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Manager Handbook

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Season 0

16:32:36 | 28/03/2024

Week 0
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week

0

16:32:36
28/03/2024

Introduction

Football Strategy is an online football (soccer, if you’re American) management game. Something new is always happening to your team, competing managers and the leagues you’re involved in. Managers may log in at any time to find out what has happened since their last session, view upcoming events, and make new, fun managerial decisions.

For a better understanding of how the game works, it is recommended for new managers to read the manager handbook.

The Football Strategy community is forever growing. Teams are getting stronger, divisions are getting tighter, and managers are continuously finding more ways to get ahead.

Join in on the discussions at the forums, where managers figure out the best tactics for their side and offer suggestions to help improve the game even further. Alternatively, come in to chat with Football Strategy’s active staff team, who are working on the game daily, and interacting with the community frequently to find out how the game may be improved.

Categorized by the colour, their club’s name is written. The four types of clubs are:

  • Blue represents staff members.
  • Yellow represents PLUS subscribers.
  • Black represents active players.
  • Green represents bot, AI-controlled clubs.

Rules

Football Strategy was built to be fun and to serve fans and managers. To help keep the game fun and fair, certain rules must be followed:

  • 1. Every user is allowed to own and operate only one club account. Club accounts that share computer access must contact an administrator via the contact form. Interaction of any sort is not allowed in-game if computer access is shared.
  • 2. Your club account belongs to you, and it is against the rules to sell, exchange, or trade your club account.
  • 3. Users found to artificially raise transfer prices to gain an unfair advantage are liable to be suspended from the game. This is to ensure all dealings on the transfer market are fair, transparent and kept to realistic market values.
  • 4. It is prohibited to use offensive languages such as profanities, pornographic allusions, racist comments, any form of threats, and sharing of illegal material. Such behavior will not be tolerated, and offending accounts will be suspended.
  • 5. Except in cases approved and specified by the administrator, the use of third-party software is not allowed. Violation of this will result in suspension.
  • 6. To keep our servers optimized for smooth gameplay, our player databases are constantly purged of inactive players. If an account is inactive (meaning you do not log in) for over 60 days, it will be automatically deleted unless you are a PLUS subscriber.

By violating the game rules, managers risk permanent suspension of their accounts.

Activities within the game are constantly being monitored to ensure a fair playing ground therefore the players should refrain from any violation of stated rules.

Timing & Schedules

The game is designed to be always playable for football managers, at any time.

Clubs can be managed successfully without the need of playing daily. Advance setup may be done for everything from future line-ups for competitions, training schedules and youth development plans. Managers will find that time, tactics and enthusiasm invested into the club are usually rewarded with top results from their teams.

A season consists of 16 weeks (week 0 to week 15). Here is a basic rundown of events managers can expect to happen each week:

// Every day (23:00 [FS] Time)

  • Maintenance is scheduled from 23:00ST to 00:00ST.
  • Competitions are updated.
  • Training points are updated.
  • The injury status is updated.
  • Youth Academy prospect’s progress is updated.

// Monday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 U21 team National Cup matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 U21 team National Cup matches.
  • Fanbase count and mood are updated.
  • The ranking for primary and U21 teams is updated.

// Tuesday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 primary team National Cup matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 primary team National Cup matches.

// Wednesday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 U21 team friendly matches.
  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 U21 team FS Cup matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 U21 team friendly matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 U21 team FS Cup matches.
  • New prospects for your U21 Academy are introduced.
  • Staff seminars are updated.

// Thursday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 primary team friendly matches.
  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 primary team FS Cup matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 primary team friendly matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 primary team FS Cup matches.

// Friday

  • Finance is updated.
  • TV Rights are paid to your club.
  • Sponsors pay their season subscription.

// Saturday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 U21 team League matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 U21 team League matches.
  • New prospects for Youth Academy are introduced.
  • Staff seminars are updated.

// Sunday

  • 12:00ST: Time zone 1 primary team League matches.
  • 20:00ST: Time zone 2 primary team League matches.

// Week 15: Last day (Sunday)

  • Promotion/relegation matches take place.
  • National Team election starts (First Season).
  • National Team bonuses are sorted (Second Season).
  • National Team auctions are listed (Second Season).
  • Associates pay their season subscription.
  • Sponsors pay their bonus payout.
  • Leagues are sorted.
  • Players gain age.
  • The values and wages of players are updated.
  • The wage of staff members is updated.
  • Player cards count reset.
  • Associates price adjustment – open until Friday and set by marketers for the remainder of the season.
  • Match ticket prices selection – open until Friday and set by marketers for the remainder of the season.
  • Match ticket prices selection - open until Friday (automatically chosen if not selected).
  • Staff members are generated.
  • Player & Staff requests - open until Friday (automatically reject all requests if none are selected).

// Week 0: First day (Monday)

  • Cups are sorted.

// Timezone 1

  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Moldova
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Scotland
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • Wales

// Timezone 2

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Guatemala
  • Israel
  • Mexico
  • Singapore
  • United States of America
  • Vietnam

Club

You seize control of a brand-new club, after becoming a manager. The club’s long-term future is now in your hand. You start with 38 players for both your primary and U21 team. This includes 3 GK, 2 DL, 2 DR, 2 SW, 6 DC, 2 WBL, 2 WBR, 2 DMC, 3 MC, 2ML, 2MR, 2 AML, 2 AMR, 2 AMC, 4 ST.

For helping managers to learn the ropes at their new clubs, each new manager starts with $2,000,000 in their bank and receives a temporary boost to their weekly income (match attendance, sponsors, TV rights) and fanbase increase.

  • 30% boost during the first 15 weeks.
  • 20% boost during the second 15 weeks.
  • 10% boost during the third 15 weeks.

Boost increases by 5% for every season passed, only for newly registered managers that join at a later season. For example, if a manager joins during season 5, the boost will be an additional 25%.

Both your primary and U21 teams are equally responsible for the success and development of your club. Though both teams share all facilities and financial responsibilities, they have their own competitions, rating system, and training sessions. Your primary team also has a higher impact on match attendance and finances.

Your primary and U21 team each need to maintain a minimum of 16 players, and a maximum of 50.

Switching Players

Managers can switch players between their primary and U21 teams if the player:

  • Is 21 years old or younger,
  • Not named in the starting eleven or substitutes in any formation and,
  • Did not move teams in the last 3 weeks.

Up to three players may be moved between your teams each week. After a successful team change, the player appears in the new team but is not eligible for participation in any activity for the next 48 hours.

Player & Staff Requests

Your player and staff members can request an increase in their salary at the end of the season if they feel like they have earned it. This is justified by their performance or constant over-use during competitions.

As a manager, you can approve or decline a request. It is your job to carefully examine each request and determine its validity.

Being cautious when handling such duties as approving or declining a request can have positive or negative consequences.

Finances

Your job as a club manager is to ensure a positive bank balance. To achieve that, the revenue your club generates needs to exceed the expenses it incurs.

The primary sources of income for your new club are stadium (tickets), fanbase, associates, sponsors, and TV rights. Managers are advised to keep track of their revenues and avoid club funds falling into negative figures because:

  • In debt, there is a 0.3% weekly interest fee to be paid.
  • In a positive figure, the club receives a 0.3% interest on their total bank balance (capped at $3,000,000).

When a -$3,000,000 limit is reached, the club goes bankrupt. You then have eight weeks to turn things around and return within the limit, or your club will be deleted from the roster. During this period, the club will not be allowed to incur additional expenses. Hence, new club managers are highly recommended not to incur any expenses until they are comfortable with how the game works.

Stadium

Match attendance and ticket sales are determined by many factors such as:

  • Fanbase mood
  • Associates
  • Match type
  • Ticket price
  • Calibre of teams involved in the match itself

This means that your team’s weekly performance directly impacts match attendance through the fanbase count and mood changes (friendly games do not have any impact).

Marketers set the ticket price per zone based on your:

  • Marketing level
  • Amount of fanbase
  • Team league division or cup placement
  • Zone level of your stadium
  • Stadium amenities

By the other factors, the higher your club’s marketing levels, the more favorable prices will be set. If at any time during the season, the marketing level drops, compared to the time that ticket prices are set, there will be a permanent 25% decrease in ticket prices. When the home team is a bot and there is a matching revenue for the away team, ticket prices for the match will be those set for the away team.

It is crucial to ensure that a stadium matches a club’s goals and size. When the club has grown, and there is a higher demand for tickets, managers should increase the number of seats. Every upgrade of seating capabilities opens new upgrades for the stadium. A warning, though: Upgrading seats is a costly procedure, and rushing through plus overbuilding your stadium at the start will likely result in bankruptcy.

Stadiums are zoned the following way:

Four zones: North – South – East – West

There are five levels of seating division:

  • Level 0 – Grass: 1,000 max capacity per zone.
  • Level 1 – Terrace: 5,000 max capacity per zone.
  • Level 2 – Terrace: 10,000 max capacity per zone.
  • Level 3 – Bleachers: 20,000 max capacity per zone.
  • Level 4 – Suites + Seats: 20,000 capacity for South and North zone and 30,000 capacity for East and West zone.
  • Level 5 – Suites + Seats: 20,000 capacity for South and North zone and 30,000 capacity for East and West zone.

Fanbase

Fanbase value is an estimation of the number of supporters your club currently has. Mood indicates how happy your supporters are and how much passion they have for the club.

Fanbase values begin initially at 500 while mood numbers start at 5. Fanbase numbers cannot fluctuate by more than 200 each week and mood values increase and decrease between 0.01 and 10.00. In the higher range, mood figures are hard to sustain. Fanbase and mood changes are based on several factors including the type of matches played, recent results, and current rankings. Events such as promotion, relegation, associates, and sponsor bonuses can also affect your fanbase mood.

To have high match attendance – which results in higher match revenue – you should always try to have a high fanbase and keep the mood close to 10.

Associates

Associates are considered season-ticket holders. They pay a seasonal subscription at the end of the season and do not pay for regular tickets. Marketers set a price for your associate fee based on your:

  • Marketing level.
  • Team league division.
  • Cups your teams are involved in.
  • Amount of your associates the past season.

Higher the marketing level, better league and cup performance and a higher number of associates will give you more income.

The number of associates you gain is determined by the amount of fan base, overall ranking, associate fee, and the competitions your teams will face during the season.

Your associates will have expectations for you and your team. For each competition, your primary team participates in during the season, they will have a minimum expected goal and an exceeded goal. Reaching those goals allows you to get more revenue from your associates at the end of the season.

Sponsors

There are 22 possible sponsorship contracts. To sign a deal with a sponsor, you must meet their qualifying conditions on club amenities and marketing level. To fulfil these conditions, purchase amenities for your stadium and training ground and/or increase your marketing level by hiring marketers.

Every season allows managers to choose two sponsors to sign up. The manager has until Friday (depending on the day of registration) to select both sponsors otherwise the best possible two are automatically selected.

Sponsors weekly pay out a determined amount, with the opportunity to achieve bonus payments at the end of the season. Managers may track progress for these milestones on the media page. If at any point during the season, the club’s marketing levels drop below the requirement needed to sign the contract, a 50% penalty is incurred on all income from sponsors.

Amenities for the stadium and training ground are based on prestige (0-5 prestige levels). Each prestige has 4 levels for stadium amenities, and 5 for training ground amenities.

The bonuses for each level completed are the following:

  • For each stadium level completed there is a bonus of 1% added to your total match revenue.
  • For each training ground level completed there is a bonus of 0.8% added to your total training points for regular player training sessions.

However, there is a weekly maintenance fee of $100,000 for each level completed.

TV Rights

TV rights income gives you a boost in revenue generated during a season. Revenue from TV Rights is tied to the primary team’s current division, and the following scale is a guide to expected income, although the exact amount depends on your club’s overall ranking.

  • League Division 1: $20,000,000 - $30,000,000
  • League Division 2: $12,000,000 - $20,000,000
  • League Division 3: $6,000,000 - $12,000,000
  • League Division 4 & 5: $2,000,000 - $6,000,000

Headquarters

Club staff are housed and managed at the headquarters. There are three different rankings for staff:

  • Degree A Rank (rating 7.00-10.00)
  • Degree B Rank (rating 5.00-7.00)
  • Degree C Rank (rating 2.00-4.99)

Managers starting out are automatically assigned a Degree C Rank Assistant manager and Degree C Rank U21 assistant manager. Recruiting better staff is a sound plan, however, it is strongly recommended for new managers to commit to starting staff members for at least the first few seasons before changing or adding new staff.

New staff members may be bought in two ways; you can either buy directly from other clubs or wait until the start of a season as new staff is generated in 4 to 7-day auctions held at random given times. During these auctions, you are restricted to the number of staff members to bid on based on the maximum number of staff members the club has for that role. The number of staff generated is based on the following formula:

  • Assistant Manager:
    Degree B – 5% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 100% of current global active users.
  • Coach:
    Degree B - 15% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 300% of current global active users.
  • U21 Assistant Manager:
    Degree B – 5% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 100% of current global active users.
  • U21 Coach:
    Degree B - 15% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 300% of current global active users.
  • Scout:
    Degree B - 30% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 600% of current global active users.
  • Physio:
    Degree B - 30% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 600% of current global active users.
  • Marketer:
    Degree B - 30% of current global active users.
    Degree C - 600% of current global active users.

A staff member may be employed by a club for 8 to 12 seasons. If a member of your staff plans to retire, he will notify you on the first day of the season. Staff members that do not get contracted after the first auction when generated are automatically kept in weekly auctions until they are contracted by someone. If at the end of the second season, they still are not contracted, they will be removed from the transfer system. In the case that a staff member with a rating of 10.0 retires in your club, your next staff member within that same role that is contracted within seven days will receive a bonus of 1.00+ rating.

You are free to release a staff member at any point, but it will cost the club 6 times the staff’s weekly salary cost to release him. When a staff member is released, he is put up for auction as a free agent. Active managers may also sell their staff members, with up to a maximum of 12 staff members coming in or out of the club during twelve weeks.

Managers can also increase ratings for staff members by sending them to seminars. The cost of the seminar is calculated based on the rating the staff member has, costing $10,000 per 1 rating. You also have the option to open a second seminar training spot for a different staff member at three times the normal cost.

Attending seminars guarantees a rating improvement between 0.05 and 0.10. Seminars are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday, and improvements in staff ratings are reflected after scheduled maintenance times.

Assistant Manager

Every club has only one assistant manager. His main duty is to help the manager with training and is the staff member who carries the biggest impact on your primary team.

Coach

Up to three coaches can be employed to look after the primary team. Coaches help improve your players’ training results.

U21 Assistant Manager

The U21 assistant manager is tasked with training the club’s U21 team and academy. Only one U21 assistant manager can be employed at each club.

U21 Coach

Three coaches may be assigned to your U21 team. They help to improve your U21 team and academy training results.

Scout

A club can assign up to four scouts. Scouts help their clubs and managers to scout for talented youngsters around the world, adding better prospects to your U21 academy.

Physio

Each club can employ up to four physios. Their role is to aid injured players ensuring a faster recovery.

Marketer

Each club has a marketing department that holds up to four marketers. Responsible for your sponsor contracts, marketers also help attract visitors to matches by setting favorable prices for match tickets and associate fees.

Competitions

There are four main club competitions:

  • League
  • FS Cup
  • National Cup
  • Friendly fixtures

League

Your new club will participate in a league competition based on the country you selected on registration. As your club progresses, you will be promoted into new, and more competitive, divisions as follows:

  • First division (A) – one league
  • Second division (B) – four leagues
  • Third division (C) – sixteen leagues
  • Fourth division (D) – sixty-four leagues
  • Fifth division (E) – two hundred and fifty-six leagues

Eight clubs compete in each league, amounting to fourteen fixtures per season with games played every Saturday (U21 team) and Sunday (primary team). Points for league tables are given as follows:

  • Victory (V) - 3 points
  • Draw (D) - 1 point
  • Loss (L) - 0 points

Positions on the league table are given based on total points. If two teams are tied on points, rankings are decided on the following, starting with the highest priority:

  • Goal difference
  • Goals for
  • Number of victories
  • Highest overall ranking
  • Highest team ranking

Clubs without human control (bots) will automatically be controlled to preserve the integrity of competitions. Therefore, your club’s overall placement on the league table will depend upon your time of registration and the number of active clubs participating. New managers step in to take over bot-managed clubs, and this might be in the third or fourth division (up to fifth if the division is enabled which means that the country has over 680 active clubs).

Promotion and relegation:

  • First Division
    The club in 8th position is automatically relegated to the second division. Clubs in 5th, 6th and 7th place enter the play-offs with three teams from the second division. Winners of the play-offs earn a place in the first division.
  • Second Division
    The winner of the second division receives an automatic promotion to the first division. The runner-up, together with the second and third runners-up enter the play-offs where they square up against division one’s three lowest ranked teams for a chance to be promoted.
    On the other end, the team that finishes the competition in 8th place is automatically relegated to division three, while the 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams are entered into a play-off with division three clubs. Three play-off winners will earn places in the second division.
  • Third Division
    The top four clubs in the division receive an automatic promotion to the second division. The next twelve highest-ranked teams are entered into a play-off where, together with the second division’s lowest-ranked teams, they compete for promotion. Teams that finish the competition in 8th place are automatically relegated to division four. 5th, 6th, and 7th placed teams enter a play-off stage with division four clubs, where the winners of the play-offs earn a place in the Third Division.
  • Fourth Division
    The best sixteen clubs in the fourth division receive an automatic promotion to the third division. The next forty-eight highest ranked teams are entered into a play-off where they competed with Third Division lowest ranked teams for promotion. Relegations from this league are only enabled if there is a fifth-division league in a country.

* A fifth division will only be made available in countries that reach full capacity.

** When deciding which teams are promoted directly and which partake in play-offs, the rules applied are the same as League rules stated (overall points, goal difference, goals for, number of victories).

*** Playoffs follow a seeding rule, in which the highest ranked team from the lower division will be matched up against the lowest ranked team from a higher division. The higher rank team is always the host, although revenue generated from match attendance is shared equally for both sides. In the case of a draw, a penalty shootout is used to decide a winner.

National Cup Competitions

Every country in Football Strategy holds their own cup competition – The National Cup. The National Cup is divided into three divisions:

  • The top 512 clubs in the country play in the National Champions Cup.
  • The next 512 clubs compete for The National Premier Cup.
  • The next 512 clubs playing for the National Challengers Cup.

For National Premier Cup to be enabled in a particular country, there must be 800 active users for that country. For National Challengers Cup to be enabled in a particular country, there must be 1200 active users for that country.

Each National Cup division is made up of 128 groups of 4 teams each. In each group, two top-ranking clubs are seeded to play against two clubs that rank at the bottom. National Cup Games are played every Monday (U21 team) and Tuesday (primary team), with two matches (Home and Away), played against each opponent in the group.

Clubs that finish as number one in the group stages progress into the knockout rounds. The knockout rounds are carried out as follows:

  • Round of 128: 64 matches played during week 7.
  • Round of 64: 32 matches played during week 8.
  • Round of 32: 16 matches played during week 9.
  • Round of 16: 8 matches played during week 10.
  • Quarter Finals: 4 matches played during week 11.
  • Semi-Finals: 2 matches played during week 12.
  • Grand Finals: 2 matches played during weeks 13 and 14 (teams play home and away legs).

The higher-ranking club ends up playing home during Round 128, 64, 32, 16, Quarter Finals, and Semi-Finals. For the Grand Finals, the higher-ranking club always plays the second leg at home.

FS Cup

The Football Strategy Cup is the competition to find the best club in the world. It is divided into three divisions; The overall best 512 clubs play for the FS Champions Cup; the next 512 clubs play for The FS Premier Cup and the next 512 clubs compete for The FS Challengers Cup. All three competitions are always active. Other than fixtures being played every Wednesday (U21 team) and Thursday (primary team), the seeding system and rules for this competition are the same as the National Cup.

Friendlies

Friendly matches can be played every Wednesday (U21 team) and Thursday (primary team). These non-competitive matches serve as training and provide a small boost to your revenue. Income from match attendances is shared equally between both sides. To arrange a friendly fixture a club must:

  • Accept an invitation before Tuesday’s maintenance.
  • Not be involved in the FS Cup competition.

Managers can add their teams to the friendlies pool anytime between Friday and Tuesday. If there is a club with a ranking lower or greater than 500 from your club already in the pool, a friendly game will automatically be arranged. If not, you enter a queue to wait for a team that meets the requirements to join the friendlies pool. For friendlies, the team with the higher-ranking plays at home. On Tuesday’s maintenance, all clubs are removed from the friendlies pool, so managers must add their team again if they want to arrange a friendly match during the week.

Rankings

Football Strategy Clubs have three types of rankings:

  • Overall Ranking
  • Primary Team Ranking
  • U21 Team Ranking

Your teams need to achieve and maintain a high-ranking position to qualify for cup matches.

Every Monday rankings are updated and are calculated from all match results of the past week – EXCEPT for friendly and play-off matches. Whether it is a home or away game; the stronger your opponents, the calculation deems you to be ranked higher accordingly!

Red & Yellow Card System

Players receiving Yellow and Red Cards face consequences in the upcoming matches.

  • If a player receives a Red Card, he will receive a suspension for the next match.
  • If a player receives 5 yellow cards, he will also be suspended for the next match.
  • While cards received in friendly matches do not count, players also cannot serve their suspensions through friendly matches.

Training Ground

Every football club and its players require training. Football Strategy Tools will allow managers to develop the team’s progress and improve any weaknesses. Training ground also ensures players improve their physical and playing attributes. Most importantly, it will allow young talents to develop and make their way to the primary team.

Factors affecting training and how often players increase attributes are:

  • Player potential
  • Player traits
  • Player age
  • Player condition
  • Player rating
  • Ratings of assistant managers and coaches
  • Training amenities

Players may achieve skill points on match days according to the positions they played in during a match. More training points may be achieved by:

  • More playing time
  • Better player performance

Increase your attributes by using training points. A player increases an attribute when he collects more than 2,000 points in an attribute that was below his potential. A player increases an attribute when he collects more than 4,000 points in an attribute that was equal to higher than his potential. A player loses an attribute when it drops below -200 points. When the increase occurs, 2,000 (or 4,000) points are removed from the attribute. If an attribute is lost, 200 points are added to the attribute.

Players can still lose attribute points due to aging, non-playing, injuries, and other factors.

Types Of Training

To see what type of training players are currently undergoing, look at the 'Training Type' column on the training page.

Custom Training: Player is training based on the customized training values set specifically for a player. Managers who wish to go into the finer details can fine-tune their players’ training. There is a restriction of 40% maximum you can train in a single attribute.

Default Position: The player is training based on default training values:

  • GK:
    20% - Keep
    15% - Position, Agility
    10% - Steal, Strength
    8% - First Touch, Pass, Speed
    6% - Fitness
  • SW:
    16% - Mark, Steal
    10% - Position, Strength
    6% - Head, Agility, Fitness, Speed
    4% - First Touch, Pass, Dribble, Cross, Finish, Creativity
  • DL & DR:
    16% - Mark, Position, Steal
    7% - Head, Agility, Fitness, Speed
    4% - Pass, Dribble, Cross, Strength, Creativity
    2% - First Touch, Finish
  • WBL & WBR:
    15% - Fitness
    10% - Mark, Position, Steal, Speed
    6% - Head, Dribble, Cross, Agility
    5% - Pass, Strength, Creativity
    3% - First Touch, Finish
  • DC:
    18% - Mark, Head, Steal
    8% - Position, Strength
    6% - Speed, Fitness
    4% - Dribble, Agility
    2% - First Touch, Pass, Cross, Finish, Creativity
  • DMC:
    16% - Mark, Steal
    10% - Position, Fitness
    10% - Pass
    6% - Head, Dribble, Strength, Speed
    3% - First Touch, Agility
    2% - Cross, Finish, Creativity
  • ML & MR:
    10% - Pass, Dribble, Cross, Agility, Fitness, Speed
    8% - Position, First Touch, Creativity
    5% - Finish, Strength
    2% - Mark, Head, Steal
  • AML & AMR:
    16% - Dribble, Cross
    8% - Pass, Agility, Fitness, Speed, Creativity
    6% - Position, First Touch, Finish
    4% - Strength
    2% - Mark, Head, Steal
  • MC:
    15% - First Touch, Pass, Creativity
    10% - Dribble
    6% - Position, Finish, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
    3% - Cross
    2% - Mark, Head, Steal
  • AMC:
    12% - First Touch, Pass, Creativity
    10% - Dribble, Finish
    7% - Position, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
    3% - Cross
    2% - Mark, Head, Steal
  • ST:
    18% - Finish
    10% - Head, Dribble, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
    4% - Position, First Touch, Pass
    3% - Cross, Creativity
    2% - Mark, Steal

Players gain training points by the following methods in the training session:

  • Assistant Manager gives five times the points based on his rating. For example, if the Assistant Manager has a level 5 rating, then the player will get 25 training points for that training session.
  • Each Coach gives a double amount of training points based on his rating. For example, if the Coach has a level 5 rating, then the player will get 10 training points for that training session.
  • A player rating gives five times the number of points. For example, if the player rating is 5 then the player will get 25 training points for that training session.

Completion of every prestige level of training amenities boosts the total training points calculated by 4%.

During the U21 team training, Assistant Manager and Coaches are replaced by U21 Assistant Manager and U21 Coaches, staff members.

Players gain training points in each training match through the following method:

  • After a minimum of 10 playing minutes, the player will get 1 training point for each playing minute. For example, if the player ends up playing 50 minutes, then the player will get 50 points. If the player ends up playing 8 minutes, then the player will get 0 points.
  • A player rating gives ten times the number of points. For example, if the player ends up with a 5-rating score, then the player will get 50 training points.

In total training, calculation by the above two factors gives the following boost points:

  • League match (all divisions except 1st division 80% extra & 2nd division 40% extra): 60% boost.
  • National Cup match (all divisions except 1st division 80% extra & 2nd division 40% extra): 80% boost.
  • FS Cup match (all divisions except 1st division 80% extra & 2nd division 40% extra): 100% boost.

No boosts for friendly matches. Training points from matches will be assigned the same way as points from training sessions.

All training points (including training sessions, match training and U21 National Team match training) gained while a player is in the U21 team are reduced by 30%.

For each potential skill level after 12 the effect is reduced by 3%. For example, if the player has 15 potential skill levels, the total reduced amount would be 21% instead of 30%.

Players at the age of 26 will also start to lose points. Each day they will lose 12 training points for each of the two highest skill level attribute the player has, and 6 training points for each of the third, fourth and fifth highest skill level attribute.

For each age after 26, the effect doubles. For example, if the player is age 30, he would lose 60 training points for each of the two highest attributes, and 30 training points for each of his third, fourth and fifth highest attributes. The number of training points gained (for both training sessions and training matches) is reduced by 5% for each age above 26. For example, if the player is age 28, the total reduction would be 15%.

Personality traits allow for each player to have unique attribute increases. Players can have different types of personality traits that will give a 10-20% boost to the training points gained for the attribute that matches the trait. For each attribute, there will be a matching trait. For example, the Agility trait will give a 10-20% boost to all training points gained in the Agility attribute.

There is also a rare 3% chance the trait will boost either all physical/mental attributes, all defensive attributes, or all offensive attributes. Although most players will not have such traits, there is a 20% chance a player can have up to 1 trait, a 10% chance of up to 2 traits, and a 5% chance of up to 3 traits. Traits can be stacked, meaning if you have three traits of Agility, the total boost will be 60%.

Youth Academy

The youth academy is where prospects are managed before they enter the club’s U21 team. It is a vital part of any club, as it not only provides the team with new players but also has the potential to earn the club revenue in the future.

Trials for new prospects can last between 10 to 15 weeks. During this period, the club’s U21 staff members can influence the prospect’s progression. Every day, each prospect’s skills are evaluated, and the progress of the past day is reported.

Upon ending the trial period, the prospect will no longer train with the club and the manager will have to decide to accept or decline him for your U21 Team. If no decision is made within 3 weeks after the trial, the prospect is released.

Managers can also manage the number of openings they wish to have at a time – although, by doing so, it will come at a cost to the club. Up to three new prospects can join the club every Wednesday and Saturday; however, there must be enough space available otherwise prospects are automatically rejected.

Up to 30 prospects can be managed at a single time. The academy must be handled with care as it can be very costly to maintain. There is a weekly maintenance fee of $15,000 for every spot opened and a fee of $5,000 for each rating a prospect has.

The information you have about each new prospect is his skill level (the average of all attributes) and age. As a prospect progresses during the trial, managers get fresh insights about him:

  • Week 3 – Skill level is revealed.
  • Week 4 – Traits are revealed.
  • Week 5 – The time for trial period is revealed.
  • Week 6 – Highest-level skill is revealed.
  • Week 7 – The potential of the prospects is revealed.

There is a chance that a prospect during week 3 may change his projected skill with up to a -2 rating, and, on very rare occasions, up to a 2+ rating.

New Prospects

The average player skill rating of prospects is based on a point system. Each scout will give as many points as his scout rating (up to 10 points each). Points are also awarded for each closed spot the academy has (0.5 points for each closed spot). This means that the more closed spots the academy has, the more points are awarded.

Projected average player skill per total points:

  • 0-3.99 points: 2.0-2.5
  • 4-7.99 points: 2.5-3.0
  • 8-11.99 points: 3.0-3.5
  • 12-15.99 points: 3.5-4.0
  • 16-19.99 points: 4.0-4.5
  • 20-23.99 points: 4.5-5.0
  • 24-27.99 points: 5.0-5.5
  • 28-31.99 points: 5.5-6.0
  • 32-35.99 points: 6.0-6.5
  • 36+ points: 6.5-7.0

Rare Prospects

There is a 1% chance for a rare prospect to appear that would have a potential of 18 - 20 with a 7.0 - 9.0 average player skill regardless of staff members.

This chance is increased by 0.30% - 0.50% each time you do not get a rare prospect but is higher for newer clubs:

  • 1st Season: 1%
  • 2nd Season: 0.90%
  • 3rd Season: 0.80%
  • 4th Season: 0.70%
  • 5th Season: 0.60%

When a rare prospect appears, the chance percentage is reset. For the chance to increase, there must be at least 1 open space at the time of new prospect day.

Youth Academy Training

Factors affecting youth academy training are the ratings of the U21 assistant manager, the ratings of the U21 coaches and the individual player’s age. Training changes are based on a points system where in each training session prospects gain points in the following method:

  • U21 Assistant Manager gives four times the skill rating.
  • Each U21 Coach gives twice the skill rating.

A player will increase a skill after he passes 200 points. When the increase occurs, 200 points are removed. During a skill increase, only one of the main attributes has a 50% chance of improvement, all other attributes have a 20% chance. The maximum value a youth academy player can reach in an attribute is 14.

The main attributes for academy U21 positions are:

  • GK: Keep, Position, Agility
  • SW: Mark, Position, Steal
  • DL: Mark, Position, Steal
  • DR: Mark, Position, Steal
  • WBL: Fitness, Steal, Speed
  • WBR: Fitness, Steal, Speed
  • DC: Mark, Head, Steal
  • DMC: Mark, Steal, Position
  • ML: Pass, Dribble, Cross
  • MR: Pass, Dribble, Cross
  • AML: Dribble, Cross, Creativity
  • AMR: Dribble, Cross, Creativity
  • MC: First Touch, Pass, Creativity
  • AMC: First Touch, Pass, Creativity
  • ST: Finish, Head, Agility

Match Engine Overview

The match engine offers matches a sense of realism while providing managers with a variety of tactical options. Informative match reports allow managers to deeply analyze the performance of their teams. Football Strategy offers the best 3D match experience available for any online browser-based game and takes the player quality and tactical options into account for all matches, resulting in realistic and immersive gameplay.

In a match, each side gets approximately the same number of opportunities unless their tactics and player quality stipulate otherwise.

Though it’s not necessary to make advanced choices to win games, it is often the best way to utilize specific players. During the match, conditional orders and tactical swaps ordered by the manager can come into effect. These orders are given before the match and come into effect when their conditions are met.

For example, leading by 2 goals and/or in a certain minute. When your team goes behind in the second half, conditional tactics to play more offensively can often lead to an equalizer or even turn the game around. Substituting tired players is also a common conditional order.

As with a real football game, in Football Strategy, a great manager can often lead a weaker side to win against the strongest teams through the strategic use of match tactics and match simulation options.

Extras

  • Home Team Advantage: Like how the home crowd can affect a player in a real football match, the home team gains ratings at a faster rate if they do something good. Conversely, they also lose ratings faster if they make a mistake. Currently, the home team ratings will increase around 10% faster than the away players.
  • Rating Effect: Rating affects a player’s accuracy on the pitch. If they are playing well, they have a better chance of making a good pass, shooting accurately, or performing other tasks accurately in the match. Players with higher ratings also lose stamina conditions at a slower rate.
  • Players Attributes: Player attributes degrade over the course of a match due to low stamina. The attributes will degrade much faster if the player has a low fitness skill level or low rating.
  • Stamina: Stamina is lost when a player moves, and the faster he moves the faster stamina percentage is drained. Players also lose stamina if they are involved in a tackle. Players with high fitness skill levels and match ratings lose stamina at a slower rate.

During a match, stamina has four phases:

  1. When the stamina of your player is between 100-80% the player can perform at full capacity.
  2. When between 79-60%, the player will lose one skill level for speed.
  3. When between 60-45%, the player will lose two skill levels for speed.
  4. When between 45-30%, the player will lose one skill level on every attribute.

Player Actions

Penalties

Penalty Taker – The taker will choose a random direction to shoot. The accuracy of the shot depends on the shot algorithm.

Goalkeeper – Goalkeepers will dive in a random direction from six possible choices: lower left, upper left, lower middle, upper middle, lower right, and upper right. If the goalkeeper guesses right and has a chance to save, then the save detailed below takes place.

Saves

The higher their agility and strength, the faster the goalkeepers will dive. If a goalkeeper manages to get close enough to pull off a save, the goalkeeper’s keep ability determines whether the save is successful or not.

Free Kicks

The player taking the free kick will decide whether to shoot, cross or do a simple pass. This decision will be based on the distance and angle to the goal.

Shots

The shooter decides which area of the goal to shoot to, based normally on which area of the goal is least guarded. The accuracy of the shot is based on the finishing ability of the player, as well as the pressure the player is under from the opposition.

Crosses

The player will choose to cross the ball if there’s a player in the box that is well positioned. If the player decides that a cross is the right choice, they will lift the ball toward the target player. The accuracy of the cross is based on the crossing attribute, as well as the opposition pressure the player may be under.

Passing

When a player decides to pass, they will rate every player around them. This rating is based on many variables, such as how much space the player has, how well positioned the player considers the other player to be, and whether the player considers the potential pass target to be better positioned than him. After the pass rankings have been calculated the player will decide whether it is worth passing to a player. The accuracy of the pass is based on the passing attribute, as well as the opposition pressure the player may be under.

Player Positioning

Players start in their position in the formation. They will then look for a better position in the space around them to be in. If a player on the offensive move has a high positioning stat, he will look around him for a position with more space, or that poses a greater attacking threat. A player will also consider his manager’s tactical instructions when looking for positions to be in.

Tackling

If a player gets close enough to the player in possession the tackling algorithm kicks in. The chance of a successful tackle is based on the dribbling ability of the player in possession and the tackling ability of the tackler, along with other variables such as the tackling tactical choice instructed by the manager.

Formation

Managers are responsible for their team’s tactics, which range from general player instructions to set up players on the pitch. One of the most important things managers need to ensure is that a line-up is selected for a match ahead of time as they must be locked in 5 hours before match time on the fixtures page.

Managers can have 3 possible saved formations at any given time, and each can be modified separately. Players are divided into 3 groups:

  • Starting eleven
  • Substitutes
  • Reserves

Users can change players from one group to the other by selecting and dragging their names to their desired positions. Injured players can only be placed in the reserves group. If the starting eleven is not filled up with enough players, the match is automatically forfeited.

Positions Available

Goalkeeper (GK) – The primary role of the goalkeeper is to protect the goal and prevent the opposition from scoring. Goalkeepers distribute the ball differently based on the strategies implemented. For cautious and defensive tactics, goalkeepers will mostly aim to clear the ball deep. In more aggressive tactics, he will tend to feed the ball to nearby players.

Sweeper (SW) – Sweepers primarily prevent the opposition from attacking the box. The sweeper is best used when choosing to play with very defensive tactics.

Fullback (DL) (DR) – The left and right fullbacks defend the flanks. Depending on team tactics, fullbacks can join the offense when their team has possession of the ball to support the attack.

Center Defender (DC) – Center backs stop opposing attackers from passing the defensive line and clear the ball from danger when required.

Wingback (WBR) (WBL) – While being similar to a full back, wingbacks take a more offensive approach depending on team tactics and strategy selections. Wingbacks need very good fitness because they cover a lot of pitch switching from defense to offense.

Defensive Midfielder (DMC) – The defensive midfielder’s primary role is to protect the defensive line from being breached. They break up attacks by blocking the opposition and supporting other midfielders when in possession.

Wide Midfielder (ML) (MR) – Wide midfielders own the flank and perform defensive and attacking duties in them. When in offensive mode, they support midfield lines and look to create opportunities.

Center Midfielder (MC) – Center midfield players create chances and support offensive players. When playing in a defensive setup, they fall back to help with defense. Due to their need to cover a lot of ground switching from defense to offense, center midfielders need very good fitness.

Winger (AML) (AMR) – Wingers support the flanks and feed the ball to create offensive plays. Depending on tactic and strategy selection, wingers can cross, pass, or break the defense and create a scoring chance.

Inside Forward (AMC) – Connecting the midfield with the strikers, the attacking midfielder role primarily aims to cut infield towards the defensive line to create a scoring chance.

Striker (ST) – The main job of strikers, is to score. As such, strikers play near the goal and look to provide the finish to the team’s offensive plays.

Tactics

To get the best of their team, managers will want to customize every bit of the team’s tactics. New managers though, can start with preset tactics to ease themselves into the game.

Possession

The team attempts to retain possession for a decent amount of time and build play slowly rather than rush forward.

Counterattack

The team looks to attack quickly when they receive the ball, getting the ball forward to the attacking players as fast as they can.

Long Ball

The team has a higher tendency to play long balls than to make short passes.

High Pressure

The team plays at a high intensity, closing opponents quickly when they have the ball and making tackles at the earliest opportunities.

It's most likely going to be best for you to customize your tactics, so you can get your team playing exactly as you like, rather than rely on the default values. Here is a rundown of what all the sliders do.

Defense

To customize team tactics related to defense, managers can toggle the defense slider.

Pressure

A higher-pressure stat increases the chance players have of closing the ball when the opposition has possession.

Aggression

A higher aggression stat increases the chance players have of attempting a tackle when they are near an opposition player with the ball.

Width

Width affects how wide a team plays when they don’t have possession. 0% makes teams play 20% narrower than normal, while 100% makes teams play 20% wider than they do when they control the ball.

Defensive Line

The defensive line is decided between cover or offside trap. Cover instructs players to look for close-by players that are out of positions and attempt to move into a medium position to cover for them. The offside trap tactic instructs players to look for moments when a pass is about to play and attempt to move up to play receivers offside.

Build Up Play

Speed

Speed affects how quickly teams move forward when they control the ball. 0% causes players to pass the ball around the defense and midfield for a while before moving it forward. 100% instructs the team to consistently pass to the furthest man forward.

Passing

The passing tactic increases the tendency for passing long, if the percentage is high, and passing short if the percentage is low. It also decides the likelihood of players offering themselves for the ball if they are within the set passing range.

Positioning

Freeform positioning allows teams to offer themselves to the player in possession for a pass more often, and to make runs to get into space. Organised positioning leads to players keeping to the formation and not breaking formation to receive the ball.

Chance Creation

Passing

The passing stat influences the chance of a pass in the offensive zone. When a high passing stat is set, a player considering making a pass is more likely to do it.

Crossing

The crossing stat influences the chance of a cross if a player is occupying a wide in the offensive zone. A low value influences the player in possession to try a short pass first or even dribble towards the goal instead of making a cross into the box.

Shooting

The shooting stat influences the chances of players taking shots. Set to 100% and players will shoot from range, whereas if set to 0%, players will try to walk the ball into the net.

Positioning

Freeform positioning allows teams to offer themselves to the player in possession for a pass more often, and to make runs to get into space. Organised positioning leads to players keeping to the formation and not breaking formation to receive the ball.

Individual Instructions

On top of generic team tactics, managers in Football Strategy can go into the finer details by giving individual players and positions instructions on what to do in different scenarios.

Defense - Offensive Support

Balance Attack

Defenders have the option to either stay back or attack when the ball is in the opposition half. In general, defenders in a team that’s currently leading will stay back, and defenders on a losing side will join the attack. A defender will also consider the number of players in his team already in front of him and whether the defense will be exposed if he moves forward.

Attack Consistently

The defender will take on a more offensive approach, moving forward with the team and joining in attacking moves.

Stay Back

The defender takes on a more defensive mindset, always staying behind in defense, regardless of the situation.

Middle - Offensive Support

Balance Attack

Midfielders have the option to either stay back or attack when the ball is in the opposition half. Before deciding, the midfielder considers the number of players in his team already in front of him and whether the defense will be exposed if he moves forward.

Attack Consistently

The midfielder takes on a more offensive stance and looks to support attacks at every opportunity.

Stay Back

The midfielder takes on a defensive role, sitting back and sweeping the ball forward once the opposition manages to clear.

Middle - Position Freedom

Balance Position

The midfield player has the option of moving from his position or staying put. He maintains strict discipline or breaks out of position to help in his team’s attack based on whether his side is currently leading or trailing.

Strict Position

The midfielder maintains discipline in his positioning, sticking to his pre-set position and not looking to offer himself up for the ball or cover for another player.

Roam Position

Midfield players with roaming instructions tend to roam from their position to aid the attack by either offering themselves up for a pass or getting into the box for a chance to score.

Offense - Chance Creation

Balance Creation

Under this instruction, forwards have the option of playing the ball wide or central based on who they deem to be in the most space or have the best chance to score.

Stay Central

Forwards will keep the ball in the central region of the pitch, providing their team with the chance for a shot on target.

Stay Wide

This instruction gets forward to move the ball out wide, potentially to cross the ball or to cut in from the wings.

Offense - Cross Support

Balance Support

The offensive player will move forward with play as normal, looking to move into space both inside and at the edge of the box.

Inside Box

When the ball is out wide, forwards under this instruction aim to get into the box quickly to receive a cross.

Edge Box

Forward players with this instruction hover around the edge of the box when the ball is out wide and could be crossed. This offers another option to the crosser and enables them to pick up rebounds.

All

Corner Kick Taker

This predetermines the player to take corners. If unavailable, the closest player to the chosen takers delivers the corner.

Penalty Taker

This determines the order of penalty takers, with 1 being the first to take the penalty, 2 being second and so forth. This is always in order and never decided by distance to the ball.

Free Kick Taker

This predetermines the player to deliver free kicks. If unavailable, the closest player to the chosen taker dispatches the free kick.

Player Attributes

When viewing players from other teams, their defensive, offensive, and physical/mental skills are hidden. Although the exact skill level is not revealed, their skills are categorized in the following format:

  • A: 17-20
  • B: 13-16
  • C: 9-12
  • D: 5-8
  • E: 1-4

Position

The position is where the player is more capable of playing in a formation setting. If a player is not playing under his natural position, the player will suffer -2 skill levels to all attributes as a penalty during matches.

Age

The age of the player. Outfield players normally retire at 34-38 years old, while goalkeepers can play till the age of 38-42.

Value

The value of the player is based on his attributes and skill levels.

Wage

The weekly salary cost of the player. The wage varies depending on his stats and on the league division the player participates in as he would demand more from a higher-tier club. Players will also request a salary increase if they are played often during a season.

Potential

The potential of a player on a 12-20 scale.

Rating

The average match rating for the current and the past season. The player must have participated in at least 5 league or international competitions to have a rating during that timeframe. National team matches do not affect the rating.

Country

It is the player’s country of birth.

Attributes Importance

The following table explains what the Match Engine considers important for each attribute based on the position of the player. This might not be 100% accurate as different managers might want players with different attributes to fit their strategies.

For example, a manager may want a WBR with higher 'Cross' attributes to constantly create crossing chances. In this case, an attribute with a value of 5 is very important while an attribute with a value of 0 is not necessary ina that position.

  GK SW DL WBL DR WBR DC DMC ML MR AML AMR MC AMC ST
Keep 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mark 0 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Position 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Head 0 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 4
Steal 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
First Touch 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 5 5 3
Pass 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 3
Dribble 0 1 2 3 2 3 2 3 4 4 5 5 4 4 4
Cross 0 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 4 4 5 5 2 2 2
Finish 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 5
Agility 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 4 4 4 4 3 3 4
Strength 3 4 2 2 2 2 4 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 4
Fitness 1 3 3 5 3 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 4
Speed 2 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4
Creativity 0 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 4 5 5 2

Defensive Stats

  • Keep - The higher the keep attribute, the better the chance a goalkeeper makes a save when the ball is in range.
  • Mark - The higher the mark attribute, the more closely a player will be able to mark their opponent.
  • Position - The higher the position attribute, the better the player will be at positioning himself on the pitch. This attribute is relevant for all players.
  • Head - The higher the head attribute, the more accurate a player can head the ball, and win the header in the first place.
  • Steal - The higher the steal attribute, the better a player can make a successful tackle when he is in range of an opponent with the ball.

Offensive Stats

  • First Touch - The higher the first touch attribute, the better a player can control the ball at the first attempt.
  • Pass - The higher the passing attribute, the more accurately a player delivers a pass.
  • Dribble - The dribble attribute works with agility to decide how difficult a player is to tackle.
  • Cross - The higher the cross attribute, the more accurate the crosses from this player are.
  • Finish - The higher this attribute, the more accurate a player can deliver his shots from the ground or by a volley.

Physical & Mental

  • Agility - The agility attribute works together with dribbling to work out how difficult a player is to tackle. It is also used to determine how quickly a goalkeeper can dive across the goal to make a save.
  • Strength - The strength attribute adds to the chance of winning a tackle or holding off an opponent while dribbling. It’s also used to determine the chance of winning a header and whether a goalkeeper wins the ball when challenged in the air.
  • Fitness - The fitness attribute determines how quickly a player’s stamina decreases when they are on the pitch.
  • Speed - The speed attribute determines how fast a player can run and how quickly he can accelerate up to full speed.
  • Creativity - The creativity attribute allows players to spot better passes and make better runs.

Injuries

There are three categories of injuries that can occur to players, ranging from a minor concussion to a broken hip. Injuries are divided by duration and the chance of occurrence.

In 60% of cases, an injury falls under Category 1. The most frequent injuries have limited duration and little impact on the player. Injuries in this category normally last from 20 to 30 days, depending on the severity and the skills of the physio.

Category 1

Category 1 injuries include:

  • Ankle Sprain
  • Concussion
  • Groin Strain
  • Pulled Hamstring
  • Injured Achilles Tendon
Category 2

In 30% of cases, less frequent, Category 2 injuries, occur. Medium severity injuries like these have some impact on the player’s attributes and require a longer recovery period. Injuries in this category last from 30 to 40 days, depending on the severity and the physio.

Category 2 injuries include:

  • Broken Toe
  • Calf Muscle Strain
  • Dislocated Knee
Category 3

Only in 10% of cases do Category 3, the least frequent injuries, occur. These high-severity injuries have a major impact on the player’s health and attributes. A Category 3 injury requires extensive recovery periods and lasts from 40 up to 50 days, depending on the severity and Physio.

Category 3 injuries include:

  • Cruciate Ligament Tear
  • Slipped Disc
  • Fractured Patella
  • Broken Hip

Physios can reduce injuries length.

  • 1 physio reduces injury length by 2 days.
  • 2 physios reduce injury length by 4 days.
  • 3 physios reduce injury length by 6 days.
  • 4 physios reduce injury length by 8 days.

For each physio rating, the days are reduced by 1%. For example, if you have a total physio rating of 20, a 20-day injury is reduced by 20% down to 16 days.

Every tackle in a match increases the chances of an injury. A tackle currently produces a less than 2% chance of causing an injury. But this chance is also affected by the stamina of a player and how harsh is the tackle.

Players can also be injured during training sessions. During a training session, a player has a 1% chance of injury, this chance increases by 0.1% for every match played during a season. The chance increase is reset at the start of every new season. Players cannot participate in matches or training while injured.

Transfers

An initial fee is imposed on clubs for putting players on the transfer list. This amounts to 2% of the starting price. If the transfer goes through successfully, the seller pays an additional 5% of the sale price. If a player wasn’t brought in from the Youth Academy and is under 26 years old, a 5% fee is paid to his original club. Loan listings are exempted from all fees, except for the 2% starting fee. Managers are eligible to take down their listings if there are no active bids for a player without refund.

There are two types of possible transfer methods:

  • List players for a loan on 12-, 18-, or 24-week periods. Clubs can do this through 4-12 days on the transfer market.
  • List players for sale through an auction format for 4-12 days on the transfer market.

When a club makes a bid during the last minute of an auction, the auction deadline is increased by one minute.

Restrictions

  • All loan fixed price sales require a player to be listed for at least 10% of his market value.
  • A maximum of sixteen players can be sold or loaned within a twelve-week period.
  • A maximum of eight staff members can be sold within a twelve-week period.
  • A maximum of sixteen players can be transferred in (bought or loaned) within a twelve-week period (Free Agents excluded).
  • A maximum of eight staff members can be transferred in within a twelve-week period (Free Agents excluded).
  • A maximum of 24 players can be released within a twelve-week period.
  • A maximum of 12 staff members can be released within a twelve-week period.
  • A minimum of 16 players must be maintained for each primary and U21 team.
  • A maximum of 50 players can be employed for each primary and U21 team.
  • Recently transferred players or staff members cannot be listed on the transfer market for a twelve-week period.
  • Players under the age of 21 are automatically assigned to the U21 team.
  • You cannot list a player or staff member on the market between 22:00-1:00ST.

Auto-Bid (PLUS only)

Auto-bid allows Plus-subscribed managers to place a bid automatically.

When an existing offer is being outbid, a preset auto-bid places a bid higher by 3% of the competing bid on the manager’s behalf. The auto-bid will continue to outbid other offers until the set maximum amount is reached.

National Teams

All countries supported by Football Strategy can have their own National Team and National U21 Team. For this to happen, your country must have at least 10 active managers to be eligible for participation in the two tournaments available, otherwise the National Team will be AI-controlled to maintain integrity between competitions. The card system and injuries are both still in play for both competitions.

On the last maintenance day of the World Cup season, players that participated in the past national team competitions and are not playing for an active club, are automatically transfer listed as free agents. The time frame will be randomly generated from 4 to 7 days.

Week 0 – First Season: (Selection for National Teams)

The selection process for a National Team manager that takes charge for two full seasons is a democratic one. Anyone can apply for a national team, but only managers in the country are able to vote for their national team manager.

To become a candidate, all managers need to do is visit the country page for the National Team you’re interested in and select “Declare Interest”. Players who belong to that country would then be able to vote for you. The candidate with the most votes is selected as the national team manager. In the case of a tie, the candidate with the highest Overall Ranking is chosen.

Week 1 & Week 2 - First Season: (National Teams)

The selected candidate for the National Team can now call up between 30 to 40 players from the National Pool. This pool includes 30 GKs, 150 DEFs, 150 MIDs and 150 ATKs (suggested roles) with the highest average skill level.

The National Team manager would be able to freely see the stats of players in the National Pool and can call up the player into the National Team without affecting the club he belongs to.

If the candidate does not bring in the necessary number of players, the candidate will be fired from the National Team and the national team will become AI-controlled. If the country has 10 or less active managers at the start or at the end of this process, the active national team manager will also be fired, and the national team will become AI-controlled.

Based on performance, players gain training points for each minute spent on the field during a national team match. The amount of training points awarded is calculated the same way FS Cup matches are with an additional boost of 20% if Continental Cup and 40% if World Cup.

Training points are applied as soon as the NT match is finished. Training points are not awarded if the bot is AI-controlled.

Week 3 - First Season: (Continental Cup)

There are two different versions of the Continental Cup depending on the geographic location of your club; Europe (36 countries) and Rest of the World (36 countries). Three seedings are held for this competition; First seed consists of the top 12 national teams; second seed consists of the 12 next highest ranked national teams and the third seed consists of the 12 lowest ranked national teams. Three random teams from each seed are paired into 4 group stages of 9 teams each. Continental Cup matches are played (20:00 [FS] Time National Team, 12:00 [FS] Time U21 National Team) every Thursday and Sunday.

Phase 1 (Home/Away Match vs each National Team)

  • Group 1 | 9 Teams – Last 8 Weeks
  • Group 2 | 9 Teams – Last 8 Weeks
  • Group 3 | 9 Teams – Last 8 Weeks
  • Group 4 | 9 Teams – Last 8 Weeks

Phase 2 - Week 11 – First Season: (Continental Cup Continuation)

The best four National Teams from each group stage qualify for phase 2 of the Continental Cup and earn a spot for the World Cup competition. Managers who did not qualify become inactive and lose access to their National Team, however, they can re-apply for next selection.

Phase 2 involves a total of sixteen National Teams in knock-out rounds seeded as follow:

  • Best/Second Best of group one with Worst/Second Worst of group two.
  • Best/Second Best of group two with Worst/Second Worst of group three.
  • Best/Second Best of group three with Worst/Second Worst of group four.
  • Best/Second Best of group four with Worst/Second Worst of group one.

Matches are played twice a week (home/away).

Week 0 – Second Season: (World Cup)

The World Cup competition involves the best sixteen national teams from the two Continental Cups. Candidates can optionally bring in an additional ten players into their team (clubs still benefit from the bonus if their player is selected).

World Cup matches are played (20:00 [FS] Time national team, 12:00 [FS] Time U21 National Team) every Thursday and Sunday. There are two seedings for this competition; First seed consists of the top 16 national teams, and the second seed, consists of the 16 lower ranked teams. Together they make up four group stages.

Week 1 – Second Season: (World Cup Continuation)

Phase 1 (Home/Away Match vs each National Team)

  • Group 1 | 8 Teams
  • Group 2 | 8 Teams
  • Group 3 | 8 Teams
  • Group 4 | 8 Teams
Week 8 – Second Season: (Phase 2)

The best four teams from each group enter a final knock-out stage. Phase 2 involves a total of sixteen National Teams in knock-out rounds seeded as follows:

  • Best/Second Best of group one with Worst/Second Worst of group two.
  • Best/Second Best of group two with Worst/Second Worst of group three.
  • Best/Second Best of group three with Worst/Second Worst of group four.
  • Best/Second Best of group four with Worst/Second Worst of group one.

Matches are played twice a week (home/away).

Week 15 – Second Season: (Ending)

The best four World Cup candidates have the option to continue for another two seasons. Clubs also benefit from their national team’s performance well through the following bonuses:

Continental Cup (Both Versions)

  1. First Place - 2% Fanbase Increase
  2. Second Place – 1.5% Fanbase Increase
  3. Third Place – 1% Fanbase Increase
  4. Fourth Place – 0.5% Fanbase Increase

World Cup

  1. First Place - 4% Fanbase Increase
  2. Second Place – 3% Fanbase Increase
  3. Third Place – 2% Fanbase Increase
  4. Fourth Place – 1% Fanbase Increase

These bonuses are reduced by 60% for U21 National Team.

PLUS System

The PLUS system gives subscribers access to numerous perks and creates a better playing experience for managers who choose to support the game. Funds collected through the PLUS system are used for further game development and to offset server costs.

Naturally, we did our best to ensure gameplay is not affected, to keep the game competitive, and that everyone has an equal chance of progressing. Players who wish to continue playing without subscribing can, of course, still enjoy the game and achieve everything a subscriber does.

You can read more about this system in the PLUS section. We hope you’ll choose to support Football Strategy by subscribing to PLUS!