Everyone’s been asking for a list of the new features in FC Pro 2 so we’ve been busy putting one together!

But before we get onto the new stuff, we just wanted to give you some insight into the aims behind the new app.

First and foremost, the game is still Football Chairman. This will be the fifth version of FC (including ‘Lite’ and ‘free’ apps) and each one has been a gradual evolution of the previous game.

It’s the same this time - don’t expect a drastic overhaul. You still won’t be able to pick the team, scout for players or watch the match in 3D. There are already plenty of other very well-known management games that allow you to do all that.

You still have to do the Chairman duties. But what we’ve tried to do is gather all the feedback from users over the last few years and make loads of incremental improvements to make the overall experience better.

We’ve put in all the things we wanted to add to the previous game but couldn’t because of the database or technical restrictions.

And there are also loads of “hidden” improvements to the code to make the gameplay better, fairer, more realistic and so on.

So here’s a list of the main new things you’ll see in the game:

• Graphics and screen layouts improved and/or freshened up
• Completely new “Euro Conference” competition
• New-style European competition formats introduced for 2024-25
• Away goals removed from European competitions
• New “World Team Cup” competition at end of season for LOC winners
• 49 new achievements to aim for (now 99 in total)
• New “Financial Fair Play” challenge scenario
• You now receive a bid for your current club when you’re looking to take over a new one
• You can return to take over a former club as many times as you like
• You can now see the age of a manager
• Managers have personality types (Quiet, Calm, Relaxed, Determined, Intense, Outspoken)
• Managers now have 3 playing styles instead of 2 (Passing, Mixed, Direct)
• Managers also have 3 attacking/defensive styles
• Eight potential managerial candidates to choose from instead of five
• Negotiate with each candidate on wages, contract, playing style etc
• You can give managers a fixed-term contract instead of just a rolling contract
• Towards the end of the season you can offer candidates a short-term contract as an “Interim Manager”
• Manager ratings more likely to improve (depending on their age), so they can potentially grow with your club instead of stagnating after promotion
• Increased options to add extra backroom staff to help your manager
• Less chance of repeated approaches for a successful manager
• More ways to interact with the manager
• You can ask him to focus his transfer search on one particular position
• You can ask him to consider changing his playing style or formation
• There’s a new transfer budget option between Normal and Max (“Generous”)
• Vastly increased number of player, manager and chairman/woman avatars
• Managers look progressively older as their age increases
• On the squad page, the manager gives you his overview of the squad based on 4 criteria: Rating, Age, Depth and Style
• The overall age balance of the squad now affects performance (i.e. to perform best, a squad needs the right blend of youth and experience)
• Squads now have a subs bench instead of just first team & reserves
• Managers make subs during the match
• Players in the first team are given a rating for their performance in each match
• Players now have 3 playing styles instead of 2 (Passing, Mixed, Direct)
• 99-rated players now much more rare
• Much less chance of players with duplicate names in the same team
• Clean sheets are now recorded
• Assists are now recorded
• New club records for clean sheets and assists
• Assists and clean sheets also added to Chairman Highscores
• Season-by-season playing history (games, goals, awards) is stored for each player
• News stories for hat-tricks and player appearance/goal/clean sheet milestones
• Superstar goalkeepers less likely to dominate the Player of the Season awards
• New “Young Player of the Season” award
• Youth players promoted to the first team during the season should continue to develop instead of stagnating
• Legendary players and managers added to a “Hall of Fame” when they leave
• The Hall of Fame records also store the playing histories of each player
• Managers have a “Transfer Shortlist” instead of requiring an instant decision on new signings
• You can now see which teams are bidding for your players, and which teams you’re buying players from
• More chance of ongoing negotiations and repeated bids during player purchase process
• Manager transfer AI improved, including managers looking for younger/older players depending on the current age balance of the squad
• Loan signings at your club, or players out on loan at other clubs, can only be recalled during the transfer window
• During the match, possession stats are now shown with a live progress bar indicating which team is attacking or defending
• This gives you a live indication of whether your team is on top or under the cosh
• Penalty shootouts are now displayed one kick at at time instead of just seeing the result
• VAR reviews added to top flight matches (sorry!)
• Less likelihood of goals being scored one minute after the previous goal
• New post-match screen shows the player ratings, substitutions, injures and red cards
• Other results now listed in alphabetical order
• Injury frequency tweaked
• Improved 3D graphics on training and youth academy pages
• Training and youth academies can’t be drastically reduced once they’re built
• Your club now has a customisable home, away and goalkeeper kit
• All 3 kits can be redesigned every season
• Choose the shirt style and colours, plus collar style and colour
• Including 10 “Premier Kit” styles unlocked when your club wins the top flight
• An individual page for each historical season shows your team’s kits and their performances in league and cups
• A “Trophy Cabinet” page shows how many times each trophy has been won
• New animated “cup draw” news story to add interest to the draws
• Clubs now sell season tickets and you can set the % discount for season ticket holders
• Attendance figures more consistent and fluctuate slightly less based on ticket prices
• Income from stadium facilities (food/drink/merchandise) recalculated
• New “VIP” stadium facility options (seats, boxes, lounges)
• The pitch condition now stays at a set level instead of deteriorating constantly
• The condition of each stand deteriorates slowly (i.e. over a number of years) and eventually needs renovation
• Pop-up warning if you accidentally click on a potentially controversial decision (eg renaming your club’s stadium)
• Finances page redesigned to give you more information about your club’s finances and help you plan better
• Overdrafts increase as you progress in Champ/Prem
• “Follow us on Instagram” bonus option
• New help screens for first-time users
• Divisional information screens each time you move to a new division
• Ability to import a saved career from previous Football Chairman Pro game
• Updates to online data editor for the World Team Cup and European team kits

There are bound to be a few other things we’ve forgotten, and some other things might sneak in before launch, but hopefully that gives you a taste of what’s changed from the previous Football Chairman Pro.

And we’ll be adding even more new features in future updates, including some potentially big ones like being able to change datapack mid-career, or legendary former players starting a career in management!

PS - Before anyone asks, the divisions will all still have 22 teams for the same reasons as before...