The Football Manager series has always been known for its realism, with it featuring a painstaking level of detail when it comes to successfully replicating the traits of thousands of footballers, their clubs, and a variety of other facets of the football world. However, this year’s Football Manager 2017 is going to take it up a notch, with the game featuring a variety of scenarios related to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Football Manager 2017 will take Brexit into account when it comes to simulating football seasons, featuring predictions regarding how professional football will handle the UK departing the European Union. In an interview with The Telegraph, Sports Interactive studio head Miles Jacobson described how he and his team have been working to replicate the potential outcomes of Brexit, putting a so-called “Brexit simulator” into their upcoming game.
Image Credit: Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive have reportedly “included every possible outcome in the game, using artificial intelligence and percentage chances to make every game different.” This includes three main scenarios of a Soft Brexit, which will continue to see the free movement of workers, footballers being granted the same exemptions as entertainers, granting them easier access to work permits, and a Hard Brexit which will see the same rules that apply to non-EU players also applying to UK players. These different scenarios can lead to a variety of (mostly negative) impacts on the sport, making it more difficult for UK football club managers to get work permits for their players and generally placing greater restrictions upon player movement.
Further events potentially caused by Brexit include Scotland and Northern Ireland embarking upon a referendum of their own, seeking independence from the UK, thus meaning that players from these countries will need a work permit to play in the UK, too. Transfer fees will also be raised, though this will also mean that homegrown talent will also become more valuable – either way, it’s not going to be easy on players’ in-game wallets.
The Football Manager games are always incredibly detailed, but incorporating Brexit into this year’s incarnation is a whole new level for the series. With Sports Interactive having consulted with both football experts and politicians, it remains to be seen just how well the game mimics the outcome of the UK’s EU exit, but it’ll be interesting/mildly terrifying to watch it play out either way.
