To mark the debut of women’s football in FM26, SJA committee member Carrie Brown recently chaired a panel of fellow media professionals at SOOO London; Mina Ibrahim, Ayisha Gulati and Suzy Wrack believe the management sim’s big move is a special moment…
The introduction of women’s leagues into the Football Manager video game shows how bold developments in wider media and culture are helping to change the sport for the better.
That’s the view of Guardian correspondent Suzy Wrack, the two-time SJA Women’s Sport Journalist of the Year, speaking at a panel convened at SOOO London to mark the women’s game’s FM debut.
Wrack was joined by fellow football media industry colleagues Mina Ibrahim and Ayisha Gulati for a discussion convened by SJA committee member Carrie Brown, the former chair of the Football Writers’ Association.
Together, the quartet assessed the significance of Sports Interactive’s decision to embrace women’s football and bring the professional leagues into its wildly popular management sim, which charts its origins back to 1992.
Since the current series began in 2005, the game has been published by Sega, with the last edition attracting over seven million players, a record-breaking number.
There will be 14 playable women’s pro leagues in the new game, and Wrack believes the overall message this sends is “hugely important”.
“The integration of women’s football into fan culture in general is really significant because it builds community, and that’s how you build and grow fan bases,” she told Brown.
“In March, I went to the first-ever Women’s Football Fair in Birmingham. It was a really good vibe, with loads of different things being made and sold – that kind of community aspect makes people feel like they’re a part of something.”
She mentions how Arsenal have attracted huge attendances to women’s games through activations like the Stella McCartney-designed kit and UEFA Women’s Champions League-specific merchandise.
“All of these things contribute towards building culture,” she added.
Gulati, head of women’s football at Hayters TV, is similarly encouraged.
“For kids growing up playing football, getting that first take of seeing both women’s and men’s is so important because then they know that equality exists, from the earliest possible age.
“You can become someone who’s in that video game, and you get to be that Football Manager too.
“I think it will encourage a lot more girls to the game. Growing up, it was predominantly boys playing it, but now we’ll have more girls playing the game which is great because we know there’s a lack of female football managers and coaches.
“Hopefully this can be the catalyst that makes that change.”
Ibrahim described how she’s been playing FM since she was a teenager in the late 2000s.
“I think it’s very exciting, not just for me, but for everybody else who’s a consumer of games,” said the broadcaster and content creator, who was shortlisted in the YouTube Newcomer category at the last SJA British Sports Journalism Awards.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the inclusion of women’s football in the EA Sports game that opened up a new audience,
“Hopefully Football Manager is able to do that as well because I know that there’s a whole community of women FM gamers out there.
“What will help will be the Lionesses winning this summer. A lot of people tuned in to watch the Women’s Euros and they’ll recognise the players.
“Now they’ll be able to take that into the game and play. I’m very excited to document my own journey on social media, of me playing Football Manager.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the new people that get the opportunity to play it, but also the regulars.”
Football Manager 26 launches globally on 4 November 2026.
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