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If you are having trouble installing our Football Manager Transfer Update or any other Football Manager Database then please read everything below.
The guide is split into two sections, the basic installation instructions, which should be very simple for 99% of users and some common mistakes and issues. Please make sure to read the guide in full and check you're not making any of the common mistakes before commenting asking for help.
Extra: What to do if you're missing January transfers like Ronaldo, Enzo Fernandez etc
If you're missing transfers from January that means your copy of FM isn't up to date. Update it through Steam or whatever other platform you're using. When starting a new save make sure that it says 23.4 in the top right.
If you are using a cracked or pirated version of FM our update will not work, there is no way to make it work, do not ask for help with a cracking or pirated version you will be banned.
How to download and extract the Football Manager Data Update
- First download the Data Update. You will then be presented with a “zip” file to save somewhere on your computer
- Extract the zip file
- Mac: Usually you can just double click on it.
- Windows: Right click on the file and click “Extract All”
- You should then be presented with a folder that contains files named “.fmf”. In some cases you might be presented with just a single “.fmf” file not in any folders.
- Move the “.fmf” files to your “editor data” folder. See below for where this folder is located on different systems
- Make sure to put the “.fmf” files themselves directly in the “editor data” folder. You cannot have any sub folders within the “editor data” folder.
Windows: Where to put Football Manager Data Updates on Windows
The default path on Windows is:
Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data
Obviously change the year to whatever version of the game you're playing.
Mac: Where to put Football Manager Data Updates on Mac
The default path on Mac is:
/Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data
Obviously change the year to whatever version of the game you're playing.
This can be difficult to find on Mac using Finder, use the following steps to easily find this folder:
a) Open Finder
b) Click “Go” from the menubar and select “Go to Folder” (alternatively press Shift+CMD+G)
c) Copy in the following: ~/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/
d) Open the folder for you game e.g: “Football Manager 2023”
e) Open the “editor data” folder (or create it if it doesn't exist)
f) Move the “.fmf” files into the ”editor data" folder
By default in Finder the path is not shown. Click “View” > “Show Path Bar” in Finder and the full path will now be shown at the bottom of every Finder window.
How to find and change your “editor data” folder in Football Manager
Below you will find the default paths, but not everyone's installation is the same. The easiest way to be sure is to check in Football Manager itself.
- Open Football Manager and click “Preferences”
- Search “Location” at the top and you should see a path, stupidly FM has bad UI and you can't read the whole path.
- Click “Change Folder” and click the dropdown at the top and it should display the whole path.
- If you do wish to change the location you can do so here, but if you're struggling to install a file and asking for help this may confuse the situation.
- There is a reset button to the right of where it says “Change Folder” click this if you're unsure if you've changed it.
Common Mistakes
Not extracting the zip
The “.zip” file should not be in your “editor data” folder. You must extract the zip file. If you are seeing a .zip file in your editor data folder instead of .fmf files then you're doing it wrong.
Do not use sub folders
Your “editor data” folder should never have sub folders.
Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data/new leagues/France.fmf BAD
Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data/France.fmf GOOD
Sometimes when you download a file it will be organised in sub folders like “Football Manager 2023/editor data” already. Make sure to copy just the “.fmf” and not all the sub folders.
Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data/Football Manager 2023/editor data//Data Update.fmf BAD
Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data/Data Update.fmf GOOD
Having “public” folders
For some reason some people have duplicate folders under a parent folder called “public”. I'm not sure why this is, but sometimes it can cause problems. Check if you have the files under a folder folder called “Public” or “Public Documents” and move them to the correct path instead.
Here's some examples.
Windows
Users/Public/Public Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data BAD
Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data GOOD
Mac
/Users/yourname/Public/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data BAD
/Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2023/editor data GOOD
- Date Created
- 07 Feb 2023 08:37:48
- Date Updated
- 18 Aug 2023 15:24:10
- Last Comment
- 01 Jun 2026 18:58:49
Comments
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tjc
@Footygamer Just checked, everything seems in order.
Thank you for sorting this out as soon as you did. Will be starting my save ASAP 🙂
No worries at all, could only imagine the extra workload everyone is under as I presume the amount of people playing FM24 still over FM26 couldn't really be expected. Dealing with two games at once cannot be easy. Thank you for fixing the issues in haste.
All the best to you and the team.
pollackattack
just booted up a save two days ago and the contract for non staff issue was still there. i read through the recent comments and am unsure if it is now fixed or not? or if it is something i can do to fix it?
stomaking1986
Hi winder if anyone can help me some reason nick woltemade and a few others haven't been transferred to there new clubs old woltes not at Newcastle I've got the most up 2 date transfer update also a few transfers that happened after are in there not sure y a few aren't
Thanks lee
P.s got a few custom databases one seems to have changed some of my managers like are slot is assistant manager of Liverpool not manager van bronchhorst is not a game changer just annoying also does the data update update managers changing jobs only ever get a few
arl3nu
For wonderkids faces, I have mismatches for all wonderkids. The diff is -12, which means that I miss 12 entries somewhere. I tried to identify what the issue is, given that only this mod is being loaded - any tips? I even reinstalled the game, after checking BETA, but still have the diff.
Tomasz Tomasz
Could you please add the newly created players in a separate file in the transfer update?To FM 26
Hablo
Hello, I'm now only playing FM2026. In FM2024, transfer changes (including manager changes, such as Manuel Baum's move to FC Augsburg) were integrated into the Data.changes folder. This folder is no longer present in FM2026. Where are these current transfers located now? There are now three folders: one for contracts, one for Japan level, and one for player attributes.
Luca Brembilla
buongiorno ho provato anche a reinstallare da zero FM24 e ricopiare gli aggiornamenti ma le rose sono ancora quelle di inizio gioco, non saprei cosa fare…
Goncalves William
Hi everyone, yesterday i bought FM26 and since i cut and past all my graphics files from FM24 to FM 26 in my documents, the game broke before the menu “start a new carreer, charge a party and in line”. A message error appeared saying “missing skeletons files, animations will be broken! Make sure all the skeletons files have been correctly downloaded in: data/simatchviewer/animation/skeletons”.
I also added quite all editor date files from falsobohemio megapack in my editor data files in my documents and some of timo megapack when some falsobohemio editor data files were indicated as fictional, then again a message error saying something like missing database; + some error messages.
I'm gonna try put only falsobohemio files for editor data but for the graphics i don't know what is the problem with my graphics files because in the site it is mentionned that all grpahics and skins packs from other FM version work with FM26.
Thanks you in advance.
Messey_the_one
Hi, I have problem with my database files - I didin't see it. Location is good, this is not zip folder. I don't know what is wrong, can anyone help me?
EDIT
problem solved - bad location 😉
Luis Alvarez Lopez
Hola, en la actualización del FM24 no viene Marcos Rashford en el Barcelona.
Mehmet Suat
Tiaguinho appears twice in the database. He exists on the original FM database, and the wonderkid pack that comes built-in with the data update adds a duplicate.
Jxco
Hay jugadores que salen duplicados son los que añadieron como nuevos el año anterior y este año ya estan en el juego el problema es que en el editor no aparecen esos duplicados y no puedo borrarlos
adiabh94
seeing marcus rashford in crystal palace
Billy Stanley
Hi i have no idea what im doing and need help , ive attached what my editor data file looks like , i want to play with the 25/26 database on fm 24
conway970
hi this isnt about the data update its about the wonder kids download pictures below that on the main data update page. just curious do all the wonderkids id.s neeed face_ before them as when i download the pack its just showing their id,s only and curious where do i put them as iv got a mega facepack from yourselves which works amazingly but do i neeed a new folder for the wonderkids faces
M.C
Yes, in answer to your question. The wonderkids facepack is a self-contained pack with its own config.xml file, so it needs to be in its own sub-folder within your main ‘graphics’ folder.
Definitely don’t merge it with the main facepack, as that will result in the config.xml file overwriting and break all 500,000+ faces from the main pack.
The wonderkid IDs don’t need the ‘face_’ prefix as they are unique. No other graphics in the game use an equivalent number. This prefix is introduced to support the way FM26 handles multiple game items (of different types) that share a common ID.
conway970
brilliant thank u so much for replying
conway970
can i say on the data update dexter oliver is now at man city since sep 2025 but his still showing up in update with tottenham . im not sure how to contribute it so thought id comment here.
Oplontino
Hello all, any idea when the FM23 update will be available? Also, is there not a previous edition, with the data from 01/09/25 available, as that would be fine for me? Thanks.
Klusek997
Is it possible to only download transfers? I don't need the wonderkids. You added these to FM24 and a lot of people criticised it, so you were supposed to give us the option to choose transfers only or transfers and wonderkids. However, I can't see that option.
M.C
The modularity (to choose ‘transfers only’ or a combination) hasn't been established. At this time, it remains an all-in-one offering.
I do know that the site admin has it on the to-do list, but we haven't got to it yet. With the release of FM26 and the fairly continuous requirement to manage all sorts of issues with handling the data, updates from SI and so on, I suspect this modular approach has just simply had to be de-prioritised.
For now, if anyone wants to completely remove all newly-created players from the FM24 Data Update, they would have to achieve this through manual changes to the ‘sortitoutsi.net FM24 Data Update - Contracts.fmf’ file. Specifically, you would need to load this file in the Pre-Game Editor, perform a search to find all Unique IDs starting from 2002042189 and higher and then delete those records.
It is worth noting, of course, that in a scenario where you re-download the FM24 Data Update, the downloaded ‘Contracts.fmf’ file would put them all back.
I am always interested to know the reasons why people don't want to use some of the content - as a staff team, we are constantly trying to improve the data offering so any specific feedback you have would be gratefully received.
Cesc.93
Hii guys can I make a question? This fm24 update how work? Do you have all the transfer player etc etc like if u are playing to the new one?
Cesc.93
Up Up over here
M.C
Sorry to have missed this post the first time around.
The FM24 Data Update (and, indeed, the FM26 Data Update) provides an updated football world, with all player transfers and staff movements that have happened in real-life reflected in the game.
The update also adds many, many new players to the game - mostly youth players who were not in the official FM24 database. The number is about 20,000.
In addition, the FM24 Data Update provides updated promotions/relegations and league structures for most of the playable nations. Not all are completed yet - but we're working on those we haven't updated.
Using the update, when you start a game of FM24, you'll still start with an in-game date in 2023, but all the players and staff will be at their current, real-life clubs and the teams will be in the divisions as though it is the start of the 2025/26 season. That's the basic principle.
The enhanced version of the update also provides CA/PA updates for many, many players, to try and reflect the abilities of players who have developed in real-life. Essentially, it tries to replicate the current footballing world on a continuous basis. It is driven by community-submitted updates and we have a healthy community of people who do so - which is how it stays updated, on a global basis, continuously.
Oplontino
Asking again, but any idea when the FM23 update will be available? Thanks.
David Powell99
Hello, have have placed the update folders in the correct place, when i go to start a new career it shows only three of the files, it does'nt show the sortitoutsi.net FM26 Data Update - England Lower League Pyramid.fmf which is the main one i want as a wish to start a lower league career with my local team, any help please.
JohnnyGr
¿Alquien sigue activo? No puedo poner las ligas a la hora de ocmenzar la temporada porque dicen que están duplicadas y si las deselecciono pues ya no aparecen. ¿Alguna sugerencia?
Realmente no se puede hacer funcionar correctamente. La mayoría no se procesa, unido a un Start Game si empeiza en Enero peor con los jugadores de 23-24. Porque la mayoría de archivos no se permiten cargarlos porque según el sistema están duplicados. Buen intento pero no funciona. El dulicado de ligas es lo que obliga a quitar alguno de estos y buguea al juego. Está en Turquía, en España, Inglaterra y varias más y tienes si o si que deseleccionar uno de cada y ahi se pierde la informaicón.
gjs93
have downloaded the latest FM24 database update, installed the files in the correct location and all the files are showing and selected when i start a new game, but none of the transfer changes take effect?
for example Gareth Southgate is England manager, Sean Dyche is Everton manager…… ??
kediperest
Same here. I'm pretty sure that I have followed every step correctly, yet, it doesn't seem to work…
M.C
@gjs93 @kediperest - acknowledging. I believe there is some level of corruption to the main file (that holds all of the transfers/contract changes) in the free version of the FM24 Data Update.
The enhanced FM24 Data Update does not have this issue, for whatever reason (that is not a sly encouragement to buy it). The Site Admin will need to tackle the issue, as that file is processed in an automated fashion and only he has access to the back-end data and systems. @Footygamer - there seems to be an issue with the ‘Contracts.fmf’ file in the free FM24 Data Update.
For those affected, all I can suggest for now is to rollback a day - previous releases are accessible via https://sortitoutsi.net/football-manager-data-update/releases.
The file is not picked up/recognised by either the game or the PGE, hence I suspect some level of corruption.