Before you start a new save, it helps to know where you can manage. So we put every FM27 playable league on one page, country by country, and marked which ones are officially licensed. FM27 has 59 playable nations, one more than FM26, thanks to the Saudi league, which arrives fully licensed.
Playable and licensed are not the same thing
A playable league is one where you can manage a club, with fixtures, results and transfers. A licensed league comes with the official name, badges, kits and player photos. In other words, a league can be playable without a licence. In that case it shows up with a generic name, such as «Portuguese Premier League», and made-up badges.
There is also a middle ground. In some countries the league is not licensed, but certain clubs are. Portugal is one example: only FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting have everything official.
Where this list comes from
SI has not yet published the full FM27 licence list. So far, it has confirmed two additions: the Arkema Première Ligue, France’s women’s top flight, and the Roshn Saudi League. The list below combines those two with FM26’s official licences and the leagues that were already playable. When SI releases the final list, or the game comes out, we will update this article.
What is new in FM27
- Roshn Saudi League: all 18 clubs have official logos, kits and photos, and Saudi Arabia is playable for the first time.
- Arkema Première Ligue: France’s women’s league arrives fully licensed.
For international competitions, FIFA and UEFA remain official. The World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup and Youth League all use their real names.
Men’s leagues by continent
For each continent we split the countries into three groups: fully licensed, partly licensed and unlicensed. That way you can see straight away where everything is official.
Europe
Europe has the most playable leagues. However, only some are fully licensed, and Portugal is not one of them.
Fully licensed
- England: Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League, North and South.
- Germany: Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga.
- Netherlands: Eredivisie and Keuken Kampioen Divisie.
- Scotland: Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two.
- Smaller nations: Gibraltar, Northern Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Wales.
Partly licensed
- Portugal: Liga Portugal, Liga 2, Liga 3 and Campeonato de Portugal, but only FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting are official.
- Italy: Serie A, Serie BKT and Serie C, with Serie BKT and 15 Serie A clubs licensed.
- France: Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 licensed, plus the unlicensed National and National 2.
- Belgium: Jupiler Pro League and Challenger Pro League licensed, plus the third tier.
- Denmark: 3F Superliga, Betinia Liga and 2. division licensed, plus the 3. division.
- Poland: Ekstraklasa licensed, First Division unlicensed.
- Individual clubs: Slavia Prague in Czechia and Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
Unlicensed
- West: Spain (four tiers), Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Iceland.
- North: Sweden (four tiers), Norway (four) and Finland (three).
- East: Turkey (three), Romania (three), Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovakia.
- Further east: Slovenia, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Israel.
In other words, Spain and Portugal are still unlicensed, despite having several playable tiers.
Asia and Oceania
In Asia, the big news is Saudi Arabia. Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UAE also keep their licences.
- Licensed: Saudi Arabia (Roshn Saudi League, new), Japan (J1, J2 and J3), South Korea (K League 1 and 2), Australia (A-League Men) and the UAE (ADNOC Pro League).
- Unlicensed: China (two tiers), Indonesia (two), Malaysia (two), Hong Kong, India and Singapore.
Africa
Africa has two playable nations, and neither is licensed: Egypt, with one tier, and South Africa, with two.
North America
- Licensed: USA (MLS) and Canada (Canadian Premier League).
- Partly licensed: Mexico, with Liga MX and Liga de Expansión, but only Club América is official.
South America
In South America every league is playable, but none is licensed. Even so, River Plate and Boca Juniors come with everything official.
- Playable: Brazil (Séries A, B and C), Argentina (two tiers), Chile (two), Colombia (two), Uruguay (two) and Peru (one).
Women’s leagues
Women’s football has 11 playable nations. Almost every league is licensed, and the Arkema Première Ligue is this year’s debut.
- Europe: Barclays WSL and WSL 2, Arkema Première Ligue (new), Frauen-Bundesliga, Serie A Women Athora, Damallsvenskan and Elitettan, A-Liga and Adran Premier.
- Rest of the world: NWSL, Ninja A-League Women and SOMPO WE League.
- Unlicensed: Spain, with the first and second tiers.
Finally, FIFA and UEFA competitions cover both sides, from the Women’s World Cup to the Women’s Champions League.
What this means for your save
A licence does not change how the game plays, but it does make a difference to immersion. Managing Benfica with the real badge is not the same as managing a club with a made-up name. That is why players who want everything official in unlicensed leagues usually turn to community files with real names, badges and kits.
The licensed Saudi league also changes long saves. Saudi clubs now make real transfers and can be relegated, so they are no longer just a high-wage destination for your players.
Our take
For Portuguese players, the big gap is still the unlicensed Liga Portugal. Even so, this is one of the most complete lists of playable leagues ever, and 59 nations cover every kind of save, from journeys across Asia to rebuilds in South America. You can try it now in the free Launch Preview, which opens on PC on 29 October. For the rest of the news, see our FM27 news roundup.
Sources
- Football Manager 26 Licences (footballmanager.com)
- Roshn Saudi League makes debut in FM27 (footballmanager.com)
- Arkema Première Ligue fully licensed in Football Manager 27 (footballmanager.com, 19/10/2026)
