How to play
Complete reference manual — from sign-up to international competitions.
bolt Quick start
Tutorial 1 · How to pick your club
Tutorial 2 · Customise your club
person_add Create your account
Sign up for free with your email and pick a manager name. You'll get a verification email. No credit card required.
sports_soccer Choose your team
Go into the active game, pick a country (you will see how many free clubs it has per division, how many clubs are run by a person —countries with managers come first— and you can search it by name) and claim a free club. For each free club you see what you are walking into: squad size, average level, average age, who is injured right now, the balance and how many weeks (or seasons) of wages it covers, where it stands this season and its run of the last 5 matches. A tag tells you whether it is a Favourite, Balanced or a Challenge compared with the other clubs in its own league, not with the whole game. Before you decide, tap a club and you will see its page: its best players with their level and age (and the goalkeeper separately), the stadium and its capacity, which competitions it is in, its last matches and who is injured right now. The button to start or to change club is in there. If you would rather not look at anything, "I don't know which to pick: recommend me one" asks you three things —whether you want to win soon, a balanced team or a challenge; whether the country matters; and whether you want human rivals— and drops you straight on the page of a club that fits. And in the list you can sort by fame, by best squad or by biggest budget, and keep only the countries that already have managers. If the country you want is full, press “Alert me when a spot opens”: with IFM PRO you'll get an email and a bell notification every time a club in that league becomes free (you can also ask for the alert for one division only, and manage it in “Free-club alerts”; it stays active until you remove it). If later on you want to manage another club —for example in a country that had no room at first—, in Team data you can switch clubs keeping your points: once per season, or with no limit with IFM PRO. In private leagues the club is fixed. When you arrive at a club, its squad welcomes the new coach: +20 morale for every player (up to 100). You can't go back to a club you've already managed in the same season. If you go 14 days without logging in, we will warn you by email; if you still have not logged in during the next 7 days, we release you from the club so that another manager can take it over (your account stays active and you can pick another free club). This does not apply in private leagues. If you take a club and do nothing with it (no saved lineup, offers, negotiations, friendlies, club details changes or rivals chosen), logging in will not save you: we warn you after 14 days and, if you still do nothing, release you 7 days later (7 and 5 days if you have not even logged in again after choosing the club). If you're left without a club —because of that removal or because the commission takes it away for fraudulent transfers or multiple accounts—, you keep IFM PRO until it expires and it carries over to the free club you choose. What you paid is not refunded in case of a fraud sanction. If you sign up and two days go by without you picking a club, we email you the steps to choose one and, five days later, a last reminder; we will not send you any more.
grid_on Set up your lineup
Drag (or tap) your 11 starters onto any of the 26 positions on the pitch: the formation (4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-5-2…) comes out of the positions you use. Name up to 9 substitutes. You can save a different lineup for League, Cup, International and Friendly; the tab marked "Next" is the one your next match will use, and the screen warns you if you are editing another.
swap_horiz Schedule substitutions and tactics
Schedule substitutions conditioned by minute and score (the engine applies at most 5 per match, +1 in extra time). You choose who goes off, who comes on and in which position, and you can tick several moments and scores at once.
emoji_events Compete in the competitions
Matchdays are processed automatically according to the calendar. The dashboard and the header tell you how long is left until your next match (days, hours and minutes, in your local time). Check the event-by-event report of each match (with its timeline of goals, cards and substitutions), the standings with your position matchday by matchday, your balance over time, income and expenses by concept and your stadium attendance in Economy, each player's skill radar and rating per match, your squad's ages and your final position in every season in the history.
payments Manage your finances
Every Monday at 00:00 (Spanish time) salaries and stadium maintenance are paid, whether or not there is a match that week; gate and TV income come in at every match, and the sponsor pays the whole contract when you sign it. Expand the stadium to increase capacity. A team in the red loses morale among its players.
install_mobile Playing on your phone? IFM installs as an app on Android, iPhone and desktop, no app store needed: How to install the app
group Squad and lineup
Tutorial 3 · Squad and player card
Tutorial 4 · Line-up and substitutions
Clubs are created with 22 players and from then on every squad changes with signings, departures and youth players. You need at least 18 players of your own to transfer, loan out or release anyone, and you can't go over 30 to sign. Each player has the following attributes:
Each player is known by their first name, their surname or both (in bold in lists). On the pitch, the bench and the match report that short form is shown; if two players share it, the missing initial is added: “Sabas P.” or “P. Sabas”.
bar_chart Skills (1 – 110)
| Skill | Abbr. | Description | Key position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dribbling | DRI | Skill to beat opponents with the ball | Forward |
| Pace | PAC | Movement speed | Forward Defender |
| Control | CON | Skill to control the ball after a cross or pass | Midfielder |
| Heading | HEA | Ability to head shots or clearances | Forward Defender |
| Tackling | TCK | Skill to intercept the opponent's play | Defender |
| Marking | MRK | Skill to cover and mark an opponent | Defender |
| Passing | PAS | Accuracy and range on passes | Midfielder |
| Crossing | CRO | Quality of crosses from the wings | Forward Midfielder |
| Shooting | SHO | Power and accuracy of shots on goal | Forward |
| Saving | SAV | Reflexes and ability to stop shots (goalkeepers) | Goalkeeper |
| One-on-one | 1V1 | Faces the striker in one-on-ones and tries to stop him (goalkeepers) | Goalkeeper |
Fitness and morale have a maximum of 100. Both act as multipliers: a player at 80% fitness and morale performs at 80% of all their skills.
layers 4 lineup types
| Type | Competitions |
|---|---|
| League | Only for the league competition |
| Cup | National Cup and National Super Cup |
| International | IFM Champions Cup, IFM Community Cup, International and Intercontinental Super Cups |
| Friendly | Friendly matches |
With «Templates» you save the current lineup —XI, bench and tactics— under a name and load it whenever you like in any tab: 1 template without PRO, 5 with PRO. A template is only the lineup: your scheduled changes are left alone when you load it, but if any of them no longer works with the new XI, we tell you as you load it. If a player in the template is no longer at your club, his slot is left empty. To take the changes to another competition too, use «Copy to».
rule Lineup rules
- check_circle You must field exactly 11 starting players.
- check_circle Two players cannot occupy the same position.
- check_circle There must be one goalkeeper (GK) and only one.
- check_circle At least 3 defenders: SW, LCB, RCB, LB, RB, LWB, RWB.
- check_circle At least 2 midfielders: LDM, CDM, RDM, LM, RM, LCM, RCM, CM, LAM, CAM, RAM.
- check_circle At least 1 attacker: LS, ST, RS, LW, RW, LWF, RWF.
- check_circle The minimums per line are a recommendation: the editor warns you if you do not meet them, but you can save anyway. What is mandatory is the 11 starters with a goalkeeper. If there is no goalkeeper on match day, the best available goalkeeper is put in automatically and your weakest outfield player comes out.
- check_circle You can add up to 9 substitutes to the bench.
- check_circle A player performs at 100% in any of their positions (their versatility); outside them they play out of position and perform 20% worse. The main position gives no bonus: it only sets their zone (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder or forward), which is what counts for their level and for Auto XI.
- check_circle New players (youth players and generated ones) can play 2 to 6 more positions, all close to their own on the pitch (a defender never plays as a forward or vice versa), and their best skills match their zone: marking and tackling for defenders, passing and control for midfielders, shooting and dribbling for forwards. Existing players don't change.
child_care Youth intake
Every season, your club receives between 1 and 3 new youth players who join directly the first team — there's no academy or waiting time: as soon as they're generated, you can already call them up and field them.
- check_circle They appear in matchday 1, the mid-season matchday and the last matchday of your league (depending on how many you're due that season).
- check_circle They're between 16 and 21 years old with a skill level somewhat below average — they need experience, but can become important pieces over time.
- check_circle They arrive with a 3- or 4-season contract, counting the current one.
- check_circle The position is random: goalkeeper in 1 case out of 10 and, otherwise, defender, midfielder or forward in roughly equal shares.
- check_circle They don't use up any market action or special squad quota: they count like any other player on your team.
- check_circle When one arrives, the bell notifies you with his name, age, position and overall (only if your club has a manager).
grid_view All positions (26)
Throughout the game each zone has its own colour: goalkeeper yellow, defender blue, midfielder green and forward red.
Goalkeeping
- GK Goalkeeper
Defence
- SW Sweeper
- LCB Left centre-back
- RCB Right centre-back
- LB Left-back
- RB Right-back
- LWB Attacking left-back
- RWB Attacking right-back
Midfield
- LDM Left defensive midfielder
- CDM Central defensive midfielder
- RDM Right defensive midfielder
- LM Left midfielder
- RM Right midfielder
- LCM Left central midfielder
- RCM Right central midfielder
- CM Central midfielder
- LAM Left attacking midfielder
- CAM Central attacking midfielder
- RAM Right attacking midfielder
Attack
- LW Left winger
- RW Right winger
- LWF Attacking left winger
- RWF Attacking right winger
- LS Left striker
- ST Striker
- RS Right striker
swap_horiz Substitutions during the match
Every manager can schedule up to 5 substitutions at half-time and at the end of regulation time (min 90, before extra time). PRO managers can also schedule them at any other point in the match (15, 30, 60, 75 and the extra-time break). You can also set up an injury replacement to decide who comes on if someone gets injured: you can cover a specific player or a position, and add a second substitute in case the first is not on the bench or has already come on in another change. The injured player leaves the pitch and his replacement uses one of your five changes, so it is not free; if you have none left or no bench, you play with ten. Set nothing and the best player on the bench for that slot comes on by itself. Free for everyone, IFM PRO or not. And as well as changing players you can change the PLAN: set up a change of mentality, style of play or the position of someone already on the pitch at a given point of the match, with the same scoreline conditions. Moving a player uses no substitution, but putting him in a position he cannot play costs him 20 % of his skills: the screen warns you when you set it up. The moments are the same as for substitutions (without PRO, half-time and minute 90).
For each change you set: who goes off, who comes on, the position he will take (green if it is one of his, ⚡ out of position if not, crossed out if a team-mate already has it, because two players cannot share a position), the moment (15, 30, half-time, 60, 75, 90 or extra-time half-time) and the score at that moment (always, winning by 2+, winning by 1, drawing, losing by 1, losing by 2+). You can tick several moments and scores at once and one rule is created per combination. If the score does not meet the condition the substitution is not made; each player comes on or goes off only once. The screen warns you if, at the same minute, more rules could be met than the engine can apply. Substitutions are created and edited in a 3-step window (who goes off, who comes on and when), and those sharing players and position are grouped in a single card. “Which substitutions would happen?” shows which rules the engine would really apply depending on the score at each moment. Note: substitutions at minutes 90 and 105 only happen if the match goes to extra time. If you then move players in the lineup (the one going off is no longer a starter, the one coming on is no longer on the bench) or the incoming player gets injured or suspended, the substitution won't happen: its card is marked in red with the reason and the lineup bar tells you how many there are. And if another starter ends up holding the position of a change, the substitute comes on in the place of the player going off —never two in the same position—; if what was taken was a position change, that one simply does not happen.
strategy Tactics
Mentality
- Attacking — more chances for you, but you also concede more
- Balanced — balance between attack and defence
- Defensive — fewer goals conceded, but less attacking threat
Playing style
- Down the wings — focuses on crossing and control skills
- Long balls — prioritises crossing and pace
- Ball control — possession via passing and control (+chance bonus)
- Break up play — tackling and marking, reduces total chances
- Counter-attack — pace and tackling; when it prevails, it takes a few chances away from the opponent
sports Match system
Tutorial 5 · Matches and match report
The match is split into 6 phases of 15 minutes each (90 min total), plus up to 2 extra-time phases if the rules require it. In each phase the engine calculates each team's scoring chances based on:
- grid_on Players' positions on the pitch — each position has an attack and defence value.
- strategy Each team's mentality and playing style — they change the number of chances generated.
- favorite Each player's fitness and morale — they act as a percentage multiplier on all their skills.
- person_remove The number of players on the pitch — a sending-off creates a numerical disadvantage from the next phase onward.
For every chance generated, a play is simulated: the attacking player takes on the defender using the relevant skills (passing, crossing, dribbling, shooting…). If the attacker beats the defender, the play advances toward goal. The goalkeeper gets one last chance to stop the shot.
Possession is decided in each phase by comparing both teams' tackling and passing: a team with more than 55% of the ball gets 1 to 3 extra chances, and below 35% the opponent gets them. The home team has an edge: a bit more possession and 2 more chances per phase, except on neutral ground: single-match finals, the Intercontinental Cup, the World Championship and the Continental Cup.
How players get better and worse
Skills change once a year, when the season closes, and they depend on two things: the MINUTES he has played and his AGE. Every minute counts, including those of players coming off the bench. League and cup minutes count as one; international and national-team minutes count one and a half; friendly minutes count a tenth — a friendly gives minutes and is useful for trying things out, but it is not a way to improve. And players improve mostly at what their position asks of them: a striker gains more in shooting and dribbling than in marking, so over the years players specialise instead of becoming good at everything. The first minutes are worth the most: past a certain point each extra minute counts for considerably less, so spreading minutes around pays off more than loading the same eleven every week. That point comes sooner the younger the player is. Age rules: under 24 a player never goes backwards and almost always gains something, though he gains MUCH more if he plays. From 24 on he needs to play just to hold his level. From 29 the norm is decline, but a veteran who is a genuine starter can earn another season at his 28-year-old level: the older he is the less likely, and at 32 no longer. If he does not play, he declines all the same.
Retirement
Players over 31 can retire, and they announce it a season in advance: when a season closes, it is decided who will retire at the end of the next one. You get a bell notification and you'll see them with an «R» in your squad. They play as usual that season and retire at the following close. The older the player, the likelier: at 32 or 33 it's rare, from 35 on it's the norm, and goalkeepers last a few years longer. Level and minutes count too: a good, regular starter keeps going longer; a weak player or one who barely plays retires sooner.
Fitness & morale
If a player is at 75% fitness and 80% morale, their skills are calculated at roughly ~77% of their maximum values. Morale of the whole matchday squad (substitutes too, whether they play or not) rises when you win and drops when you lose; in knockout ties what counts is who goes through, and friendlies don't change it. Fitness drops according to the minutes each player plays (extra time is more tiring) and recovers a little every day. In the lineup and substitutions, an amber battery flags players whose fitness is below 60. In the lineup player card you also see their latest ratings and their numbers this season, so you know who is in the best moment. Only official matches count (no friendlies); in the national team lineup you see their numbers with the national team and, below, with their club. Rivals and friends: in Club details, or with the buttons on each club's page, you choose up to 3 rivals and 3 friendly clubs (add while there is room, whenever you like; each position can be changed once per season; if you don't choose rivals, they are the clubs from your town or region). In an official match against a rival, the club that has it as a rival starts with +5 morale for that match only (+8 for both if the rivalry is mutual) and, afterwards, its matchday squad gains 3 morale if it wins or loses 3 if it loses. Derbies fill the stadium more (+15 % crowd, +25 % if mutual; a friendly against a friendly club, +10 %), carry the “Derby” tag and friends are listed first when you propose a friendly. If the dressing room sinks you can react: from Squad, Lineup or Club details, the «Squad bonus» costs one week of wages (always the same, however much it raises) and lifts 30% of what is missing up to 90, but only while average morale is below 80; and the «Team talk» is free and adds 2 or 3 points, as long as average morale has not reached 90. Both raise up to 90 at most and never lower anyone: whoever is already above it is left as he is. One of each per week. On top of that, every Monday players below 50 recover 1 point on their own, so nobody stays down forever. Winning matches is still the only way to reach 100.
Cards and injuries
A direct red card or a second yellow sends the player off: the team plays with a numerical disadvantage in all the following phases. If the injured or sent-off player is the goalkeeper, the emergency replacement comes on: the one you chose or, if none, the best goalkeeper on the bench. Injuries heal in 1–8 weeks. Every injury has a name and a severity (minor, moderate, serious or very serious). The injured player LEAVES the pitch: he holds on until the end of the quarter in which he gets hurt, and a substitute comes on there, USING one of the five changes, as in real football. On comes the one you programmed for him or, if you programmed none, the best player on the bench for his position; if you have no changes or no bench left, your side plays on with ten. You see it in the match chronicle, in the bell notice with the weeks and the day he is back, and on the player's page, which also keeps his injury history. In the match line-ups, a red cross marks who got injured. On average there are about 4 yellow cards per match between both teams and one sending-off every 3 matches. A player who is already booked plays more carefully: they are much less likely to get a second yellow. Suspensions: a straight red is usually 1 match (denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity or a reckless challenge) and, less often, 2 (striking an opponent or insulting the referee; the match report says why); a second yellow, 1. In addition, every 4 yellow cards in the same competition and season mean 1 match (the two from a second-yellow dismissal do not count, they already carry their ban). In the statistics, a second yellow counts as two yellows AND one red, just like in real football: two cautions and a sending-off; that doesn't change the ban, which is still one match. They are served in the following matches of the same scope (league and cup share suspensions; international and national-team ones are separate) and, if there is no time left, they carry over to the next season. Friendlies are the exception: there can be cards, but they never lead to a suspension.
Penalty shootout
If a knockout tie ends level, it is decided by a penalty shootout. The players on the pitch when the match ends take them (counting substitutions and sending-offs), goalkeepers included, in the order of your takers list (Lineup → “Penalty takers”; by default by shooting skill, highest first; it covers the whole club and every lineup). Each team takes up to 5 alternating penalties and the shootout stops as soon as one side can no longer catch the other; if still level, sudden death goes in pairs, and once everyone on the pitch has taken one, the first on the list shoots again.
League scoring
Standard points system: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. Friendlies do not count. What each match adds to the manager and team rankings is under Competitions › Ranking.
Match preview and match page
Every competition has its team of the period in the "Team of the period" tab of /ligas and /competiciones: the best eleven of the matchday, the week, the month and the season, taken from match ratings. There is no fixed formation: the seven usual ones are tried and the highest-scoring one wins. Over periods of several matchdays how much each player played counts too, so one good rating does not overtake someone who did well all along. When a matchday, a week, a month or the season closes, the bell tells you how many of your players made that eleven (only if you have any), and each player's page keeps the count of how many times he has made the team of the period in each competition. Before kick-off, a match page shows no lineups (the rival's tactics are secret) but the preview: head to head in that competition and overall, latest meetings, each team's recent form, current standings if it is a league or group, the first-leg result if it is a second leg, and absences (injured and suspended for that competition). Once played, the preview disappears and the page shows the result instead: the chronicle, the actual lineups, the statistics and the 3D viewer. After the match report (which can be collapsed), lineups are shown on the pitch, with each player’s photo, rating and what they did (goals, assists, saves, tackles, cards, whether they were subbed); tap one to see all their numbers. Below are the substitutions, with the position each substitute came on in, and the bench, and at the end the player statistics in columns. The shots per 15-minute period and the player of the match (highest rating) appear under the score. Below it you get the team statistics: chances, shots, shots on target, possession, saves, corners, crosses and cards (for old matches without an archived chronicle, only shots and possession). The number of times a player has been player of the match is counted in the MVP column of the squad and player-page statistics, and as a statistic («Player of the match») in the league and competition statistics. In the squad and on the player page, totals and averages only count official matches: friendlies are shown separately, and on the player page club and national team numbers are in separate blocks, and if he changed clubs mid-season, below the club total you get what he did with each one. The rating starts at 6.0 (5.7 if coming off the bench) and goes up or down with what each player does: goals, assists, shots on target, dribbles, passes and crosses, tackles and interceptions, clean sheets, and it drops for shots off target, being dribbled past, cards, own goals or playing out of position. For the goalkeeper each save is worth more than the previous one (the fifth and later ones already add the maximum), so a keeper who makes many saves rates well even when conceding; each goal conceded takes points off, and a blunder that ends in a goal takes more. Spectacular plays (a bicycle kick or top-corner goal, a top-corner or goal-line save, a nutmeg) get a bonus. Penalty shootouts don't count. Matches (the result if already played, or a preview with the kick-off time if not), public club pages, closed transfers and league standings have a “Share” button that generates a custom image (score or date, crests and data) to send via WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook, copy the link, or download the image and upload it to Instagram or TikTok. On a phone it opens the phone's own share menu directly. Until you open your last match, the dashboard will not spoil it: the form run, the latest results and the standings are covered up (you can uncover them without opening the match) and two buttons appear, "See the result" and "Live it minute by minute". The second one replays the commentary play by play with the score going up live, with no statistics, ratings or player of the match, until you press "See all the match data". The latest play is always at the top, and within each play the lines come out one at a time, with the icon arriving on the last one. You can choose how fast it is narrated (x0.25, x0.5, x1 or x2; it starts at x1): your browser remembers it for the next matches. You can watch it this way as often as you like, in any match already played, with the "Minute by minute" button on its page. The bell notification, the email and the phone alert for a match already played take you straight to the minute-by-minute, so the result is not spoiled before you watch it.
payments Economy
Tutorial 7 · Finances and sponsorship
IFM's economy is based on virtual euros. You can check your funds in the Economy section. Every matchday the following movements take place:
| Item | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | Every week players are paid their weekly wage, calculated from their skills and playing position. It is charged every Monday at 00:00 (Spanish time), whether or not there is a match that week. | Expense |
| Match organisation costs | The home team covers the costs of organising the match. | Expense |
| Travel costs | The away team covers travel costs (higher for international competitions). | Expense |
| Stadium upkeep | Weekly cost proportional to the stadium's capacity. It is charged every Monday at 00:00 (Spanish time), whether or not there is a match that week. | Expense |
| Gate receipts | Gate income is the crowd times the ticket price. The crowd depends on the club's following (its fame and stadium size), the competition and round (the cup in early rounds draws less than the league; Europe and finals, more; friendlies, much less), what the league has at stake late in the season (title, European place, relegation), whether it is a derby, the home side's form and the price. Each club has 4 prices, changed in Club details, on the dashboard or in each match preview: league, cup, international and friendlies. The first time you play a cup or international match at home in a season, we alert you in the bell so you can check that price. The home team keeps all of it, friendlies included, except at neutral venues (single-match finals and the Intercontinental Cup), where it is split in half and the competition sets the price: the one that earns most at the venue's stadium. National team matches generate no gate or TV rights. Finals, the Intercontinental Cup and all national-team matches are played at a club stadium chosen as the venue (in qualifiers, one in the home team's country): that club gets a notification and a hosting fee when the match is played, highest for the final, then the semi-finals, and lower for other rounds. | Income |
| TV rights | Income from televised matches: each club receives a fixed amount depending on the competition and round (in the league, more the higher the division). Televised matches are chosen about 3 days ahead among the most interesting ones (the most famous teams, those fighting for the title, Europe or relegation, and derbies), and every club gets on TV every now and then; you recognise them by the television icon in the preview, in matchdays, in brackets and in the result. National team matches, friendlies and early cup rounds are not televised. | Income |
| Sponsors | You'll receive regular sponsorship offers that you can accept or reject. The deal lasts a number of weeks and the sponsor pays you the full amount up front when you accept. While it lasts, the sponsor appears on your dashboard, your public club page and your match pages, and its logo on your shirt if the deal includes a shirt slot. IFM's automatic offers carry no logo. You may also get proposals from real sponsors (companies advertising on IFM): they always pay more than IFM's offers and you can accept them even with an IFM deal running; while they last you get no more IFM offers. You can only have one real sponsor at a time, and if you're not interested, reject the proposal (it expires after 7 days). If another club takes the sponsor budget first, their proposal may end up with fewer weeks, or be withdrawn before you answer. | Income |
| Competition prize money | Every competition pays out prize money based on the round reached. International competitions offer higher prizes. | Income |
Stadium expansion
In the Club details section you can expand your stadium's capacity if you have enough funds. The expansion takes several weeks and permanently increases gate revenue, but also raises weekly upkeep. It costs €4–80M depending on the size of the stadium, is paid up front and takes 8 to 12 weeks; each expansion adds 2,000 to 5,000 seats, as long as the stadium has fewer than 100,000. We let you know in the bell when the works begin and when they finish.
In the red
If your team's balance is negative when the weekly costs are charged, all your own players lose 5 morale points. Low morale reduces performance in the following matches (this way it never drops below 30) — keep an eye on the budget!
badge Transfers
Tutorial 6 · Transfers, sales and loans
IFM has a free market: there are no restrictions on foreign players. To sign or sell players, you have several mechanisms:
Search for players
The search (game menu → Players) finds any player in the game by age, value, country, position (by versatility), minimum and maximum skills, transfer-listed, loan-listed, last contract year or only clubs with a manager. You can also browse other teams' squads or the Market (transfer-listed, auctions, loans and free agents). In the Market, every tab (transfer-listed, auctions, loanable and free agents) has the same filters as the search and can be shown as a table or as cards. Player lists (squad, market, search, call-up and each team's page) open as cards on phones and as a table on computers; if you switch view, it is remembered in your account for each type of device. On the page of a player who is not yours (from another club or a free agent), the "Compare with your squad" block (it starts collapsed, press it to open) puts him next to one of your players — by default your best player in his position, and you can change it with the selector: skills, level, age, value, wage, release clause, contract, fitness, morale, positions and what each of them has done this season. In green, who wins in each row.
Direct negotiations
Open a negotiation with another club that has a manager. There can only be one open negotiation with each club: until it is resolved, you can't open another one with them. Careful: as soon as the other manager accepts, the transfer is immediate, so use internal mail if you're only exploring the market. If a manager leaves their club, their pending negotiations, loans and friendlies are rejected, their bids are withdrawn, their players’ auctions are cancelled (including the next-season ones they opened with «Do not renew») and the transfer-listed and loan-listed marks are removed; if the offer was yours, we let you know in the bell.
Negotiating with the player
Besides the agreement between clubs, you have to settle terms with the player: weekly salary and contract length (1 to 5 seasons, your choice; they count from next season and the current season comes on top). Players have club and country preferences that affect their decision; if you offer too little they turn the terms down, and the deal won't go through until you improve them. The player answers every offer: they accept, «almost there», «you need to improve it», «improve it a lot» or that they will never come. A «never» may be because they don't want to play for your club (money won't fix that) or because your offer is far below what they ask for; for free agents and renewals, after a «never» you can't make them another offer that season. Players' preferences change a little every season.
Auctions
You can put players up for auction with a starting price (at least 50% of their value) and a duration of 5 to 10 days. Each bid must beat the starting price or raise the current leading bid by at least 5% (minimum €10,000), and all bids are shown on the player's page. If nobody beats the starting price, the player isn't sold; if the winner no longer has the money when it closes, the next bid wins. Free managers: 2 players up for auction at once and 1 bid per player per day; PRO: 4 and 2. We let you know when the first bid for your player arrives and when the auction closes (sold or unsold).
Free agents
Free agents are signed directly by offering them a salary; they may turn it down if it's too low, and contract length depends on age (3 seasons under 29, otherwise 2), on top of the current season. If they became free less than a week ago, they go to a 7-day public auction first. Their club and country preferences also count, as in any signing.
Release clause
You can sign a player from another club that has a manager by paying their release clause, and their club cannot refuse. The clause is their weekly wage × 1,500 and it is recalculated every time they sign a new contract. Paying it costs the clause × the years left on their contract, so a player on a long contract is very expensive. The player has to accept the wage you offer, and you can't go over 30 players of your own. They join 5 days after accepting. During that waiting period, no one can make transfer or loan offers for them — not even the buying club — until they join their new club. You can only pay it if the player has more than one year left on his contract (with one year left he has to renew or go to next season). The money goes to his club's cash. You can see the clause of your own players on their page and in your squad. You cannot offer a contract to, or pay the clause of, players at clubs without a manager: they renew on their own when their contract ends. They only go to auction if their club falls into the red.
One transfer per season
A player who has already been transferred (regular sale or via clause) during the current season cannot be transferred again until the following season. They can still be loaned out. A player on loan can't be transferred either while the loan lasts: neither by the club that has them on loan nor by their owner.
Loans
It lasts 4 to 20 weeks, counted in Mondays: with a 4-week loan, the player returns to his club on the fourth Monday after the loan starts, at 00:05 (Spanish time). If the loan starts mid-week, it lasts a little less than the weeks you set.
Releasing a player
Cost: 4 times their weekly wage. Use it carefully — it's an expensive severance. You can't release a player if you'd be left with fewer than 18 players of your own.
Renewing a player
You can offer a renewal to a player in the last year of his contract. You set the salary and the years depend on age (3 if under 30, 2 otherwise). When making the offer you see what he asks for: offer that or more and he accepts. Below it he answers «almost there», «you must improve», «improve a lot» or that he will not renew: the further you are from what he asks, the more likely he breaks off talks, and repeating or lowering your previous offer can also make him break them off. If he accepts, the new contract starts when the season closes and until then he cannot be transferred, auctioned or dismissed. If he says he will not renew, you cannot offer it again that season. If he says he will not renew or you mark him as «Do not renew», other clubs with a manager can sign him for next season. If nobody signs him and there is no accepted renewal, when the season closes he may still stay on his own, for 3 years at the salary he asks for: the higher his value, the more likely (low-value players always leave). If you do not want him to stay, press «Do not renew» on his profile and he will become a free agent when the season closes; you can undo it as long as no club has entered the auction. As soon as a player's next season is settled (renewal accepted, next-season auction or signed by another club) he is taken off the market and any pending negotiations over him are cancelled.
Sign for next season
When a player in the last year of his contract at a club with a manager says he will not renew, or his club marks him as «Do not renew», any other club with a manager can offer him a contract for next season from his profile or from the «Auctions» tab of the Market, where he is marked «Next season». You offer a salary and a payment to his agent; the years depend on age (3 if under 29, 2 otherwise) and the player answers as he would to any offer. If he accepts, you enter the auction: 5 days after the first accepted offer, the highest payment to his agent wins (if tied, the highest salary), paid when you win. You can improve your bid once a day (twice with IFM PRO), raising the leading bid by at least 5% (minimum €10,000), and each club can have at most 3 such signings closed at the same time. The player stays at his club until the season closes and then moves to the winner; meanwhile he cannot be transferred, auctioned, loaned or dismissed. In listings you will see him with «NR» (open to offers), «NS» (auction in progress) or «→» and the short name of the club he is joining. He also cannot be included in any negotiation, and his release clause cannot be paid. If the player’s club is left without a manager, an auction already under way stays open until it closes, unless it was opened by the «Do not renew» of the manager who leaves: that one is cancelled. If it had not started yet, the player is no longer available.
Fair play
Managing more than one team is forbidden. Transfers that clearly aim to benefit a specific team (for example, loaning out players ahead of a final and getting them back afterwards) are considered fraudulent and can lead to the manager's expulsion.
emoji_events Competitions
Tutorial 8 · Leagues, cups and fixtures
public National competitions
| Competition | Format |
|---|---|
| League | Round robin (home and away) by divisions within the same country. How many teams go up and down depends on the size of the division: 1 with 6 teams, 2 with 8, 3 with 10 or 12 and 4 with 16. The table colours the promotion, relegation and international cup places. |
| Cup | Knockout rounds within the same country. Every round is two-legged except the final, which is a single match. If the aggregate is level, away goals count; if still level, extra time (where away goals also count) and, finally, penalties. |
| National Super Cup | League champion vs. cup champion from the previous season (or the runner-up if they're the same team). Played over two legs. |
language Continental competitions (clubs)
| Competition | Format |
|---|---|
| IFM Champions Cup | The most prestigious competition per continent. Each country's league champion enters the group stage directly; the 2nd and 3rd placed teams play a two-legged qualifying round. After the group stage, knockout rounds decide the final. The defending champion has a reserved spot: if they didn't qualify via their league, they take the 3rd-place spot (who moves to the IFM Community Cup instead). |
| IFM Community Cup | The second continental competition. Entry goes to each country's cup champion (or runner-up if already in the Champions Cup), the league's 4th, 5th and 6th place finishers, and the team displaced from the IFM Champions Cup if applicable. It starts with a group stage followed by knockout rounds. This competition's defending champion also has a reserved spot if they didn't qualify another way, displacing the lowest-ranked qualifier. Teams that lose the preliminary round of their continent's IFM Champions Cup also move to the IFM Community Cup, whose group draw waits until that round is over. |
| International Super Cup | A single match on neutral ground between the IFM Champions Cup winner and the IFM Community Cup winner from the previous season. |
| Intercontinental Cup | Pits all the IFM Champions Cup winners from every continent against each other. Decides the best club in the virtual world. |
flag National teams
| Competition | Format |
|---|---|
| World Championship qualifying | Groups by continent where national teams earn one of the 48 World Championship places. Each continent has a fixed quota: Europe 16, America 12, Africa 10 and Asia and Oceania 10. All group winners go through first, then the runners-up, and so on until the quota is filled with the best-placed teams. |
| IFM World Championship | 48 national teams in 12 groups of 4. The top two of each group and the 8 best third-placed teams reach the round of 32, and from there knockout ties are single matches. It decides the best national team in the world. Every qualified team plays, but only IFM PRO managers can coach a national team. |
| Continental Qualifying | Groups by continent that hand out up to 24 places in each continent's Continental Cup, with the same rule: group winners, then runners-up, and so on until the quota is full. |
| Continental Cup | Each continent's national-team tournament. With 24 teams: 6 groups of 4, the top two of each group and the 4 best third-placed teams reach the round of 16, and knockout ties are single matches. |
National-team competitions run in a four-season cycle, one per season: Continental Qualifying, Continental Cup, World Championship Qualifying and World Championship.
handshake Friendlies
Propose a friendly to another club with a manager (or, if you coach a national team, to another national team): you choose the date among those you both have free, and whether you play at home or away. The opponent accepts or declines it; until they accept, you can cancel it. It's played at 22:00 (Spanish time). It's played with your Friendly line-up. Morale doesn't change, there can be cards but they never lead to suspensions, it gives no points and doesn't count for records, and the gate receipts go to the home team. You can play one friendly a week once the league starts, on whichever day suits you both; in pre-season there is no limit. There are also a few slots spread through the season that are extra: a friendly on one of those days does not use up your weekly one. While you're still alive in a cup or a knockout, days when a round that hasn't been drawn yet could fall on you aren't offered as free: the whole bracket is created when the season starts, with its dates already set, and opponents are drawn as each round finishes, so you can end up playing that day even though nobody is assigned to it today. Once you're knocked out, those days open up again. When either of you accepts, the proposals that no longer fit that week cancel themselves: the history tells you which friendly knocked them out and against whom. On days when the national teams play —qualifying rounds too, not just the World Cup and the Continental Cup— clubs do not arrange friendlies: those days belong to the national teams. National teams can, on days they are not playing. There are never club matches on Mondays: it is the free day of the week. You can plan all the way to the last official match of the season, not just the next few weeks, and when a day doesn't work the screen tells you why: an official match, Monday, an undrawn cup round, or your friendly for that week already being booked. In the Community, the Friendlies section helps you find an opponent.
map In Leagues, "View map" opens the map of the country with every club in the game placed in its city; you can switch country and division, and hover a club in the list to locate it.
bar_chart Every league, cup and international competition has two shortcuts in its header: «Statistics», with that competition's player rankings, and «Records», with the best marks in its history. In the club menu, «Cup» takes you straight to your country's cup. In International competitions («International» menu), the tabs are grouped into Clubs, National teams, Friendlies and Statistics. From the International competitions header you can jump to the national leagues.
groups In the Statistics tab you can switch between Players and Teams (in International competitions, Clubs or National teams depending on the competition, never mixed): Teams shows the club ranking for that competition by goals for and against, clean sheets, average possession, chances, shots and corners per match, cards and average attendance. Each club page also has a «Season statistics» block with those figures for every official competition it plays.
leaderboard Ranking
Every official match gives fame to the winning team, and in the league and group stages also for a draw. In the league a win is worth 3 times its division's value (1st 10, 2nd 8, 3rd 6, 4th 5, 5th 4, 6th 3, 7th 2, 8th 1) and a draw once: in the top division, 30 for a win and 10 for a draw. In the cup you earn 20 for each round you get through (in the biggest cups, the first two rounds give 2 and 10) and the super cup gives 10. International and national-team competitions give international fame, from 1 to 30 depending on the round. Friendlies give nothing.
Team ranking: international fame × 25 + national fame. Manager ranking: you add the same points your team earns, with club international fame × 25 (national-team fame counts as it is); if you also manage a national team, they add up on the same row. Whoever wins a title also gets a champion bonus, so the champion scores more than the runner-up: in the league 10 times its division's value (100 in the top division), 20 in the cup, 30 in the Champions Cup and the World Championship, and 10 in the super cups. At the start of each season, fame and points are halved.
Hall of fame: adds up top-division and club-competition titles, with these points: league 3, cup 1, national super cup 1, Community Cup 10, Champions Cup 15, International Super Cup 3 and Intercontinental 5.
trophy Records
Records holds the best marks in the whole history of the game: scorers, thrashings, titles, runs and historic seasons. You can see them for the whole game, for one country or for national teams, split across five tabs: highlights, players, teams, matches, and leagues and countries.
Each record shows the best mark large, and the next four if you expand “See the top 5”. Friendlies do not count towards any record, and national-team marks are never mixed with club ones. On top of that, every club page has its own, in two blocks: its players' (top scorer, top assister, most saves and most appearances in that shirt, adding up everything they did with the club, plus their best single season when it is not the same mark) and the team's (biggest win, most points in a season and the longest run). A player who was transferred leaves his mark there even once he is gone.
schedule Records are recalculated once a day, overnight. If your team breaks one today, it shows up tomorrow.
play_circle There are two kinds of record. A thrashing or a career total counts from the very first match. Season totals (points, goals, top scorer), on the other hand, only compete once the season is over: while it is being played, the current best is shown separately, marked “in play”.
whatshot Runs (wins in a row, matches unbeaten, clean sheets) count every competition together and do not stop at the end of a season: only a result that breaks them ends the run.
shield On top of that, each club page has its own records block, and players who hold a game record wear it as a badge on their profile.
star Paid users — IFM PRO
The paid options aren't meant to give a disproportionate competitive edge, but to add more depth and personalisation to the experience. The current perks are:
National teams
Only PRO managers can apply to manage a national team and take part in the World Championship.
Substitutions at any moment
Schedule substitutions at all 7 moments of the match (15, 30, half-time, 60, 75, 90 and the extra-time break). Without PRO, only at half-time and at min 90.
Team customisation
Change team name, president, coach, stadium, crest and kit whenever you want from Team data (without PRO, once per season each).
Change of club
Change club as many times as you like per season and keep your ranking points (without PRO, once per season).
Auction perks
You can bid twice a day on the same player in auction and put up to 4 players up for auction at once (versus 1 bid/day and 2 players for free managers).
Real performance
See at a glance at what percentage of their skills each player performs (the average of their fitness and morale) in the squad, lineup, substitutions, player search and loans.
Position view
A tool showing which of your squad's players can perform at 100% in each position on the pitch, making lineup planning easier.
Favourite players
Star the players you are interested in (in the Market, the search, their profile or their club) and keep them in “My favourites”. We notify you in the bell when they go on sale, enter an auction, are offered on loan or become free.
Lineup templates
Save up to 5 named lineups (XI, bench and tactics) and load them with one tap to make small tweaks. Without PRO, one.
Financial forecast
In Economy you see the forecast for your week and the next 4: the gate of each home match at your price and at the recommended price (with a button to apply it), expected TV, wages, the stadium and the expected balance.
Shirt numbers your way
Change each squad player’s number whenever you like (1 to 99, no repeats) from Squad › Shirt numbers.
Free-club alerts
We email you and notify you in the bell when a club becomes free in the country (and division) you choose. The alert stays active until you remove it.
PRO badge
Your name carries the PRO badge in the ranking, on your manager profile and in the community.
IFM PRO is paid per season (one-off payment, no auto-renewal) and there is a 3-season pack. As it does not renew on its own, we warn you in the bell and by email as your last season nears its end. If you do not renew, you lose the PRO benefits when the season closes; if you manage a national team, you get 7 more days to renew before the federation looks for another coach. If you renew before it expires, the new seasons are added to the ones you have left: you lose nothing by renewing early. In private leagues every manager is PRO for as long as the league runs, at no extra cost. If you organise a private league, you invite each friend from the league panel: you can look them up by their manager name or by the club they run —without knowing their email— and the invitation reaches them by email and as a notice inside the game; if they do not play IFM yet, you invite them by email. Either way the invitation link stays visible with a button to copy it and send it however you like. See prices
flag National teams
Tutorial 9 · National team (PRO)
National teams are exclusive to paid managers (IFM PRO). They work as a second, parallel team: you keep managing your club and also run your national team.
- check_circle To manage a national team, open “Manage a national team” from the game's front page and pick a free one: it's yours right away, no waiting. Only one national team per game. If the one you want already has a coach, press “Alert me when it's free” and you'll get an email when it becomes available.
- check_circle You can call up to 30 players from your country, from the Call-up screen, the player search or each player's page. In Call-up you get the same filters, table or cards as in the rest of the game, with each player's form (latest ratings) and season, and you can tick several to call them up or release them at once. In Scouting you follow players from your country match by match (rating, goals, assists, cards) and, on the days they play, you get a summary in the bell. In the menu, below Matches, there is a direct link to whichever competition you are in this season — Continental Qualifying, Continental Cup, World Championship Qualifying or the IFM World Championship — and it opens your continent and your group. In Alerts you see the last 7 days: called-up players who stand out or are at risk (injury, ban, low fitness, bad run) and players from your country outside the squad who are doing well, so you can call them up or follow them. Two days before each national-team match we notify each called-up player's club in the bell, telling them who they are. Calling a player up does not take him away from his club: he can still be fielded, and national-team minutes count one and a half times league minutes towards their progression.
- check_circle Each season the federation sets a goal based on the national team's international fame: from qualifying for the World Championship to reaching the final. It is assessed when the World Championship Qualifying and the World Championship end (the Continental Cup doesn't count). If it isn't met, the coach may be dismissed: a 75% chance if they fall one step short of the goal, and 10 points less for each further step. The goal is shown on the Call-up screen.
- check_circle The day after they play, each called-up player's club gets another bell notice, and in «Internationals» (from its Squad) it sees every match its players have played with their national team this season, newest first: the result, each one's rating and his goals, shots, assists, tackles, saves and cards.
- check_circle The national team's lineup is independent from the club's and uses the same editor (pitch, 9-player bench, scheduled substitutions, mentality and style). Unlike a club, the national team has a single lineup: the same one plays official matches and friendlies.
- check_circle You can only field called-up players. Before each match the line-up repairs itself (injured players, players no longer called up, and players banned with the national team only in an official match — in friendlies a banned player can play) and the squad fills itself up to 18 if needed, always with at least 2 available goalkeepers (the best free ones in the country).
forum Community
Each game has its own community (game menu → Community): the place to talk with the other managers, like the original IFM forum.
- check_circle Sections: Announcements (only the admins write), General, Leagues and cups (one thread per competition and season, created automatically), National teams, Market (looking for/selling/loaning), Friendlies (find a rival) and Commission (anti-fraud rulings). Support and "Suggestions, ideas and bugs" are shared by all games.
- check_circle You post as a manager, with your public name and the crest of your club in that game. You can only write in games you are a member of. Messages are plain text; links are linked automatically.
- check_circle You can edit your message for 15 minutes and delete it whenever you want. "Active topics" and "Unanswered" show you what is new; the red dot marks threads with messages you have not read and the bell notifies you when someone replies in your thread.
- check_circle Long threads are read in pages of 20 messages: opening a thread with messages you have not read takes you straight to the first one; if you have read everything (or never opened it), you go to the last message. At the top you have «Last message» and «First unread message», and in the lists each long thread shows its pages and an arrow to the last message.
- check_circle If you see a message out of place, report it: the administration or the committee review it and can delete it, hide the thread, pin or lock it. A deleted message or thread is no longer visible to anyone, but moderators keep its content so they can review conflicts between managers. There is a limit of messages per minute and per day to avoid spam.
- check_circle What you write is your responsibility: IFM is not responsible for Community messages or for the names users give their club, stadium, chairman or coach. If we receive a claim of rights or for another legal reason, we will help remove it (see the Terms).
- check_circle Shortcuts from the game: "Comment" on a match page or in the standings takes you to that competition's thread; "Post to the market" on one of your players and "Find a rival" in Friendlies prepare the message. If you paste a player profile link it is shown as a card (position, age, value, club). When each season closes, a summary of champions, promotions and relegations is posted in Announcements.
- check_circle In "Suggestions, ideas and bugs" you propose improvements or report bugs (also from the help button on any screen, which fills in where you were). Each thread has a status — new, under review, in progress, done or declined — that the admins update; when it changes, the bell and email let you know. Other managers can back your proposal with "Like"; you can sort by votes and, as you type the title, you are warned if a similar one already exists. The "Done" filter is the history of improvements already applied.
- check_circle Every community post and every message between managers has a “Translate” link that puts it into your language (Spanish ↔ Catalan on our server; with English, via MyMemory). The email alert for a message written in another language also includes the translation, below the original. In your profile you can choose to have everything translated automatically (including thread titles and message subjects) or never translate.
- check_circle In private messages between managers, who you are talking to stays pinned at the top: their crest, their name and two buttons, "See their club and squad" —their whole squad is there— and "Manager profile". The links you send each other are clickable, and if they point to an IFM club or player they show up as a card with its crest and name instead of a long URL. To send one without leaving the conversation, "Send a link" lets you drop in your club, theirs, or any player from either squad. You get it in both places where you write: replying inside a topic and opening a new one, as soon as you've picked who you're writing to.
- check_circle Type @ and a few letters to mention another manager (the bell notifies them). You can react to any message with 👍 👎 😂 ❤️ 😮 😢 👏 (smiley button); hover over a reaction, or press and hold it on mobile, to see who added it. In Support, whoever opened the thread (or a moderator) can mark the "Accepted answer", which is highlighted at the top. And the search looks in titles and messages of the whole community.
- check_circle Invite your friends from «Invite a friend» (your user menu, your profile or «My games»): by email, they get a link to create their account straight away, without requesting access (at most 3 pending and 10 every 30 days; it expires after 30 days); or share your personal link on WhatsApp, Telegram or anywhere. Accounts that join this way are linked to yours for fair-play purposes.
- check_circle To show one of your players, press “Add player” (or type # and their name): it is posted as a card linking to their profile. The club name on each message links to its page.
volunteer_activism Project funding
IFM is a personal project, with no company behind it — just one person's effort and the community's support. To keep it running, these funding sources are combined:
Paying users (IFM PRO)
The main source of income. PRO managers pay a fee per season in exchange for the extra features described in the previous section.
Built-in sponsors
Companies or individuals advertise on IFM with real money: their logo appears on the clubs and competitions they sponsor, and those clubs get in-game money in return. More information in “Advertise on IFM”.
Donations
If you want to support the project directly, you can make a voluntary donation from the website.
IFM isn't responsible for comments made by users within the game, although they're actively moderated. No unethical content of any kind is allowed.
history IFM's history
IFM was born as a game to play among friends. Over time it gained users until reaching over 500 active managers in 2004, remarkable for a personal project with no company behind it.
Funding from ads alone wasn't enough to cover costs or the time invested, so the difficult decision was made to close it. But it wasn't forever.
In late 2008, after more than a year of work from scratch, IFM reopened its doors with a new engine, more competitions, and paid user accounts to sustain the project long-term.
In 2015 came the second closure. The software had grown and needed more and more time to maintain: bugs, issues, constant upkeep. Unfortunately, at that point there wasn't enough time to keep going with the quality the project deserved, and the decision was made to pause it.
Now, in 2026, IFM is back with great enthusiasm. This time with a completely rewritten engine and the help of artificial intelligence, which has made it possible to greatly speed up development while keeping code quality high. What used to take months of work now moves at a speed that would have seemed impossible for a solo project just a few years ago.
We're back!
All clear? You're ready to start managing your team.