Best Football Manager 2024 non-league saves that take you from streets to stadiums

There’s nothing quite like a non-league save in Football Manager. Forget the Premier League—taking a team from semi-professional obscurity to the Championship is where the real satisfaction lies. Over the years, all of my favourite saves have been when I’ve taken a team from non-league to the very top. As Jay from The Inbetweeners said, taking Woking to the Premier League in Football Manager? That’s how you complete it, mate.

With FM25 dead in the ground, it’s also a long wait until Football Manager 2026 comes out. So now, more than ever, we need long-term saves to keep us going through these long, lonely months. That’s why I’ve scoured non-league football to find the best teams to manage—clubs you can take from the bottom of the football pyramid to glory (and it won’t just be non-league teams in the UK).

For most of these saves, you’ll need a custom database. You can find one by heading to the Steam Workshop for Football Manager 2024, searching for the country you want an expanded lower-league database for, and sorting by “most downloaded.” For each team on this list, it should be fairly easy to find a solid database.

Macclesfield FC

England, Northern Premier League (Step 3, 7th tier)

The phoenix club of the now-defunct Macclesfield Town has risen quickly and now plays in the Northern Premier League. But they’re still nowhere near where they were as Macclesfield Town, and as they climb, the challenge will only get tougher. Can you help them reclaim their former Football League status? To do this, you’ll need to download a custom English lower-league database like this one. Thankfully, there are plenty available online, so have a search and find the perfect one for you.

Berwick Rangers

Scotland, Lowland League (5th tier)

Why should you manage Berwick Rangers? Because they are the only English club in the Scottish system. Since their relegation from the SPFL, the club has been in freefall, embarrassing England by failing to make a bigger impact in Scottish football. Can you reverse their decline and make them relevant again?

Lokomotive Leipzig

Germany, Regionalliga Nordost (4th tier)

First off—what a name. That alone is a good enough reason to manage them. But there’s more: they’re a fallen giant. Before World War I, they won multiple German Championships. In the East German era, they lifted plenty of domestic trophies and even reached the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final. However, after German reunification, the club collapsed and was reborn as FC Lokomotive Leipzig in the 11th tier of German football. Now in the fourth tier, it’s time to take them that extra step and make them professional again. And, of course, to compete with their city rivals—the glorified energy drink club.

Austria Salzburg

Austria, Austrian Regional League West (3rd tier)

Speaking of Red Bull, let’s talk about revenge. Austria Salzburg is the original Red Bull Salzburg before the controversial takeover. This fan-owned club represents traditional Austrian football, and taking charge is like leading the rebellion against the empire in Star Wars. Your mission? Restore them to glory and take down their corporate nemesis.

Truro City

England, National League South (Step 2, 6th tier)

This is absolutely mental, but Truro City are the highest-ranked team in all of Cornwall—and they play in the sixth tier. Pretty much every other county in England has at least one Football League team, but Cornwall has zero. This is your chance to put an entire county on the football map. Be warned, though—the away trips will be brutal. Truro fans are going to dread games against clubs like Morecambe or Carlisle. But it’s time to make history in England’s most football-deprived county.

At the start of the game, Truro are predicted to finish 18th, so you’ll have to work hard to get them promotion-ready.

Torquay United

England, National League South (Step 2, 6th tier)

If Truro’s challenge isn’t tough enough, maybe you want a proper challenge. Enter Torquay United. Their owner has confirmed he can no longer fund the club, meaning they’ve gone into administration. That means you’ll start the season with a 10-point deduction.

Luckily, the squad is strong for the league, so promotion isn’t impossible—but you’ll need to claw your way back from a disadvantage before you can even think about moving up.

Marine AFC

England, Northern Premier League (Step 3, 7th tier)

We have to finish with Marine—the non-league club that captured the public imagination with their FA Cup exploits. They famously hosted Tottenham Hotspur when they were in the eighth tier. The match was played behind closed doors due to COVID, but they still sold over 30,000 virtual tickets.

They lost 5-0, but their underdog story put them on the map. Now, it’s your job to turn them from a one-off cup fairytale into consistent giant killers. Can you make them a true force in English football?

FInal thoughts

Hopefully, these clubs give you some interesting new options—teams you might not have considered before. I also wanted to avoid the usual non-league recommendations (yes, I’m looking at you, Dorking Wanderers). That said, if you’ve never heard of the classics, definitely Google them.

Have I missed any great clubs from other countries? Let me know in the comments!