FM2023 Licensing and Real Name Fix File v5.0 for FM23.5 [released on 09/05/2023]

If you have already started a save-game and wish to change German, Spanish, Italian and French club names to the correct ones, there is a workaround. However, you will lose the club nicknames.

Open the City, Club and Stadium Names.lnc file with Notepad (on Windows) and TextEdit (on Mac). All the changes I've made in the editor data file are included in this file, however they are preceded by a hashtag (#) which makes the lnc file ignore any text following it.

You can remove the hashtags from in front of any of the "CLUB_LONG_NAME_CHANGE" and "CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" codes which you wish to change, and this will ensure these changes are displayed in your save game.

For Notepad, all you need to do is: Select the edit menu, click the replace option, type #"CLUB in the first field and "CLUB in the second and click replace all. Then save and close. Shouldn't take more than 3 seconds if you do it right 🙂

Instead of

#"CLUB_LONG_NAME_CHANGE" 915 "FC Bayern München" ""
#"CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" 915 "FC Bayern" ""

you should have

"CLUB_LONG_NAME_CHANGE" 915 "FC Bayern München" ""
"CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" 915 "FC Bayern" ""

Basically:
Using an lnc
Pro: Can be used (and disabled) after a save game has been started
Con: Removes club nicknames for those teams whose name has been edited

Using the editor data file
Pro: Retains club nicknames
Con: Needs to be applied before starting a new game

FAQ

1. Club name changes were working fine in the beta but now I've download the new version of the fix, they don't work anymore. What's happened?

Reason: When club name changes are done via lnc files, this removes the clubs' nickname, which is not the case if editor data files are used, which is why these are preferred. Since editor data files didn't work with the FM23 beta, club name changes were done via lnc files during the beta version. Once the full game was released, club name changes were switched back to the intended delivery method, i.e. via editor data files.

Solution: Use this workaround to solve the issue in your existing save game.

2. I've started a career already and haven't applied the file, but want to add the missing Ajax non-playing staff/Hans-Dieter Flick/the correct Brazilian kit colours.

Reason: The way those changes work means the files need to be in place before starting a new game.

Solution: Can't be done, unfortunately.

3. I've started a career already and have applied the file but the German/Dutch/Japanese national team isn't populated with real players. What's wrong?

Reason: If you are in the middle of a save-game, national teams will only be populated in the next instance that players are called up, and not immediately.

Solution: Just wait till the next call-up window.

4. The Ajax non-playing staff and Hans-Dieter Flick appear in my game but my facepack doesn't display an image for them. What's wrong?

Reason: These persons do not appear in the default database for licensing reasons. This means that this file was forced to add them manually. However, this means that their UID (which is what is used to map a person's image to the right individual) is different, and so the game cannot assign the image to them from your existing facepack.

Solution: Individually download the cut-out faces that you want from here (or use the UID to find them in your existing facepack if you don't use the cut-out megapack), put them in a separate folder to your existing facepack and create a config file just for them using the method outlined in here (which works for all facepack styles, not just the cut-out megapack).

5. Why do only a few of the created Ajax non-playing staff appear when I start a new career?

Reason: If, when you start a new game, you don't load up the Dutch league as playable or you don't choose a large database or to retain high reputation people as part of a custom database, then only a small and limited amount of them will be loaded in the new career.

Solution: Choose the Eredivisie as a playable league when starting a career, or select a custom database with an option selected which might be expected to load them up (e.g. all people at club > Ajax).

6. Why does Manchester United's logo not appear?

Reason: Due to possible licensing issues, some logopacks do not include this. This has nothing at all to do with this download, which includes no graphics at all.

Solution: Speak with the creator(s) of the logopack that you're using.

7. I want to make my own changes to the data edited in this file. How can I do this?

Solution: 

• If you want to edit club names before starting a career, then use the pre-game editor and load FM23 Sortitoutsi Licenses Fix - Club Name Changes.fmf, then change whatever you feel needs to be changed. Be warned that you may need to redo these steps for every re-release of this file, but once you've started a save game, it'll be immaterial anyway. This change will only work if done before starting a save game. Please remember that this data will be overwritten when a new version of this download is released and applied
• If you want to edit club names after starting a career, then it depends if the club already has a club name change input in FM23 Sortitoutsi Licenses Fix - Club Name Changes.fmf. If yes, then the only way to do is via an in-game editor. If no, then you can open the City, Club and Stadium Names.lnc file with Notepad and make the required changes. Make sure there isn't a # in front of the code in the lnc file because this means that the line is not to be considered.

8. Why isn't the file working properly?

Reason: You haven't installed it correctly.

Solution: Read the installation instruction carefully, and follow them. Make sure the folders on your system match what's in the screenshots in the main post.

9. I've noticed a mistake. How can it be fixed?

Reason: We're only human 😉

Solution: Point out which are the bits which need changing and/or removing, and propose an alternative or correction accordingly.

Napoli without license

Same with Lecce (Salento), Monza (Brianza)

Beta version of the file is now available for download. If anybody spots anything which needs to be corrected, let me know. Screenshots to come a bit later when I can find the time.

For the beta version of the game, the below are NOT possible due to the structure of the files. They will be available once the full game is available.

• Brazilian clubs' text colours are changed through an editor data file.
• Another editor data file creates the Ajax non-playing staff and the German national team manager missing from the database due to licensing restrictions.
• The addition of real-life media and journalists, encompassing most major footballing nations and continents.
• Finally, it includes a small file which corrects the 3-Letter competition names to correspond with any changes made in the lnc files.

Going on past experience, there will be further updates to this file. I strongly recommend you subscribe to this file to be sure you're up to date.

You can do so very easily by clicking the section shown in the below screenshot:

After you do so, click whichever of the channels and events you want to be notified in and for 👍

Thanks Mons, great work as always 🙂

Great work! @mons 

The ID is duplicated, so this can be removed:

"CLUB_LONG_NAME_CHANGE" 106363 "SC Austria Lustenau Amateure" ""
"CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" 106363 "Austria Lustenau Amateure" ""

Short clubname changes:

"CLUB_LONG_NAME_CHANGE" 16030369 "Wiener Sport-Club" ""
"CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" 16030369 "WSC" ""

All the nicknames got disabled within Serie A for some reason in a new save?

Short clubname changes: "

"CLUB_SHORT_NAME_CHANGE" 536240 "Olympic Charleroi"

During the beta version, editor data files won't work. This means that club name changes won't work unless done using the lnc file, which consequently mean that nicknames are lost. It's an unavoidable side effect 😕

Thanks @Thewes and @glennix 🍻

Juventus U23s come up as Juventus Next Gen

That is their correct name 😉

Hmm, i got a virus-warning from my bitdefender?

It's a false positive. Tends to happen for newer files which anti-virus software haven't had time to vet. There have been just under 2,000 downloads of the file since yesterday, and nobody else has mentioned it before.

Thanks!

zeah, but I applied the fix and Monza is still Brianza..on the other hand, Partenpompei is Napoli. Don't know why it doesnt work with Monza?

v0.1 of this file didn't have the correct name, but it was corrected in v0.2.

In the Dutch version of the game the Champions League is called ‘Europese’ - would be better if it'd be UEFA Champions League, to be consistent with the others. Does this also happen to other languages?

If you open the Competitions and Other Fixes.lnc file with Notepad, the foreign-language entries are still included, just hashtagged out, specifically in case this situation materialised. Just remove the hashtags and you'll be fine. I'll do it for the next release too 😉

You are the man, @mons 

If there are updates, do we need to start a new save game?

I don't have this file at all.. downloaded via steam.. is it just me? Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Football Manager 2023\data\database\db\2300

Any way to get Hansi Flick as German national team manager?

Why all the lines that change things like nation names? Most of them are correct without the changes.

Only 8th November with editor

Won't make any difference for future releases of the beta version, as they should all be save-game compatible. Once v1.0 of the file is released, there are a number of changes which require starting of a new career to take effect. Copying the below from the respective section of the FM22 file for your perusal.

There is also a club name changes file, which changes the names of clubs in a way which ensures that any nicknames entered in the default database are retained. This file includes the proper names for Brazilian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (including Juventus) and French clubs, as well as Manchester Utd, to circumvent licensing restrictions. It also adds real-life media and journalists, encompassing most major footballing nations and continents. Brazilian clubs' text colours are also changed through an editor data file. Another editor data file creates the Ajax non-playing staff and the German national team manager missing from the database due to licensing restrictions. Finally, it includes a small file which corrects the 3-Letter competition names to correspond with any changes made in the lnc files. For all the files in this paragraph to work, however, you will need to start a new game.

The game must be installed somewhere, no? Right-click on the game in the Steam Library, select properties, navigate to the local files tab and click the Browse button. That's where it's installed. Follow the path underlined in the above quote to get to the correct place.

Not until I get my hands on the editor once the full game is released.

They're slightly different to the original names. If there's anything you'd prefer to change, you can either suggest it here, or delete the line outright from the lnc file (or add a # in front of it to disable it in case you need to re-add it later).