Troubleshooting Football Manager Data Update Installation - How to install Football Manager Databases

When I load the .fmf files into editor data, it stops FM from launching at all, it just crashes a few seconds after opening.

Running on a Mac. No subfolders, I've tried removing the history files and still does the same. As soon as I remove all of the .fmf files the game launches fine.

Any suggestions? :-)

I've not been able to replicate this/seen this happen. For context, because of the issues with the player contracts today, I have probably - using today's update - started about 20-25 different test games throughout the course of the day.

Are you able to share screenshots of your ‘editor data’ folder and/or the in-game ‘enabled files’ view? What I am looking for is definitive confirmation that you are only using content from the Data Update.

This specific error suggests there is an issue with a file that includes ‘Advanced Rules’ for a nation (i.e. league rules/structure etc). In the Data Update, there haven't been any such files introduced since 27th August, so I am struggling to align an obvious reason for the sudden appearance of this kind of error for you.

No problem thanks for the explanation! I'll do some testing my end, I have always combined the files with some others so maybe one of those has recently had some incompatibility

i cant get this to work, your 13-14 works fine, but when i try this one every save loads in with the base squads, ive deleted and re-modded twice, any idea what might be happening or any chance of an unemployed day 1 save for it? (talking about the main 2025 data update btw)

I also have a Problem using the latest Update. 
Ive only used the Data Update files. And it seems to happen because of the changes file. 
But in the youth Teams there are several Players without a name. 

Just responding to acknowledge this - one other person has reported this in a separate thread, too. For now, I cannot replicate this using a clean Data Update-only install.

Using the latest version of the Data Update, either the free or enhanced version, enabling various combinations of files and all player names appear as expected.

Can you please share a copy of your Editor Data folder so we can ensure you are running only the Data Update files? And also a screenshot that shows which Editor Data files are enabled in-game, just in case that gives us any sort of clue?

Sure thank you. I had the same Problem with the yesterday update aswell. 
This is my editor data folder 
and i had everything active.

Thanks for sharing. In terms of the files you're using, that looks to be a ‘clean install’ of just the Data Update.

I must admit, looking at the screenshot, it feels there is something strange going on. When I look at the player names that are showing and compare that to the players that have been newly-created through the Data Update, it doesn't look like it is impacting those players - at least, not all of them. Which was my first suspicion.

As examples, I can see the names (in your screenshot) for Marcelo Trippel, Elias Fali Vard and Mathieu Nguefack. When I look at the players who have been newly-created for Borussia Mönchengladbach, these are three of a total of five (https://sortitoutsi.net/football-manager-data-update/team/908). So it isn't simply blanking the names of newly-created players.

Of course, some of the other players that we can see are also players that exist in the vanilla database.

It would be great to try and ‘identify’ some of the missing players, individually, to see if there is any pattern. Also, it would be good to understand what settings you are using as part of your game setup. Are you using either the setting to ‘Add players’ and/or ‘use fake names’? I am just speculating, at the moment, and trying to build a picture of what is happening for you.

I was able to break it down a bit. It seems to be the combination from Dynamic new Player X.fmf and the Changes.fmf 
Ive loaded several constellations and as soon as I added the dynamic new player this error occurs. When I remove either of the files the error isnt present. 

OK that is useful to know - thanks for persevering. I will see if I can replicate when using the Dynamic New Player files. I will also inspect those files to see if there is any obvious reason in their structure that could be causing this.

Just to confirm: I am able to replicate this. There is going to be a logical explanation/reason and I am sure we will be able to get to a point where it is resolved.

The root-cause may be the re-ordering of files that took place a couple of days ago - but that is speculative and based on what I have briefly looked at, unlikely. Investigating properly right now.

Im glad that I was able to help and thanks for your hard work!

Hi, yes I did - it did seem to be other fmf/editor files conflicting with this ‘Data Update’. I had accidently renamed another transfer file, which was conflicting with this one, which is why I overlooked it initially, but removing everything I had from the ‘editor data’ folder, then only using this ‘Data Update’ - everything seemed to line up ok, as intended!

I had my own Premier League editor file, which I had done myself over the past couple of seasons. When I downloaded this update, I spent time removing changes within some of the files so it didn’t conflict with my own (or at least I thought it wouldn’t). When I started/tested a new save with my own ‘Premier League’ file and this Data Update (which I had tweaked to removes conflicts against my own file) it was showing end contract dates of newer transfers as 30/6/2024 as I had initially mentioned.

Somewhere along the line (either not enough coffee or too much) I had renamed my ‘Premier League’ file as the ‘Classic FM - New Players.fmf’, which I know is no longer used and only there to overwrite the original. So a new save was loading the ‘Data Update’ changes, along side ‘my changes’, mixed with the ‘contract/age’ changes file and it was throwing contracts dates all over the place….and as I didn’t realise my changes were still there (hidden under a new alias) and I tested a new save with unchecking the ‘+2 Age…’ file, I put it down to that file being the issue - but it's not.

Rule of thumb here is, same as my rule of thumb when I was 18 - don't mix your drinks, or files in this case!!! As @M.C  had mention initially the sequence of files is very important, and mix/matching files is only going to cause issues. The only way I got around this if I wanted to keep my personal ‘Premier League’ file, was to remove the matching changes within the ‘Changes.fmf’ file, then merge my own file into it, that way it would keep the file sequence and not mess up the contract dates etc….but that was only me spending time troubleshooting for own peace of mind.

Simple fix is, if you want to use this ‘Data Update’, clear everything out of your ‘editor data’ folder, extract the latest update from here into there, and leave as is….especially if you're not familiar with the files, how they work and how they are structured, and treat every “FM24 Update Pack” you find on the web as standalone, which is how most are intended to be.

Hope that makes sense and helps anyone having similar issues as in my part it was massively USER ERROR lol 🙃

Hi can any one offer some advice ive got the most recent data update loaded all the transfers are up to date except for the managers will still is still at lens ive got loads of mods added i loaded a game last week and it was all up too date manager  aswell I assume it's one of the mods ive got on there  340 so cud be any off them in regard to the data changes file do you override the last one or rename the new one so u have to files or override the previous one I use the fmu transfer update but when I tske that off it still doesn't updste the transfers 

In your situation, my straightforward advice would be: make a separate folder somewhere and cut and paste all of your ‘editor data’ content to that folder. We're just using that as temporary storage to give you a clean slate.

Then, install the SortItOutSI Data Update and only that update. This gives you a clean install. Test and ensure that works (it should/does). Then, look through your backup folder and carefully integrate whatever parts you want to use alongside.

Fundamentally, I don't advise using two all-in-one updates together. They will invariably overlap with a lot of content and they will clash, one way or another.

Thanks buddy il try that much appreciated 👏 

Just seen there was a bug on the data changes update from yesterday puts a dash in the file at the start messes with the load order see it on x

It's correct that yesterday's Data Update changed the load order of the Data Update files…and that did cause an error with contract lengths for those using the Data Update.

That has been resolved in today's update, however, and furthermore I do not think it has any bearing on the situation you are in, specifically.

Hi. is it the dynamic thing that updates the players stats to mirror current day instead of 2023? Woltemade for Newcastle is ‘good championship player‘ on my dynamic 5 load. He’s currently leading the line for Germany tonight irl! Ha going to be a struggle on my save replacing Isak with him 😢 ha

Hi - it will be the “Non Dynamic Data” file that updates a players CA / PA based on the previous and current seasons.

The “Optional Data Dynamic” files are random CA / PA for players, just to have something a bit different in game.

I would say though the “Non Dynamic Data” file hasnt been updated since 12th August by the looks of it, so there may still be a few players that havent been upgraded - most upgrades I think reflect last season and the season before, depending on the source

The read me file Said to take out the non dynamic data, new player file etc? 

I haven’t read that myself to be honest, I'm sure the creators will be able to explain better - but the “Non Dynamic Data”  file definitely contains upgraded CA/PA and the “New Players” file is there to overwrite the original.

New players (mainly youth players) were included in the “New Players” file a while back but were then all moved to the main “Changes" file - the “New Players” file was left in there but blank, so it would overwrite the original and avoid duplicates/conflicts between the files.

Ideally you would use all the files as they come downloaded, but there are optional ones for “Player History” and “Dynamic Data” depending on how you want to play the game - but if you install the files as intended, you should have fairly updated players, at least as from last season.

Woltemade has definitely had some sort of upgrade from what I can see….the default FM database has his current ability (CA) as ‘113’, but this update has his CA at '138’ - but again that is likely based on last season, not fully reflecting his big money move to Newcastle.

Just to confirm - and @WelshViking7 has it pretty much correct:

‘Classic FM - Non Dynamic Data.fmf’ is the file that provides updated CA/PA ratings. This comprises changes that are done in one of two methods: a data-driven, global scrape of performance data from the previous season, conducted by the Site Owner as a one-off activity (which has been done following the completion of the 2024/25 season). Now, of course, those stats and figures are one way to assess player ability. The other method - perhaps more dynamic, perhaps more contentious - is on the basis of community submissions through the website.

Any community member can submit a CA/PA recommendation/proposal/change for any player. These are moderated and anything determined to be a reasonable submission should get approved. Each community member can have one ‘active’ submission per player, at a time (i.e. if someone re-submits, the system will take their most recently-approved submission into consideration).

From there, all of the active submissions (from all members) are factored in to produce a consolidated, overall new CA/PA for that player. This would then be recorded in the ‘Classic FM - Non Dynamic Data.fmf’ file.

However, unlike with the transfers/contract changes that are delivered via the ‘Classic FM - Changes.fmf’, the re-processing of these new CA/PA values isn't integrated to happen in an automated, daily way. At present, it is iterated approximately monthly, so there is some lag time behind new submissions being reflected in-game. In the coming days, this file will be re-processed and, as I'm sure you can imagine, the excitement of the transfer window has meant a lot of moves and a lot of people submitting updated values for players who have made moves, or been the subject of speculation.

Obviously, football is a game of opinions and CA/PA ratings in Football Manager are a natural extension of that. I can say with some certainty that the excitement around Nick Woltemade has been reflected through community submissions (you can look up a player and see the submissions and their status here: https://sortitoutsi.net/football-manager-data-update/person/91187791). Is it all justified and is he going to go on to become a world-beater? Only time will tell.

Now, in terms of the Optional Dynamic Data files. These exist to provide some variation for people who want a level of randomness to proceedings. Each file offsets CA/PA values of all players with a different variation on the calculation. They're intended to ‘freshen things up’ for experienced players who maybe feel the game is getting stale/predictable in terms of who the ‘sure bets’ are for development etc in-game.

The way I think of it is: for the most realistic experience, use the Data Update files without the Optional Dynamic Data. Debate about how ‘realistic’ the ratings are that the community have submitted could, of course, go on forever. But the consolidation system should even things out over time if people make those submissions on an ongoing basis (and by all accounts, they are so far).

For a level of unknown variety, use a random combination of Dynamic Data files (one of each type, simultaneously).

Very well explained @M.C 👍

ANY HELP would be appreciated please!!! I've extracted the latest db update files. It says it's compatible on v24.3 but when I go to the main FM screen it seems to be on v24.2. How do I update the game to 24.3 please???

I can't find the option on Steam in my library. 

TIA

This is very odd. One player in that list is Asher Artz

But in the "Dynamic New Players 3" he definitely has a name.

I am still investigating 

I have had this myself before when directly copying and pasting a players name into a new player on the FM editor rather than typing it out - I can only think it might be something to do with the formatting from source as hasnt happened with every name, depending where I got it from….and the workaround (for me at least) was to manually delete the text/name and manually type it in.

Not guranteed to be the problem, but something to test/investigate maybe?!

Still not seeing some of the summer transfers that have happened even with the most recent data update (ie. Wirtz, Sesko, Mbeumo, Joao Pedro)

Those are 100% in, there must be some installation error please try deleting everything in your editor data folder and reinstalling 

RE: Dynamic New Players, those files are not needed anymore and this all happens in the changes file now. They have been removed from future versions and you should remove them if they're left over in your editor data file.