You can now create your own Football Manager 2024 match engine with this amazing mod

I’m no tech wizard. In fact, my technological prowess is pretty much limited to switching HDMI cables for elderly family members and knowing which laptops can run Football Manager at an acceptable level. That being said, there are a LOT of people in the Football Manager community who are absolute geniuses when it comes to technology. And when you think about it, that makes perfect sense.

After all, we’re all essentially playing a glorified spreadsheet simulator, so it’s only natural that we’re just big nerds at heart. And if there’s one thing nerds (excluding me) are usually good at, it’s computers and doing cool things with them.

Speaking of cool things, one FM genius has created something genuinely incredible—a match engine modifier for Football Manager 2024. Let’s be honest, we all need something to fill the void left by the swift death of Football Manager 2025, and the community is seriously delivering. So, let’s get into it:

What is it?

This ‘match engine maker’ mod allows you to “edit certain predefined values” within Football Manager 2024’s match engine. Essentially, you can tweak aspects like the speed and size of different elements in the game. For example, you can dramatically decrease movement speeds, leading to some hilarious and intriguing results.

There are plenty of modifications you can make, including:

• Adjusting how quickly players accelerate and decelerate
• Changing turning rates
• Modifying player speed
• Altering how hard players kick the ball

It’s basically like going into FIFA’s game sliders back in the day and messing around just for the fun of it.

Is it any good?

So far, the match engine modifier has received glowing reviews online. One user said, “Wow, this is really cool! The match engine modding developments have breathed new life into the game for me,” while another simply called it “awesome work.”

Of course, match engine modifications like this aren’t perfect, but seeing the modding community create tools like this is a breath of fresh air for a franchise that’s been feeling a little stagnant lately. After all, until recently, Football Manager mods were mostly just roster swaps, although they can make it easy to have your own FM25.

How do you install and use this match engine maker?

If you want the full information on the match engine modifier and how to install you can get that here. But here are the instructions on how to set it up, just in case you want a quick overview:

1. Download & Keep Files Together
   Download the following files and do not delete or move them:

• main.exe
• physical_constraints.jsb
• physical_constraints.json

All files must remain in the same folder.

2. Edit physical_constraints.json
Modify only the values—do not add new entries (they will have no effect).
For details on each value, refer to “Modifiable Values and Default Settings”.

3. Run main.exe
Running main.exe processes your changes and creates a new file:

• physical_constraints_update.jsb

4. Replace the Old File

• Move physical_constraints_update.jsb to the physics folder inside the simatch folder.
• Rename it to physical_constraints.jsb (overwrite or delete the original file).
• If the simatch folder does not exist, create it using Football Manager 2024 Resource Archiver.

5. Repack & Apply Changes

• Open Football Manager 2024 Resource Archiver (install it via Steam’s Tools section if needed).
• Use it to create simatch.fmf.
• Move simatch.fmf to your FM24 installation folder

Disclaimers

Before you dive into this, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

First—and this is a big one—it’s not available on Mac yet. This is especially frustrating for me since I play on a MacBook, but hopefully, the creator will be able to make it Mac-compatible in the near future. This could just be the start of an incredible wave of modding developments within the community.

Secondly, as pointed out by a Reddit moderator on r/FootballManagerGames, downloading and running .exe files from unknown sources carries security risks. Malicious software can be hidden in executable files, potentially compromising your system. To stay safe, always be cautious when running downloaded executables and proceed at your own risk.

Final thoughts

This might just be a small mod, but it’s something that a lot of people have been hoping for and could breathe new life into a match engine we’ve had for years now—at least while we wait for Unity to arrive.

Obviously, the lack of Mac support is a huge limitation, but hopefully, this is just the beginning of more modding breakthroughs. While we all wait for Football Manager 2026, let’s hope the community keeps experimenting and delivering exciting new developments!