Football Manager 26: Will the PC game help women’s football grow further?

The game prides itself on its depth, realism and authenticity and new motion capture sequences were recorded for FM26 to represent the female players in the 3D match simulation.

Each person in the database has a set of distinct individual traits out of 20, from physical stats such as speed, agility and acceleration to skills such as passing and dribbling ability. It also reflects characteristics such as courage and composure.

“We had a big discussion over several months about how to deal with the differences between male and female players in statistics,” Jacobson added.

“The fastest woman in the world, as we know from world records, is a little slower than the fastest man, but we thought it was unfair that the fastest woman in the game should not be ranked 20th in terms of speed or acceleration.

“So we kept it separate. We compare women to women and men to men when it comes to playing qualities. When it comes to staff qualities, there is no difference.”

Former professional players, twin sisters Mollie and Rosie Kmita, were involved in the motion capture process for the game, and Mollie feels that being able to manage a women’s team will attract new players and educate existing players.

“When I was growing up, I never imagined playing a football manager because it wasn’t the right place for us,” she said.

“The normalization of women’s football in the game is exciting and we will see the ramifications of that.

“For someone who has never been interested in women’s football before and decides to manage a women’s team, the amount of information and knowledge he will learn about the players, teams and leagues is exciting.

“I think we’re about to engage a whole new audience and I’m excited to see how this community continues to grow.”