Football Manager Experiment: The Inverted British League System

I recently found myself running out of inspiration for saves on Football Manager 2024 and fed up with the same old teams dominating, even on a save 30 years into the future. I’ve been intrigued by the idea of creating a British league but, obviously, that would be dominated by the prominent English teams. So instead, I inverted the entire system, putting the smallest British teams at the top of the pyramid and vice-versa.

Therefore, if you like the idea of the English “big six” languishing in tier six and the likes of Bonnyrigg Rose and Llantwit Major at the top of the pyramid, this will be the database for you. You can download the database file or the save game file via these Google Drive links.

I used the FM editor to rank clubs from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales by reputation in a spreadsheet. That gave me 260 teams, of which 88 were from England, 44 were from Ireland, 38 were from Northern Ireland, 42 were from Scotland, and 48 were from Wales. But to fill the entire English pyramid down to the level below the North/South required 252, so the lowest 8 reputation teams across all the 5 nations were removed.

To invert the pyramid, the lowest 4 teams from each nation went into the highest tier of the new British League System – the Irn-Bru British Premiership. The next 6(ish) teams from each nation were placed in the following eight divisions – so the real-life lowest-ranked teams compete in the new top tier and the highest-ranked teams are at the bottom. Every team in each division has the same reputation, from 8500 in the Prem down to 5000 at the lowest tier, and the same finances. However, the “big six” have had their finances ruined to balance still having the best players.

All nine divisions are playable, and the system flow reflects the real-life English league format. The playable British League System in full is as follows:

Irn-Bru British Premiership	Jaguar British Championship	Reebok British First League	Rowntree’s British Second League
Bangor 1876	Abergavenny	Accrington	Annagh Utd
Barrow	Banbridge	AFC Wimbledon	Ballyclare
Bonnyrigg Rose	Buckley	Airdrieonians	Ballymacash
Crawley	Cambrian & Clydach	Ammanford	Belfast Celtic
Cwmbran Celtic	Cobh Wanderers	Arbroath	Bradford City
Donegal Celtic	Col Corinthians	Avondale	Caersws
Goytre	Colchester	Ayr United	Carlisle
Harrogate	Cove Rangers	Bluebell Utd	Crumlin Utd
Killester	Crewe	Denbigh	Dergview
Limavady Utd	Distillery	Dollingstown	Everton (IRL)
Llantwit Major	Douglas Hall	Doncaster	Forfar
Malahide Utd	Forest Green	Dundela	Gillingham
Mayfield Utd	Grimsby	Falkirk	Inverness CT
Newington	Hamilton	Greenock Morton	Leyton Orient
Portstewart	Knockbreda	Guilsfield	Llanidloes
Spartans	Midleton	Home Farm	Northampton
Stenhousemuir	Mold Alex	HW Welders	P.S.N.I.
Stranraer	Montrose	Mansfield	Partick Thistle
Sutton Utd	Morecambe	Queens University	Queen’s Park
Tolka Rovers	Moyola Park	Rhyl 1879	Salford
	Penrhyncoch	Rockmount	St. Mochtas
	Queen of the South	Ruthin	Swansea Uni
	Stevenage	Stockport	Swindon
	Walsall	Tranmere	Wayside Celtic

Warburton’s British Third League	Land Rover British Fourth League	Tunnock’s British Fifth League
Afan Lido	Ballinamallard	Aberystwyth
Ards	Bangor	Airbus UK
Athlone Town	Bray Wanderers	Alloa
Cambridge	Bristol Rovers	Annan Athletic
Cheltenham	Burton	Armagh
Cobh Ramblers	Carmarthen	Barnsley
Conwy	Clyde	Blackpool
Dumbarton	Dunfermline	Bolton
Edenderry	East Fife	Brechin
Edinburgh City	Finn Harps	Caernarfon
Exeter	Flint Town	Cardiff Met Uni
Fleetwood	Holywell	Carrigaline Utd
Gresford	Institute	Charlton
Kelty Hearts	Lincoln	Haverfordwest
Kerry	Livingston	Hay St Mary’s
Llandudno	Llanelli	Newry City
Loughgall	Longford	Peterborough
Maynooth Town	MK Dons	Peterhead
Notts County	Oxford Utd	Pontypridd
Port Vale	Prestatyn	Portsmouth
Porthmadog	Raith	Rathfriland Rangers
Shrewsbury	Treaty Utd	Reading
Stirling	Wexford	Warrenpoint
UCD	Wigan	Wycombe

Coffee #1 British Sixth League	Guinness British Seventh League	Cadbury British Eighth League	Tetley British Ninth League
Barry	Bala	Bohemians	Aberdeen
Birmingham	Ballymena	Bournemouth	Arsenal
Carrick Rangers	Blackburn	Brentford	Aston Villa
Colwyn Bay	Bristol City	Burnley	Brighton
Derby	Coleraine	Cliftonville	Cardiff
Drogheda Utd	Connah’s Quay	Crusaders	Celtic
Dungannon	Cork	Dundee Utd	Chelsea
Galway Utd	Coventry	Everton	Crystal Palace
Huddersfield	Dundalk	Glentoran	Derry
Hull	Dundee	Hearts	Fulham
Ipswich	Glenavon	Hibernian	Larne
Kilmarnock	Luton	Leeds	Linfield
Millwall	Middlesbrough	Leicester	Liverpool
Penybont	Motherwell	Newport	Man City
Plymouth	Newtown	Nottm Forest	Man UFC
Portadown	Norwich	Sheff U	Newcastle
Preston	Sheff Weds	Shelbourne	Rangers
QPR	Sligo Rovers	Southampton	Shamrock
Ross County	St Mirren	St Pat’s Athletic	Swansea
Rotherham	Stoke	TNS	Spurs
St Johnstone	Sunderland	Watford	West Ham
Waterford	West Brom	Wrexham	Wolves

Testing Out The British League Database

I decided to test out the new system by simming through one season. The first Irn-Bru British Premiership served up a thrilling title fight between Cwmbran Celtic and Killester. Both sides went into the final day tied on 90 points and both won, which saw Cwmbran become the maiden British champions. But Mayfield, Goytre and Bonnyrigg Rose were the first relegated sides. The league also served up plenty of spending, led by Killester signing Jarrod Bowen for £85m, Bangor 1876 signing Johan Bakayoko for £67m and Tolka signing Pape Matar Sarr for £73m.

Moving down a league, there was more Welsh success as Abergavenny won the Jaguar British Championship with a phenomenal 118 points, only losing twice alls season. That was thanks to spending £67m on the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Yaser Asprille and Jarrad Branthwaite. Stevenage were promoted with 107 points and were joined by Colchester, who beat Forest Green in the playoff final. But Moyola Park, Banbridge and Cobh Wanderers were relegated. Less money was spent, but Stevenage signed Conor Bradley for £17m and Abergavenny dominated with 9 of the 13 biggest transfers.

Stockport won the tier 2 Reebok British First League, finishing 1 point clear of AFC Wimbledon. The bookies’ favourites, Irish side Home Farm, joined them by beating Mansfield in the playoff final. Bluebell, Guilsfield, Avondale and Queens University were relegated. Home Farm made the 6 biggest transfers, led by signing Luke O’Niem for £8.25m.

English sides dominated the Rowntree’s British Second League as Leyton Orient won the league, were joined in automatic promotion by Northampton and Carlisle, and Salford won the playoff final against Gillingham. Northern Irish side Ballymacash Rangers and Ireland’s Everton went down.

There was a similar story in Warburton’s British Third League (equivalent to the National League) as Cambridge edged Port Vale to the title and Fleetwood won the playoffs. Kerry, Llandudno, Gresford and Porthmadog were all relegated. League favourites Edenderry were the biggest spenders, including £9.25m on Jonson Clarke-Harris, but lost in the playoff final.

The English dominance continued in the fifth tier, which is effectively Vanarama North/South. In the Land Rover British Fourth League, Oxford won the league with 114 points and Lincoln beat Wigan in the playoff final. Flint Town, Institute, Holywell and Ballinamallard Utd were relegated. Winners Oxford made the 6 biggest signings, led by Jack Hinshelwood for £11.75m. The 8 English sides finished in the top 8 of Tunnock’s British Fifth League with Bolton winning the league and Blackpool beating Charlton in the playoff final. Bolton were also the biggest spenders, led by signing Will Smallbone for £11.25m.

The same old story continued down in the lowest tier, which is effectively the 4 regional leagues below the Vanarama North/South. QPR won the Coffee #1 British Sixth League with Ipswich 2nd, Norwich won Guinness British Seventh League with Middlesbrough in 2nd, Brentford won the Cardbury British Eight League with Bournemouth in 2nd and Arsenal won the Tetley British Ninth League with Liverpool in 2nd. City lost nearly all their players and capitulated, which was lovely to see, but the Scottish, Irish and Welsh sides struggled despite having more money.

Man UFC managed to win the FA Cup from the bottom of the British system, beating Liverpool in the Final. But Killester won the Carabao Cup, defeating Cwmbran Celtic in the Final.

Moving Further Into The British League

I wasn’t massively expecting this English domination but hoped a few more years would help the non-English sides address the balance. So I simmed through another five seasons to 2029 to discover whether the landscape had shifted and how the British sides were getting on in European competitions.

The Premiership remains the highest-reputation league in the world, which suggests teams have performed well. A few things stood out on the profile screen – Rasmus Hojlund and Jack Grealish were the top scorers and assisters at Stockport, and Marcus Rashford has the most player of the match awards for Walsall.

Maiden champions Cwmbran seemingly struggled with European football as they dropped to 10th while Killester won the 2nd Irn-Bru British Premiership by 13 points from Tolka Rovers ahead of Portstewart and newly promoted Abergavenny. Portstewart won the title in season 3, nicking the title by 1 point from Killester with a low points tally of 74 ahead of Tolka and Wimbledon, who claimed consecutive promotions then reached the Champions League. Killester claimed the title back in 2027, winning it with just 70 points and only 1 point ahead of Wimbledon. A new champion was crowned in 2028 as Abergavenny rose to the top with 78 points ahead of Home Farm, Killester and Wimbledon. And another followed in the most recent season, as Stevenage won the league with just 71 points and 11 defeats from Portstewart, Stockport and Abergavenny. Pleasingly, only 9 of the 20 top-tier sides are English, and Barrow got relegated with Llantwit and Mayfield.

British champions in the opening season Cwmbran Celtic got relegated in season 3, but just earned promotion by winning the Jaguar British Championship. They were joined in promotion by Salford and Newington, who beat Brentford in the playoff final. That follows 4 years of English domination with Wimbledon, Stockport, Mansfield, and Sutton winning the league and Walsall, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient and Forest Green getting promoted. But there’s some good news for the non-English sides with Home Farm, Mayfield, Newington and Midleton all getting promoted as well.

Thankfully, none of the promoted sides from Reebok British First League in the most recent season were English. Belfast Celtic won the league and went up with Buckley and playoff winners Arbroath. That’s the first time in the save the top 2 haven’t been English, but Greenock Morton, Queen’s Park and Airdrieonians have all been promoted via the playoffs. Bolton have been the biggest risers so far, going from League 5 to League 1, but got relegated in the season just gone.

There was more good news for the non-British nations in the Rowntree’s British Second League. Inverness won the 2029 title and were promoted with Crumlin, Banbridge, who’d previously had back-to-back relegations, and Caersws, who beat Chelsea, who’ve held onto some of their big players like Caicado and Nkunku, in the playoff final.

Man UFC had risen up to Warburtons British Third League (equivalent to the National League) with back-to-back promotions but just got relegated with Avondale, Burton and Coventry. That league was won by Fulham and Notts County won the playoff final against Wolves. Past winners have been Bolton, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Chelsea with Lincoln, Brentford, Edenderry and Conwy winning the playoffs.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have just been relegated from the Tunnock’s British Fifth League (Vanarama N/S), finishing bottom with 28 points to drop back into the lowest tier. They only sold Gakpo and Nunez at the start of the most recent season, to Mansfield and Portstewart for a combined £84m. League 5 has just been won by Ipswich with Reading winning the playoffs and contains the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Bohemians and Cardiff Met Uni. It’s been dominated by English teams with Brentford, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham claiming previous titles and Arsenal, Wolves, Coventry and West Ham winning the playoffs.

There’s a similar story across in the Land Rover British Fourth League, where Sunderland just won the title and MK Dons beat Kelty Hearts in the playoff final. Preston, Dundalk, Ross County and Carrick Rangers went down. Previous title winners have been Liverpool, Burnley, Burton and Hull with Bristol Rovers, Middlesbrough, Man UFC and U.C.D. winning the playoffs.

There’s better news down in the lowest playable tier, where only 2 of the 8 promoted sides are English. Both of those are in Tetley British Ninth League, which was won by Wycombe with Watford joining them in promotion. Hay St Marys won Coffee #1 British Sixth League with Cliftonville 2nd, Bala won Guinness British Seventh League with Llandudno 2nd and Bluebell won Cadbury British Eighth League with Warrenpoint 2nd.

The biggest strugglers at the bottom of the system include TNS, who I thought would do well given they had better finances than most teams at their level, Everton, who’re broken financially, Nottm Forest, Newcastle, Leicester, Ards and Wrexham. But the biggest of the lot is Man City, who just lost every match in League 9 and were in administration in November 2028. Things you love to see!

The FA Cup has been won by Stevenage, back-to-back by Killester, Portstewart and Stockport, who just beat Malahide Utd 2-1 in the final. Killester have also won 3 Carabao Cups, winning the most recent against Midleton as well as the first 2, with additional successes for Stevenage, Mansfield and Tolka Rovers.

But can any of these teams compete in Europe? Nope. No British team has reached a Champions League Final yet, with Bayern winning 3, PSG 2 and Real Madrid the most recent winners. However, Stevenage just won the Europa League, beating Lille 1-0 through Marcos Leonardo’s goal, and Home Farm beat Gladbach in the 2027 Final. There’s also been Conference League success with Stevenage beating Atalanta in the 2027 Final and Mansfield beating Braga a year later.

Looking at the world screen, William Saliba of Portstewart is considered the best player in the world ahead of Kylian Mbappé, who’s still at PSG. And he’s the only leading player to play for a British team. None of the 6 biggest transfers have involved British teams, with the biggest being Nicolás González signing for Killester for £92m in 2026. But British sides are creeping up the rankings led by Killester (10th), Portstewart (12th), Abergavenny (16th) and Wimbledon (17th), with an honorable mention for Malahide, Stevenage, Home Farm, Spartans, Colchester and Banhor 1876 all in the top 30.

We’ll leave this post there, but I think I will sim ahead even further into the future to see if these British sides can begin to challenge Europe’s elite. I may also do a little FM Experiment managing a team in this database. For reference, Killester have £232m in the bank, perfect facilities and a £2bn valuation and look like the side best positioned to conquer Europe.

You can play the British League system yourself by downloading the database file or the save game file via these Google Drive links. You can also jump in at the 5-year point with this save game file.