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**Edit: March 10th - We figured out the issue with tournaments! Thanks to Digi and Omarsorto over on the SI board for the help sorting it out. So, I am proud to present the FM 23.3 version of the CONCACAF Extended Universe**
About a decade ago, the user Raysox created a three tier US pyramid complete with crests and kits for 72 teams. He released an FM mod for the set, which is how I got into the game, and ever since I've updated and expanded it for new versions. It's grown a bit from his original vision (now ten tiers and 384 teams in the US and four tiers and 80 teams in Canada), but explores what it would look like if the US and Canada had functional soccer pyramids, as well as a world where CONCACAF has continental club competitions that are a notch below UEFA's.
This first post will cover the US and Canadian competitions. For both, I created a basic and advanced version. The basic files don't have a lot of the immersive features (cup draws, FFP, deadline day experience, or VAR), so if you don't want those features, use those files. The advanced ones have some more editor magic (the above, plus U21 and HG U23 players are always eligible, schedules are more balanced, etc.) So, you can pick your preferred game experience.
USA - 10 Tiers
- The US has four professional leagues (Apple+ MLS, Prime Championship, Peacock League One, and Paramount+ League Two), three semipro leagues (reconstituted USL Championship, 1, and 2), and three amateur leagues (NISA, UPSL, and NPSL.) The lower five leagues are split into regional divisions, while the top five are national in nature. There is a good amount of TV money throughout the Pyramid and is on a winter schedule, beginning in August and running through May.
- There is one national Cup, three cups based on league type (named for major figures in US Soccer history), and twelve regional cups that take place in the winter months.
- All teams in USL1 and above have reserve teams, and all teams have a U19 squad. The teams are split into regional youth and reserve competitions.
(3/10)- Advanced File has FFP regulations, Immersive deadline days and cup draws, VAR, Schedule adjustments to address congestion (especially for the first year, thanks winter world cup), and other fun features around revenue splits and cup dates.
(3/19)- It looks like there may be a bug impacting saves that start in the lower levels (Peacock League One and below) in the advanced database. I have a bug report logged with SI, but until further notice use the basic database if you want to do a lower level save.
(5/31) - I created top tier where the top 3 teams get CL spots and the bottom 4 are given out through a playoff. There are more details about it at the end of the thread, but I wanted to append a copy here.
Also, a quick update on the CTD bug for the lower tiers - the crash happens at level 3 or below on the 4th Monday in August. If you quit the Sunday before and sim past that Monday and retake your job, you can play for another 364 days without disruption. Unfortunately the issue is with the game, not the database, so I can't do anything to fix it.
(6/8) - I updated the US files with the Messi transfer. It goes through on July 1, 2023.
(10/2) - I found some errors in the US files (including why Miami and a few other MLS teams didn't have their correct rosters), so this update addresses those problems.
The USA kit and logo files can be found at this link
Canada - 4 Tiers
- The Canadian Set-up has two professional leagues (The CPL and the Canadian Soccer League), one semi-pro league (CSL 2nd Division), and one amateur league (CSL 3rd Division.) The lower two levels are split into regional divisions. There is also TV money, but not nearly as much as the US. The season runs from April to October.
- There is one national cup and four regional preseason cups.
- All teams in the top two tiers have a reserve and a U18 team, split up according to the preseason cups.
(3/10)- Advanced File has FFP regulations, Immersive deadline days and cup draws, VAR, Schedule adjustments to address congestion, and other fun features around revenue splits.
The Canadian kit and logo files can be found at this link
Both of the graphics files have the kitbasher files for the teams and sponsors in each country, so you can easily update the kits as you advance through the save.
Comments
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Chris Nielson
Hi xythos - I realize I don't think I responded at any point, so apologies for that. I'll do some digging and see if there is a setting I'm not aware of that's causing the issue.
Bret Piechowski
Milwaukee Bavarians…which is not a “real” pro team IRL. They're a club that offers youth and amateur adult soccer program/teams. They have a team in USL2. When the game auto generated my players on the first team (most of which were weirdly from Argentina, which seemed to be a trend with generated players on other teams too.) it didn't generate any goalies or center midfielders…so I set out to sign goalies and center mids ASAP. Everyone of the players I tried to sign was limited to a 12 month contact.
Chris Nielson
Ah yes, the Bavarians, my home town team. I think the 12 month limit is because of the reputation of the club - I've run into that one before, and I think you see similar things in other countries in game. The large number of Argentinians is probably the result (fault) of how I assigned players - there weren't a lot of US free agents, so I grabbed some from other countries like Argentina to round out the league, which is why they are so prominent. I randomly assigned them, so that is why the team may be unbalanced.
Bret Piechowski
Lol….I made a total mess of my reply…I'm a mean, lean, forum posting machine. I saw that in '25 Milwaukee is suppose to get a USL Championship team.
Bret Piechowski
Np…thanks for all of the work you put into this…I know it can take more of your time than many people realize.
TheGhostyBear
Any idea when this may be updated for FM24? I absolutely loved this db in fm23. Thanks for all your hard work!
Chris Nielson
HI Ghosty Bear! Yes. It will be updated and released at some point (in theory) - right now there are a couple of bugs with the editor that make it hard to create the 24 version. You can, however, load it up in 23 and port it forward - I've done that with a personal version I made, and it worked well. I hope that helps!