” Independiente hasn’t won an Argentinian title in over 20 years, since its 2002 Apertura success. Independiente is known as Rey de Copas (King of Cups) as a result of being the only club ever to win four successive Copa Libertadores, between 1972 and 1975. And, interestingly, its 1984 Intercontinental Cup win over Liverpool in 1984 was celebrated by all Argentinians and led to the team earning the motto “Orgullo Nacional” (“national pride”) as it was the first battle between Argentine and British teams since the Falklands War. The challenge on FM24 is to restore that national pride for Independiente by leading them to domestic and continental glory.

Club Universidad de Chile, Chile

Chile is one of the most interesting leagues to manage in as it increasingly seems there’s very little separating teams in the top tier. Traditionally, three major clubs have battled for dominance, but at the mid-point of this season, none of Colo-Colo, Universidad Católica and Colo-Colo were in the top three. We explored this in a recent post on Chile’s exciting title race, when Cobresal led the way and, despite losing 6-0 at Colo-Colo last weekend, they still top the league. Meanwhile, UdC find themselves lingering in a lowly 9th and 10th. So the challenge is to lead this traditional big side back to the top of Chilean football. And if that doesn’t appeal, I’d recommend taking charge of the other big three side Católica, who are also struggling this season.

Envigado Fútbol Club, Colombia

Obviously, we’re throwing Envigado in here as always, but I would argue that this is the single most enjoyable team to manage on Football Manager. I did so on FM23 in my Wonderkid Factory save, leading a team of fully homegrown players to a record-breaking tally of Colombian titles and 3 Copa Libertadores. The club’s prodigious youth development really is that good. So if developing wonderkids is your aim, look no further than Envigado.

Pumas UNAM, México

Another club I’ve managed in the past, as part of my FM22 Aventuras Américas save, Pumas have great youth production but have struggled recently. Pumas’ 7 titles make it the fifth most successful team in Mexican football, but hasn’t won a title since 2011, finished 16th out of 18 teams in last season’s Apertura then 14th in Clausura and just climbed to 6th in Apertura. Managing in Mexico is also really fun as, when you become successful, you have an absolute mass of competitions to compete in, including being invited to manage the ridiculously American notion that is the All-Stars game against MLS All-Stars.

J.League Challenges

Yeah, we heard you, Japan will be playable for the first time in FM24. So who should you manage in Japan? There’s a mass of options in the country, but here are a couple of fun challenges that caught my eye.

Yokohama FC

44% of teams in J.League (8 out of 18) have never been champions of Japan. Arguably the most interesting of these teams is Yokohama FC, who’ve just been promoted to J.League and will be playing in just their 3rd top-flight season, which is 7 seasons fewer than any other top-flight club. Not convinced? Kayuyoshi Miura plays for them at the age of 56 (FIFTY-SIX!), although he may well be out on loan to Oliveirense in the Portuguese 2nd tier, which says a lot about the standard of football in Portugal.

Nara FC

For a very different challenge, how about a team playing in the third tier of Japanese football for the first time? Nara were promoted to J.League 3 in November after 8 seasons in the 4th-tier JFL. Also, from experience, Nara is a beautiful city but, for obvious reasons, I know very little about the football team. Another team competing at this level for the first time is FC Osaka, who joined Nara in promotion after being edged out of the title on goal difference.

Need even more inspiration for teams to manage on FM24? Check out our previous FM Guides:

23 Teams to Manage on FM23
22 Teams to Manage on FM22
28 More Teams to Manage on FM22
21 Teams to Manage on FM21
18 More Teams to Manage on FM21
Teams to Manage on FM19