Supported FM version: 26.3.1 (World Cup update)
Supported Platform: Windows and macOS
Installation (FMSB)
Use FM Skin Builder to download CTRL, apply it to your game, and keep backups, all without juggling files by hand. When a new release is available, you’re notified in the app so you can update and apply it to your game from the same place. This is the easiest way to install the skin and get future updates.
Download the skin in the skins gallery, or grab it directly from the website: CTRL 26 on FM Skin Builder
Installation (Manual)
Extract the bundle files into your game installation folder (replace the existing files when prompted).
Windows:
Steam: \Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 26\fm_Data\StreamingAssets\aa\StandaloneWindows64
Xbox Game Pass: \XboxGames\Football Manager 26\Content\fm_Data\StreamingAssets\aa\StandaloneWindows64
Epic: \Epic Games\Football Manager 26\fm_Data\StreamingAssets\aa\StandaloneWindows64
macOS:
Right-click the Football Manager app → Show Package Contents.
Then navigate to the bundles folder using a similar path structure as above (`Content` → `Resources` → `Data` → `StreamingAssets` → `aa` → `StandaloneOSX`).
Paste and replace the supplied bundles.
Repository (source files, for personal use with FM Skin Builder): https://github.com/matt-wadsworth/ctrl-fm
Thanks to lotsgon, Darkside, (sic), MrTini23 and everyone else working to improve the FM skinning experience.
Notes
Recommended for 1920x1080 and above, with Small font size scaling. May work with other setups but this isn't tested.
Same for languages, tested and built in English, other languages may have issues.
Support FMSB Development
If you’d like to support ongoing development of FM Skin Builder and help cover hosting, tooling and research time, you can do so via https://ko-fi.com/lotsgon. The builder will remain free to use, contributions simply help keep the project online, stable and improving over time.
Changelog
[1.7.2] – 31/05/2026
- Fixed
- Match - Controls - Fixed crash with playback controls button/menu.
- Match - Team Stats - Replaced the team stats tile with a working version.
- Scoreboard - Fixed aggregate score display.
- Scoreboard - Fixed Nation flags/logos loading on unlicensed fixtures.
- Player Report - Performance - Tidied up the Performance tile layout to avoid overlapping elements.
[1.7.1] – 29/05/2026
- Fixed
- Crash fix for Player Report tiles.
- [1.7] – 29/05/2026
- Fixed
- 26.3.1 Support - Compatibility with the FM 26.3.1 International Management update.
- New Career Tiles - Fixed styling on the quick start tiles when starting a new career.
- Added
- Next Match Widget - Support for Nation matches and when you manage a Club and Nation.
- Main Menu / Startup - New look for International Management / World Cup.
- New Scoreboard - Custom default scoreboard with CTRL styling and layout; replaces the non-licensed scoreboard only.
- Formations - Player portraits on ongoing and past Match formation panels.
- Changed
- Player Tooltip - Fixed missing header and added season stats.
[1.6] – 12/05/2026
- Fixed
- Average Rating - Fixed the colour scale so ratings keep consistent hues instead of shifting to mismatched colours.
- Budget Adjustment - Fixed modal styling for Budget Adjustment and similar modals.
- Radio Group - Made more subtle, consistent with the rest of the skin.
- Search Component - Fixed styling for the search box and results.
- SpeakTo - Additional Actions - Styling fixes for the additional-actions UI.
- Added
- Next Match Widget - Added to navigation area.
- Player Status - Added themed status indicators for consistency with the rest of the skin.
- Changed
- Navigation - Removed navigation icons and re-introduced the active section highlight.
- Meetings - Adjusted styling for elements used in Meetings and Press Conferences.
- Match Tile Layout - Re-introduced the horizontal 2D viewer layout.
[1.5] – 30-04-2026
- Fixed
- Player Tooltip - Fixed Key/Pref row highlighting plus added more info.
- Player Photos - Fixed/removed some styling on Player Photos on Report tiles.
- SpeakTo - Advice - Removed purple gradient and label.
- Added
- Match - Club Profile - Added more info to the tile layout.
- Scouting - Table Views - Added new table views for Recommended players and TransferRoom in results. Based on sas/SYC tables. ("Scout - Position" views)
- Icons - Fatigue - Added new icons for fatigue levels.
- Changed
- Table Rows - Added subtle background to alternate rows.
- My History - Refactored the layout of the My History card to reduce scrolling.
- Buttons - Secondary - Re-added border to give some visual definition.
- Icons - Stars - Increased clarity and sharpness on the star icons.
- Icons - Union - Changed attribute change icons to be more visible/solid.
[1.4] – 31-03-2026
- Fixed
- FM26.3 - Support for 26.3 update.
- Changed
- Tile Layouts - Adjusted some layouts around the Stages/League tile to make better use of the available space.
[1.3.1] – 29-03-2026
- Fixed
- Squad Screen - Reverted change to IP/OOP tabs that caused crashes on non-First Team squads.
[1.3] – 28-03-2026
- Added
- Match - Squad Panel - Replaced Kits with Player Portraits.
- Tactics - Added Player Portraits to Tactic pitch view. (thanks to TangFu)
- Changed
- Portal - Messages Tile - Moved UABEA changes to UXML. Cleaned up tile and buttons.
- Match - Scoreboard - Moved to the left of the screen. Re-aligned items affected by this.
- Match - Layout - Adjusted to fit better with the left scoreboard.
- Fixed
- Squad Screen - Tidy up of the IP/OOP tabs.
- Squad Screen - Tidy up of the IP/OOP tabs.
[1.2] – 13-03-2026
- Added
- Support for update 26.2 (March 11th) - Updated and fixed any related issues.
- Job Market - Changed the screen layout to show more of the main table.
- Changed
- Star Icons - Reduced saturation of Gold icons.
- Tile Indicators - Changed styling of current/active tile.
[1.1.1] – 26-02-2026
- Fixed
- Individual Training - Fixed a bug preventing Praise/Criticise actions from showing.
[1.1] – 25-02-2026
- Added
- Pros and Cons – Added to Player Reports.
- Match View - Added Pass Maps.
- Individual Training - New tile layout.
- Player Reports - New tile layouts for Overview, Performance and Career tabs.
- Changed
- Key/Preferred attribute highlights – Made these more obvious (may still tweak; want to keep them quite subtle).
- Match View - Re-arranged tiles and updated Commentary Bar styling.
- Switches - Updated styling.
- Font - Removed replacement of language fonts.
- Club Site - Added more relevant info - based on MrTini/WTS layouts.
- Checkboxes - Updated styling.
- Messages Unread Indicator - Increased contrast.
- Fixed
- Player Polygon – Fixed for goalkeepers.
- Warning Icon - Reverted to white icon to make it visible on Continue/Must Respond buttons.
- Background Replacement - Fixed for Bundesliga and added others in case another league was missed.
- Incoming Messages - Removed blue background.
[1.0] – 20-02-2026
- Initial release of the CTRL skin.
- Date Created
- 20 Feb 2026 14:03:03
- Date Updated
- 31 May 2026 10:22:01
- Last Comment
- 03 Jun 2026 14:33:52
Comments
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Matt
Verify your game files and install the skin again.
SwagLord
it worked thanks
Matt
CTRL 26 - 1.6 is now available.
This update mainly focuses on cleanup and consistency improvements, alongside a number of smaller UI fixes and tweaks, including a new Next Match widget in the navbar.
Fixed
Added
Changed
baros15
Perfect update! thank you Matt.
christoffer raun
On macbook going in content>resources then theres nothing there???? only the steam shortcut (nvm found out)
matthewg25
does this work with bassyboy's stadium pack v3.0. does it affect the files by adding the skin.
craig goodwin
is there any chance you could do version with full league panel and latest scores panel on match display since the update it only shows smaller panels thanks
Gaucho
Great update!
By the way, I think it'd be quite handy if there was a panel inside players tooltips showing their average rating (and other stats?) in the league. I spend some time setting the opposition instructions and find the vanilla UI a bit frustrating, adding that panel would save several clicks.
Again, thanks a lot!
Bymatthewg2518 May 2026 - 20:36 PM UTCI use both just fine.
Shadow2000
A fantastic skin - it’s my absolute favorite of them all. Great work and superb tweaks once again!
Just having the "Next Match" displayed at the very top of the navigation bar - where it’s always visible - is such a simple yet brilliant touch! How many times have I been buried deep in the menus, suddenly realizing I have no idea who my next opponent is? :-)
The expanded player tooltip is also excellent! One idea regarding that: swap the "Positional Ability" tile in the bottom-left corner with the current season statistics. That way, you can instantly see appearances, goals, and assists. After all, the details currently shown in the bottom-left are essentially duplicates of the information displayed directly above them, alongside the pitch graphic. I think the season statistics would be far more valuable in that spot in the left corner.
And another idea for the player profile: In the "Training" tile at the bottom, would it be possible to include the bar/graph that visualizes star rating progression - so that the specific ratings appear when you hover your mouse over it? Basically, the same visual you currently see on the left-hand side under the "Performance" tab...
The only thing I miss now is being able to view the entire league table during a live match without having to scroll; I felt the previous layout handled that better :-)
Also, in the top-left corner, the club names are no longer displayed using their three-letter abbreviations - instead of "LIV," it now shows "FC Liverp," and the text actually spills out beyond the boundaries of the designated fields...
Two final questions: Is it possible - within the detailed match report screen (where the lineups are displayed on the left and right) - to also show the attendance figure at the very top? And is it technically feasible to have this detailed report appear immediately after the "Instant Result" screen, rather than just showing the standard news headline that currently requires an additional click to open?
Otherwise, everything is perfect - thank you soooooooooo much!
I really hope everything still works smoothly after the upcoming World Cup update... :-)
Best
Rusty
Matt
All skins will work alongside the stadiums.
Matt
No plans to offer different versions or variations, it makes things far too complex to maintain.
The full league table means sacrificing the horizontal 2D panel, which I much prefer over the vertical version and value more over the league table. It's almost impossible to get this kind of layout to a point which suits everybody.
Matt
Appreciate the feedback and ideas!
Will take a look at what other relevant panels are available.
It's not easy (or even possible sometimes) to add more data etc to tiles, but existing tiles could be placed on different screens. Will take a look.
In a match? are you using the scoreboards mod? This shouldn't have changed in the skin.
Will take a look a the attendance data.
Changing the screen flow is very likely not possible in the current state of skinning.
Shadow2000
Thanks for replying - that’s very kind of you! I’m curious to see if you’re able to implement any of these suggestions. :-) I think many people would particularly appreciate the season statistics located in the bottom-left corner of the tooltip.
As for a "Scoreboard mode" - I don't have one enabled, or at least none that I'm aware of. I just use the standard mods, such as the real names fix, etc.
I've attached a screenshot; I'll have to take another look to see what might be causing the issue. Strangely enough, this doesn't happen in version 1.4...
Thanks again - your skin saves FM26!!!!
matthewg25
on this skin is the score board on the left
Shadow2000
it is on the left corner, yes…
Taurean9
My home screen looks like this whenever I try to install this skin. Any info on how to fix this would be much appreciated 🙂
Taurean9
My home screen looks like this whenever I try to install this skin. Any info on how to fix this would be much appreciated 🙂
Matt
Update your game.
Taurean9
Unfortunately, I don't have the option to update. Any chance you can share the version of the skin that works best with v26.0.6? 🙏
sasmaz
sniff sniff i smell a cracked game
Matt
The skin didn't exist when 26.0.6 was in use and I'll not be supporting older game versions.
Buy/update the game if you want to use this skin.
Taurean9
Sure, thank you for your response and for the efforts on the skin. Hope to try it out soon! 👍
Bilal04
merhabalar öncelikle elinize sağlık çok begenerek kullanıyorum yeni güncelleme geldi şuan çalışmıyor temanız acaba ne zaman güncelleme yaparsınız
charischris
is it working ok with new update 26.3.1? it looks like no to me… 😢
Matt
No, 26.3.1 is not supported.
Weber90
Same, my game is set back on the default skin.
charischris
how many days do they usually take to release an updated skin? 🙂
Omo Jnr
Can you guys please give Matt the time he needs to update, stop bombarding him with messages about the latest update. It will be updated when he wants to 🙂
loveinyouu
nvm
Bünyamin Yüksell
After FM is updated the skin did not getting worked. Could you please check & updated us ?