Are you struggling for inspiration for save ideas with Football Manager 2025 being delayed until March (at least)? We got our thinking caps on for clubs that could pose an interesting challenge for the next few months, if you pretend you’re playing FM25 in FM24.
To do that, you’ll need to grab a free data update from the likes of FMInside, FMScout, Passion4FM or SortItOutSI. With that done, here are our 25 teams to manage on Football Manager 2024 (while pretending you’re playing FM25) for the next 4 months.
Teams In Major European Nations
Burton Albion, England
An intriguing challenge from the EFL is Burton Albion, who underwent a Scandinavian takeover during the summer. Former chairman Ben Robinson sold his majority stake to the Nordic Football Group, which is formed of several investors across Scandinavia. The level of finances available in-game remains to be seen, but you should benefit from outstanding infrastructure given Burton train at St. George’s Park.
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Enfield Town, England
North London side Enfield became England’s first fully fan-owned football team when it was founded in 2001. And promotion last season means it’s now playable for the first time in the data update. It’ll be interesting to see if that fan-owned structure is replicable in FM, but the mission is to lead Enfield through the leagues and establish it as the best team in London. Easy.
Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne, France
Troyes suffered relegation from Ligue 1 in 2023 and were extremely lucky not to go back-to-back last season, given they finished in the relegation zone and only survived due to Bordeaux’s plight. They’ve also started this season pretty poorly, so your mission is to arrest their fortunes, lead them back into Ligue 1 and usurp PSG as the main force in French football. Note: I actually started a save with Troyes earlier this month and it was a really enjoyable challenge to (I thought at the time) finish off FM24.
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, Germany
Another option that’s influenced by personal experience, I recently started a temporary save in 2. Bundesliga. I ended up racking up a few seasons at Kaiserslautern and building a team of wonderkids without actually overthrowing Bayern, because managing in Germany is awesome yet frustrating. Bundesliga has great financial rewards and, crucially, no registration limits, so you can scout and snap up all the South Americans you like (while remembering homegrown limitations when you get into Europe). So my pick would be to take control of Kaiserslautern, aim to take them back to the top tier, then win their first Bundesliga title since 1998.
Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, Italy
This is a pretty obvious option, given football hipster favourite Sassuolo was relegated from Serie A for the first time since being promoted in 2013. The good news is you’ll have a strong squad to try and achieve an immediate return, given the likes of Italy international Domenico Berardi and wonderkid Luca Lipani stayed at the club and they signed solid left back Josh Doig.
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Helmond Sport, Netherlands
I’ve never managed in the Dutch 2nd tier but, not only does the league not have relegation, it also has 4 teams that can’t get promoted (Jong Ajax, Jong AZ, Jong PSV, Jong Utrecht). The league winner and runner-up are promoted and six more clubs enter the end-of-season playoffs, or Nacompetitie, which is formed of the clubs that have the best record in the four periods of the season (first 8 games, then 9th to 16th, 17th to 24th and 25th to 32nd games). The next 2 spots go to the highest-placed clubs that haven’t earned a place.
So with that clarified… how about taking charge of Helmond Sport, a club that was founded in 1967 but has only spent 2 seasons in the top-tier Eredivisie, in 1983 and 1984. This season it started superbly before a little bit of a wobble, but still sits 2nd with 8 wins from 13 games. Your mission is to lead Helmond to promotion, then usurp the big three to win their maiden Dutch title.
Futebol Clube de Alverca, Portugal
Alverca holds the dubious honour of having the all-time best record in Portugal’s third tier Liga 3, which was only created in 2021. In 90 games in three seasons at this level, Alverca racked up 46 wins and 163 points, which is 4 more than any other club. And its reward was promotion to the second tier last season. Alverca played in Portugal’s top tier as recently as 2004, only to fold for financial reasons a year later, then reforming and having to start all over again in the Lisbon district leagues in 2006. But it’s worked its way back up, now sitting one promotion away from a glorious recovery. Your mission is to take them back to the top tier and win their first Portuguese title.
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Clyde FC, Scotland
Founded 147 years ago in 1877, Clyde’s biggest claim to fame is three Scottish Cup successes in 1939, 1955 and 1958. It spent its first 100 years in the top two tiers of Scottish football, but hasn’t played in the top division since 1975 – 50 years at the end of the current season. It was in the second tier (then the SFL1) as recently as 2009 but lingered in the fourth tier League Two (formerly SFL3) since 2010. And Clyde currently, at the time of writing, sit bottom of League Two with 1 win from 11 matches. So your mission is to take control of this semi-professional club and restore its former glory by returning to the Scottish Premiership, winning a Scottish Cup, and taking on the Old Firm. This is arguably the hardest challenge on this list.
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, Spain
The prize for the weirdest transfer policy of the summer definitely has to go to Las Palmas. The Gran Canaria club countered the signings of Oli McBurnie and Scott McKenna with the likes of Adnan Januzaj, Getafe’s Jaime Mata and 35-year-old former Barcelona goalkeeper Jesper Cillesen. They’ll team up with the likes of former Everton flop Sandro Ramírez. So if you can keep this ragtag collection in LaLiga, then fair play to you.
Interesting Challenges Across The Rest Of Europe
If, like me in our recently concluded EuroTrip adventure, you fancy an adventure outside of the main European leagues, then here are a few challenges to take on:
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium
Union SG came close to making this list last year, after blowing the Belgian title on the final day. But now they very much deserve to be here, considering they’ve narrowly missed out on their 12th title for the last three seasons. Last season, Union led the through to the league split, only to lose their first four games of the championship playoff phase. This season marks 90 years since Union won their 11th title in 1935/35, so your mission is to end the near misses and finally claim that elusive number 12.
Professional Football Club CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria
This season, Ludogorets Razgrad will be looking to match the all-time world record of 14 consecutive national titles held by Macedonia’s Skonto (1991-2004) and Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps (2003-2016). Ludogorets was purchased in 2010 by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Kiril Domuschiev, who bankrolled the club to an immediate promotion to the top tier in May 2011, its first-ever title 12 months later – and every single Bulgarian title since. Last season, Ludogorets won the title by 12 points from CSKA-Sofia and 13 points from Cherno More. Therefore, your mission will be to stop Ludogrorets from making it 14 successive titles, with CSKA being the most likely contender.
Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, Croatia
Hajduk Split made this list 12 months ago, when I suggested that Igor Biscan was probably a terrible manager. And so it proved as, having topped the table going into the winter break, Hajduk signed Ivan Perisic and Josip Brekalo, fell apart and finished 3rd. That allowed Dinamo Zagreb to win a 7th successive title and their 18th in the last 19 years – while Hajduk have gone 19 years without tasting domestic league glory. If you don’t fancy Hajduk, then how about challenging Dinamo with Rijeka, who had 3 players in Croatia’s Euro 2024 squad.
Paksi FC, Hungary
If you like the idea of an Athletic Bilbao-esque challenge in Eastern Europe, then Paks is the place for you. Paksi FC, based in the small town of Paks, in Tolna county in southern Hungary, has a transfer policy to only sign Hungarian players, which puts the pressure on you to build an all-star homegrown team that challenges Ferencvaros’ stranglehold on the Hungarian title.
Knattspyrnufélag Vesturbæja, Iceland
Where better to prove your managerial credentials than a team that genuinely hired a manager based purely on his FM achievements? KV recently hired a 27-year-old manager who (dubiously) claims to have spent 2% of his entire lifetime playing Football Manager. So, who knows, do well at KV and they may just hire you too (they probably won’t).
Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, Poland
Wisla Kraków is one of the most successful Polish clubs with 13 league titles to its name. However, financial issues led to it almost going bankrupt before being rescued by IT entrepreneur Jaroslaw Krolewski in 2019, only to be relegated to the 2nd tier in 2022. They missed out on the playoffs then the arrival of a Spanish coach and players saw Wisla go all the way to win the Polish Cup last season. But the cup success saw Wisla fall apart in the league, taking 1 point from their final 4 games to finish way down in 10th. So your mission is to lead Wisla back to the top tier and the very top of Polish football.
Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, Sweden
In a few FM24 saves, I noticed little IF Brommapojkarna producing some stellar wonderkids. Digging a little deeper into a club I’ll admit I’d not heard of, it also has somewhat of a reputation in real life, producing the likes of Dejan Kulusevski and Viktor Gyökeres in recent years. That’s thanks to Brommapojkarna, located in the Bromma borough in western Stockholm, having more active youth teams than any other club in Europe – with 247 teams and 3,000 players registered (in 2007). So your challenge will be to use this prodigious youth development to deliver Brommapojkarna’s maiden Swedish title.
Fussball Club Basel 1893, Switzerland
Swiss football has seen a massive power shift in recent years, with Young Boys, who hadn’t won a title since 1986, winning 6 of the last 7. That follows a period of domination by FC Basel, who won 12 of the 16 titles between 2002 and 2017. But last season, Basel dropped into the end-of-season relegation group and finished 8th out of 12 teams. Like many clubs around Europe, Basel suffered heavy financial losses during the pandemic followed by poor board-level management. But your mission will be to lead Basel back to the top of Swiss football. Another option in Switzerland could be record 27-time winners Grasshoppers, who only avoided relegation through the playoffs last season.
Clubs To Manage Across The Rest Of The World
If you don’t fancy managing in Europe at all, how about these clubs from around the rest of the footballing world:
Defensa y Justicia, Argentina
I’m not sure how many teams have won a continental trophy without winning a single major domestic trophy. But Defensa y Justicia, based in the Florencio Varela district of Buenos Aires, is one of them. DyJ was founded in 1935 but didn’t participate in official leagues until 1978. Since then, it’s been one of the clubs with the longest time spent in Argentina’s 2nd tier Primera Nacional, before reaching the top tier Primera División for the first time in 2014. And it’s stayed there ever since without winning the national title. However, in 2020, the club won its first major trophy by lifting Copa Sudamericana then defeating Palmeiras to win Recopa Sudamericana.
Vélez Sarsfield, Argentina
If you’re looking for an epic youth development adventure, then I highly recommend starting a save with Buenos Aires side Vélez. Forget Boca and River, Vélez is arguably the club with the greatest youth academy in Argentina, and possibly South America. From experience, you start the game with a mass of exciting youngsters and your academy should consistently produce new generations of superstars. In real life, Vélez is currently the surprise leader in Liga Profesional, having been relegation battlers in recent seasons. And Argentina is generally a really fun league to manage in.
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Brazil
Palmeiras became Champions of Brazil in 2023. However, not only did they lose Endrick to Real Madrid for around £60m, they’ve also sold 17-year-old Estavao William to Chelsea for about £30m and wingers Artur and Kevin to Zenit and Shakhtar for around £25m. They should have oodles of cash for you to rebuild a squad that’s been ripped apart. Palmeiras’ prodigious youth development means this is a club I’m considering for my Wonderkid Factory series on FM25.
Omiya Ardija, Japan
From experience, Japan is a great place to cut your virtual managerial teeth. Omiya has the potential to offer one of the most intriguing options for you to start a new save with. The club was relegated to J3 League for the first time in 2023, but recently became the latest to join the Red Bull family. That should give it the infrastructure to challenge Japan’s elite, if it gets the associated boost on the data update. But it may also be one to wait for FM25 to take full advantage of.
Sagan Tosu, Japan
Sagan Tosu have endured a pretty dismal campaign in Japan’s top tier. Other than a 3-2 win over Renofa Yamaguchi on 1 September, Tosu haven’t won a league game since a 4-3 victory at Niigata on 6 July. As a result, they were relegated to the second tier with 4 games remaining, with just 26 points, ending their 13-year stay in the J-League. Your mission, therefore, is to bring brighter times to Tosu, a club only founded in 1997, and help them challenge Japan’s elite.
Young Lions, Singapore
There can’t be too many teams in FM that have individual rules assigned in their national league. But one that does is Young Lions, a club run by the Singapore FA for players to represent while they serve the country’s mandatory national service. It can also loan in foreigners to gain Singaporean nationality. As a result, the club’s culture requires you to sign players aged under 23 and not over 30. While the league’s rules restrict Young Lions to a maximum three players aged over 23 and a maximum three foreign players, compared to the four allowed for all other clubs. So your mission is to lead your youthful Young Lions to the club’s maiden domestic title.
San Jose Earthquakes, United States of America
The delay to FM25 gives us all time to focus on new things and take on new challenges. For example, working out how on earth MLS works and what exactly a Generation Adidas player is. Armed with that knowledge, it’s time to prove your soccer genius by taking control of this year’s MLS whipping boys San Jose. The club just finished 29th out of 29, and we’re not talking “just finished last.” San Jose lost 25 of its 34 games, only won 6 and drew 3 to finish with a pitiful 21 points – 9 points adrift of the next-worse team Chicago Fire and 10 points behind the nearest Western Conference side Sporting KC. So your challenge is to take the worst team in MLS, understand how the league works, and win MLS and the North American Champions League with San Jose before FM25. Good luck with that one.
Montevideo Wanderers, Uruguay
Uruguay is largely dominated by the big 2 of Nacional and Penarol. However, last season, Liverpool FC went and won their maiden title, which shows the big teams can be taken down. Montevideo Wanderers was founded in 1902 and won its first title 4 years later and added 2 more in the next 25 years. However, it’s not won the Uruguayan title since 1931. So your mission is to establish Wanderers as the new dominant force in Uruguayan football.
So there you have our 25 recommendations of teams to manage on FM24 (while pretending you’re playing FM25). Do any of these clubs stand out to you? Or do you have another in mind for the rest of FM24? Let us know by commenting on the article below!
Looking for more Football Manager club recommendations? Check out our previous guides:
10 Challenges for FM24
24 Teams to Manage on FM24
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
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