FM26 News: International Management Update Now Live

International Management has officially arrived in the latest update for Football Manager 26, with Update 26.3.1 now live across multiple platforms.

The update is available now for FM26 on Steam, Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store, alongside FM26 Console on Xbox and PlayStation, FM26 Touch via Apple Arcade, and FM26 Mobile through Netflix. The Nintendo Switch version of FM26 Touch is expected to follow early next month, pending platform submission approvals.

This long-awaited addition reintroduces International Management for both new and existing save files, allowing players to take charge of their national teams and compete on football’s biggest stage in the officially licensed FIFA World Cup 2026.

⚠️ As with previous major Football Manager updates, players using the Real Name Fix will need to reapply it following the installation of Update 26.3.1.

You can download the latest version here:  Sortitoutsi FM26 Real Name Fix.

⚠️ For those using custom skins, some interface changes introduced in this update may cause older skins to break until their creators release compatible versions. Be sure to check our Skin Viewer regularly to see which skins have already been updated for FM26 Update 26.3.1.

Players can now jump straight into the action with the newly added FIFA World Cup 2026™ Quick Start Mode.

Alongside the headline feature, as we mentioned in a previous article, the update introduces new match preparation tools, squad-building improvements, enhanced UI functionality, and official FIFA World Cup 2026™ assets. Sports Interactive has also confirmed that a second International Management update is planned ahead of the tournament, bringing the remaining official kits and finalized 26-man World Cup squads for participating nations.

At launch, 47 of the 48 qualified nations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ are playable, with further updates potentially coming in future patches.

However, Sports Interactive noted that licensing approvals for some official kits are still ongoing. As a result, not every national team kit will be available immediately at launch, though additional kits may be added later.

The full changelist for Update 26.3.1 includes a huge range of fixes and improvements across gameplay, UI, technical performance, competitions, and match presentation:

Technical Issues: 

• Improved UI speed and performance when playing in Large Online Lobbies 
• Improved loading times for very large save files 
• The ‘Show Fixtures & Results Screens’ preference is now enabled by default 
• Fixed various crashes caused by mass Custom Database changes 
• Fixed a rare crash caused by removing certain loan clauses 
• Fixed a rare crash caused by responding 'No Comment' to journalist question about a player retiring 
• Fixed an issue that would cause User Account logs to take up excessive storage space on certain spec Macs 

User Interface (UI): 

• Intensity is no longer locked to being High or Very High when playing with an ultra-defensive style 
• Added a dropdown signifying which position the role selector is currently highlighting  
• Improved the Right-Click functionality on the Tactics pitch 
• Fixed an issue causing the Position Warning icon to still be present after fixing the IP/OOP positions of players 
• Scroll bar functionality has been reinstated on the Tactical Styles section of the Training Schedules card 
• Fixed an issue causing the horizontal scroll bar to disappear when multiple columns were added to tables 
• Fixed the functionality of sorting staff by nationalities when on the Club Staff screen 
• Fixed an issue causing the down arrows not to function when selecting the taker order during a penalty shootout 
• Fixed an issue that would sometimes show ‘-1’ as the squad number for Newgen players within the opposition instructions 
• Added a ‘Take Off’ option within the match tactics panel when a player is slightly injured but the manager is out of available substitutes 
• Fixed an issue causing both squad numbers to appear the same on the substitution caption 
• Filtering by Adaptability within the staff database now functions as intended 
• The Competition Tree within the Stages tile has now been correctly aligned 
• Fixed a visual issue where players would appear out of place on the Match Squad Bar after changing their position in the tactics pitch 
• Shirt icons now correctly display for youth players who were called up to play a first team match 
• Fixed the information displayed within the Form tooltip in the Competition > Stages card 
• Restored the Traits button on the Player Report card 
• Added a filter button to the Managerial Vacancies screen 
• Hovering over tile carousels will now display a tooltip 
• Fixed an issue causing the Youth Setup feedback to be blank 
• Fixed an issue causing duplicate message titles to appear when viewing Player Reports from consecutive Scouting Report messages 
• Adding Player Report tile to various Scouting Portal messages 

Gameplay: 

• Tweaks made to AI manager appointment logic 
• Tweaks made to Supporter Expectations logic when managing a team with a point deduction 
• Fixed an issue with players declaring they want to represent the country of their birth but instead playing elsewhere 
• Fixed an issue to prevent AI hiring for B-Team roles when the user oversees all staff hiring 
• Fixed a rare issue of players refusing to sign a new deal due to ‘waiting on a promise to complete’, with no promise actually active 
• Fixed an issue preventing the user to tell an unhappy player you’ll loan them out if they’re already listed for loan 

Match, Art & Animation: 

• Tweaked the Dynamic Highlight Mode setting to fix an issue causing them to last excessively long 
• Ensured captains will always be the ones to lead teams out during the opening cut scene  
• Ensured captains will always be the one to collect and lift the trophy during celebration cutscenes 
• Fixed a rare instance of the ball crossing the goal line in game but not awarding a goal when checking the goal-line technology camera 
• Fixed an issue causing substituted players to occasionally remain visible on the touchline in the 2D pitch tile 

Competitions and Rule Groups: 

• Fixed an issue causing the same Mexican clubs to qualify via the league for the North American Champions Cup every season 
• Fixed an issue in Sweden to ensure the correct teams qualify for the correct UEFA competitions in the initial season 
• Fixed an issue causing Youth Exemption rules not to be enforced within the WSL  
• Reflected the real-world postponement of the women's Africa Cup of Nations in game