Rules

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

• Each 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. They are not allowed to have any sort of interaction within the game.
• Your club account belongs to you, and it is against the rules to sell, exchange, or trade your club account.
• 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.
• It is prohibited to use offensive language such as profanities, pornographic allusions, racist comments, any form of threats, and to share illegal material. Such behavior will not be tolerated, and offending accounts will be suspended.
• Except in cases approved and specified by the administrator, the use of third-party software is not allowed. Violation of this result in suspension.
• 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.

Activities within the game are constantly being monitored to ensure a fair playing ground. By violating the game rules, users risk permanent suspension of their accounts.

Timing & Schedules

The game is designed for football managers with all levels of time.

Clubs can be managed successfully without the need of playing daily. Everything from future line-ups for competitions, training schedules and youth development plans can all be set up in advance. Of course, 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 (weeks 0 to 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 is updated.
• Injury status is updated.
• Youth Academy prospects progress is updated.

Monday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 youth squad National Cup matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 youth squad National Cup matches.
• Fanbase count and mood is updated.
• Ranking for main and youth squads are updated.

Tuesday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 main squad National Cup matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 main squad National Cup matches.

Wednesday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 youth squad friendly matches.
• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 youth squad FS Cup matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 youth squad friendly matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 youth squad FS Cup matches.
• New prospects for your Youth Academy are introduced.
• Staff seminars are updated.

Thursday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 main squad friendly matches.
• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 main squad FS Cup matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 main squad friendly matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 main squad FS Cup matches.

Friday

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

Saturday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 youth squad League matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 youth squad League matches.
• New prospects for Youth Academy are introduced.
• Staff seminars are updated.

Sunday

• 12:00ST: Timezone 1 main squad League matches.
• 20:00ST: Timezone 2 main squad 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.
• Value and wage of players is updated.
• 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 selected)

Week 0: First day (Monday)

• Cups are sorted.

Timezone 1

Albania, Austria, Estsonia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, 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

Canada, Mexico, United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, China, Israel, Singapore, Vietnam, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Jamaica, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia

Club

Upon becoming a manager, you seize control of a brand-new club. The club’s long-term future is now in your hand. You start with 23 players for both your main and youth squad (U21). This includes 3 GK, 2 DL, 2 DR, 6 DC, 3 MC, 2ML, 2MR, 3ST.

To help managers learn the ropes at their new clubs, each new manager starts with $2,000,000 in their bank and receive a temporarily 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.

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

Your main squad and youth squad each needs to maintain a minimum of 16 players, and a maximum of 40.

Switching Players

Managers can switch players between their main and youth squads if the player:

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

Up to three players can be moved between your squads each week. After a successful squad change, the player appears in the new squad 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 can be define by their performance or over-using them constantly for competitions.

As a manager, you have the ability to approve or decline a request. It is your job to carefully examine each request and determine their validity.

Be cautious when handling such duty as approving or decling a request can have a positive or negative consequence.

Finances

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

The primary sources of income for your new club will come from stadium (tickets), fanbase, associates, sponsors, and TV rights. Managers are advised to watch their revenue and avoid club funds falling into negative figures because, in debt, there is a 0.3% weekly interest fee to be paid. On the other hand, clubs that maintain a positive figure receive a 0.3% interest on their total bank balance (capped at $3,000,000).

When a -3,000,000$ limit is reached, the club falls into bankruptcy status. You will 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. For this particular reason, new club managers are highly recommended not to incur any expenses until they are comfortable with the game.

Stadium

Match attendance and ticket sales are determined by many factors such as fanbase mood, associates, match type, ticket price, and the calibre of squads involved in the match itself. This means that your squad’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, the amount of fanbase, squad league division or cup placement, zone level of your stadium and stadium amenities. The higher your club’s marketing levels, as long as the other factors, the more favorable prices will be set. If at any time during the season, the marketing level drops comparing to the time that ticket prices are set, there will be a permanent 25% decrease in ticket prices. When home team is a bot and there should be a match revenue for away team, ticket prices for the match will be those set for the away team.

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

Stadiums are displayed in the following way:

Four zones: North – South – East – West

Seating is divided into five levels:
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

The club’s 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. At the higher range, mood figures are hard to sustain. Fanbase and mood alternation is based on several factors including 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 as much fanbase as possible and keep the mood close to 10.

Associates

Associates are considered season-ticket holders. As such, they pay a seasonal subscription at the end of the season and do not pay for regular tickets. Marketers will set a price for your associate fee based on your marketing level, squad league division, cups your squads are involved in and the amount of your associates the past season. Higher marketing level, better league and cup participation and higher ammount of associates will give you more income.

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

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

Sponsors

In Football Strategy, there are a total of 22 possible sponsorship contracts. In order 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.

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

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

Amenities for 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.

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

TV Rights

This source of income gives you a boost on revenue generated during a season. Revenue from TV Rights are tied to the main squad’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

The headquarters is where club staff are housed and managed. There are three different rankings for staff: Degree A Rank (rating 7.00-10.00), Degree B Rank (rating 5.00-7.00) and Degree C Rank (rating 2.00-4.99). Managers first starting out are automatically assigned a Degree C Rank Assistant manager and Degree C Rank U21 assistant manager. Though recruiting better staff is a sound plan, it is strongly recommended for new managers to commit to starting staff members for at least the first season before changing or adding new staff.

At the start of each season, new staff is generated in 4 to 7-day auctions held at random given times. During these auctions, you are restricted to the amount of staff members to bid on based on the maximum number of staff members the club has for that role.

Quantity Generated Based On Qualification Type:

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 can be employed by the 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 someone contracts them. If, at the end of the second season, they still are not contracted, they will pick another career and are gone from the system forever. In the case that a staff member with a rating 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 of the staff’s weekly salary cost to release him. When a staff member is released, he is put up on auction as a free agent. Active managers can also sell their staff members, with up to a maximum of 12 members coming in or out of the club during a twelve-week period.

Managers can also increase ratings for staff members by sending them to seminars. The cost of seminars is calculated based on threating the staff member currently has, costing $10,000 per 1 rating. Attending seminars guarantees a rating improvement between 0.05 and 0.10. Only one staff member can be trained in each seminar, so managers are advised to use that spot wisely. Seminars are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday, and improvements in staff ratings are reflected after scheduled maintenance times.

Assistant Manager

Each 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 main squad.

Coach

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

U21 Assistant Manager

The U21 assistant manager is tasked with training the club’s youth academy and has the most impact for your youth squad. Only one U21 assistant manager can be employed at each club.

U21 Coach

Three U21 coaches can be assigned to your youth squad. They help to improve your youth squad and youth academy training results.

Scout

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

Physio

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

Marketer

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

Competitions

There are four main club competitions in Football Strategy: League, FS Cup, National Cup, and Friendly fixtures.

Rankings

Clubs in Football Strategy all have three different rankings: Overall Ranking, Main Squad Ranking, and Youth Squad Ranking. To qualify for cup matches, it is important for your squads to achieve and maintain a high-ranking position.

Rankings are updated every Monday, and are calculated from all match results of the past week – EXCEPT for friendly and play-off matches. The calculation of your ranking will take into consideration the strength of the opponents you played against, and whether it was a home or away game.

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 (youth squad) and Sunday (main squad). 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. In the event that two teams are tied on points, rankings is decided on the following, starting with the highest priority:

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

Clubs without human players (bots) will be automatically 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. Essentially, new managers step in to take over automatically managed clubs, and this might be in the third or fourth division (up to fifth if 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 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 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 is 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 Third Division.

Fourth Division – The best sixteen clubs in the fourth division receive 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 is 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).

*** Play-offs 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 squad is always the host, although revenue generated from match attendance is shared equally for both sides. In 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 competitions – 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, followed by 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 (youth squad) and Tuesday (main squad), 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 week 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 dividing 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 active at all times. Other than fixtures being played every Wednesday (youth squad) and Thursday (main squad), the seeding system and rules for this competition are the same as the National Cup.

Friendlies

Friendly matches can be played every Wednesday (youth squad) and Thursday (main squad). These non-competitive matches serve as training and also provide a small boost to your revenue. Income from match attendances is shared equally between both sides. In order 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 squads in the friendlies pool anytime between Friday and Tuesday. If there is a club with 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 squad that meets the requirements to join the friendlies pool. For friendlies, the squad with the higher-ranking plays at home. On Tuesday’s maintenance, all clubs are removed from the friendlies pool, so managers have to add their squad again if they want to arrange a friendly match during the week.

Red & Yellow Card System

Yellow and red cards players received have an effect in the upcoming matches. If a player receives a red card, he will be suspended 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

Training is essential for every football club and its players. The necessary tools within Football Strategy will allow managers to develop the team’s progress and improve on weaknesses. The training ground also enables players to improve both their physical and playing attributes. Most importantly, it will allow young talents to develop and make their way to the main squad.

Though default percentages are set for each position, managers can tweak and fine-tune their players’ training on the training ground page.

GK:
15% - Keep
11% - Position, Agility
8% - Steal, Strength
5% - First Touch, Pass, Speed
2% - Fitness

SW:
9% - Mark, Steal
8% - Position, Strength
6% - Head, Agility, Fitness, Speed
2% - First Touch, Pass, Dribble, Cross, Finish, Creativity

DL & DR:
9% - Mark, Position, Steal
6% - Head, Agility, Fitness, Speed
3% - Pass, Dribble, Cross, Strength, Creativity
2% - First Touch, Finish

WBL & WBR:
9% - Fitness
7% - Mark, Position, Steal, Speed
5% - Head, Dribble, Cross, Agility
3% - Pass, Strength, Creativity
2% - First Touch, Finish

DC:
9% - Mark, Head, Steal
7% - Position, Strength
6% - Fitness
5% - Speed
4% - Dribble, Agility
2% - First Touch, Pass, Cross, Finish, Creativity

DMC:
9% - Mark, Steal
7% - Position, Fitness
6% - Pass
5% - Head, Dribble, Strength, Speed
3% - First Touch, Agility
2% - Cross, Finish, Creativity

ML & MR:
7% - Pass, Dribble, Cross, Agility, Fitness, Speed
5% - Position, First Touch, Creativity
4% - Finish
3% - Strength
2% - Mark, Head, Steal

AML & AMR:
8% - Dribble, Cross
6% - Pass, Agility, Fitness, Speed, Creativity
5% - Position, First Touch, Finish
3% - Strength
2% - Mark, Head, Steal

MC:
8% - First Touch, Pass, Creativity
7% - Dribble
5% - Position, Finish, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
3% - Cross
2% - Mark, Head, Steal

AMC:
8% - First Touch, Pass, Creativity
6% - Dribble, Finish
5% - Position, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
3% - Cross
2% - Mark, Head, Steal

ST:
9% - Finish
6% - Head, Dribble, Agility, Strength, Fitness, Speed
5% - Position, First Touch, Pass
3% - Cross, Creativity
2% - Mark, Steal

Customized Training

Managers who wish to go into the finer details can fine-tune their players’ training. The values for each position’s training can be adjusted to a manager’s liking, and a manager can go as far as overriding that position’s training by setting a custom training for a specific player.

To see what type of training players are currently undergoing, look at the "Training Type" column.
Default Position: Player is training based on default training values.
Custom Position: Player is training based on customized training values set for a position.
Custom Training: Player is training based on the customized training values set specifically for a player.

Managers can choose from three levels of intensity for their players to follow during training. Training with higher intensity rewards players with more training points at the cost of more condition points lost daily and an increased risk of injury. Besides training, players can still lose attribute points due to aging, non-playing, injuries and other factors.

As a result of training, players can raise their attributes and positions, although it’s unlikely they will increase both. Factors that affect training and how often players increase attributes and/or positions are:

• player potential
• ratings of assistant manager and coaches
• player age
• training intensity
• player condition
• player rating
• training amenities.

Players also have the chance of gaining skill points on match days related to the position they played in during a match. The more playing time and the better the player performs, the higher the chance of achieving better attributes.

When a player trains, he will lose anywhere between 20 to 40 condition points. Training restores anywhere from 6 to 14 condition, so the final loss is the sum between points gained and lost. It is necessary to schedule a rest period before matches, as players who just went through rough training will not perform well, or may get injured. Resting helps players, restoring 30 to 50 condition points. Managers can also better monitor player’s conditions by setting a condition limit to restrict players from training if their condition drops below the set limit.

Action images of a player reflect whether he has been assigned to train or rest that day. Depending on the previous day’s performance, each player gets one of the following messages after a training/rest session:

• No training (Player did not receive training).
• Amount of training points (Player received training and the number indicates how many points earned).

Training changes are based on a points system. In each training session, players gain points according to the following rules:
Age gives |(40 - age) * 1.5| points.
Training intensity:
High intensity gives 15 points.
Average intensity gives 10 points.
Low intensity gives 5 points.
Player condition gives |(condition - 50) * 0.3| points.
Player rating gives |rating| points.
Assistant Manager gives |rating * 4| points.
Coaches give |sum of their ratings| points.
Every completed prestige level of training amenities gives a 4% boost in the total training points, calculated by all the above factors.

Matches also contribute points to the training system. A player gets points from a match when he has played for more than 10 minutes.
Playing time gives |minutes| points.
Rating gives |rating * 3| points.
If the match is a league match it will give a 20% boost in the total training points, calculated by all the above factors. National Cup match gives a 30% boost, while FS Cup match gives a 40% boost.
Points from matches will be assigned the same way as points from training.

Players after the age of 26 will also start to lose points. If they are younger than 30 years old, they will lose between (age - 25) * 0.2 to (age - 25) * 0.4 every day in every skill. If players are older than 31 years old, they lose between (age - 25) * 0.3 to (age - 25) * 0.5 every day in every skill. Positions that do not have a value will not receive negative training points.

There is a reduction on points when an outfield player is set to train as a GK or plays a match as a GK. In particular, points gained or lost are the 80% of any other position.

A player increases a skill when he collects more than 1,200 points in a skill that was below his potential. A player increases a skill when he collects more than 2,400 points in a skill that was equal or higher than his potential. A player loses a skill when it drops below -200 points. When the increase occurs, 1,200 (or 2,400) points are removed from the skill. If a skill is lost, 200 points are added to existing points.

Youth Academy

The youth academy is where future prospects are managed before they enter the club’s youth squad. 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 Youth Squad. 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 – Exact skill level is revealed.
Week 4 – Exact position is revealed.
Week 5 - Possible time for trial-period is revealed.
Week 6 - Possible position level is revealed.
Week 7 - Possible highest-level skill.
Week 8 - Possible potential of prospect.

New Prospects

The average player skill rating of prospects is based on a point system. Each scout will give as many points as his 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: 4.0-4.8
4-7.99 points: 4.4-5.2
8-11.99 points: 4.8-5.6
12-15.99 points: 5.2-6.0
16-19.99 points: 5.6-6.4
20-23.99 points: 6.0-6.8
24-27.99 points: 6.4-7.2
28-31.99 points: 6.8-7.6
32-35.99 points: 7.2-8.0
36+ points: 7.6-8.4

With these calculations in mind, there is a chance that a prospect during week 2 may change his projected skill with up to -1 rating, and, on very rare occasions, up to 1+ rating.

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 increase 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 percent chance is reset. In order for the chance to increase, there must be at least 1 open space at the time of new prospect day.

Training

The ratings of the U21 assistant manager, the ratings of the U21 coaches and the individual player’s age are the factors affecting academy training. Training changes are based on a points system where, in each training session, players gain points according to the following rules:
Age gives |(20 - age) * 2| points.
U21 Assistant Manager gives |rating * 4| points.
U21 Coaches give |sum of their ratings| points.
Points GK's gain are the 80% of any other position.

A player will increase a skill after he passes 200 points. When the increase occurs, 200 points are removed. During a skill increase, main attributes have a 70% chance of improvement, while other attributes have a 30% chance. The maximum value a youth academy player can reach in an attribute is 14.

Main attributes for academy 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 analyse the performance of their squads. 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 amount 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, E.g. leading by 2 goals and/or in a certain minute. When your squad 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 squads through the strategic use of match tactics and match simulation options.

Extras

Position Levels: Players receive boosts to their stats at the start of each game according to their rating. The higher the rating, the better the boost received. Currently the formula is 0.5% per level. So, a player with MC (20) rating gets a 0.5 * 20 = 10% boost to his attributes.

Chemistry Effect: Players attributes are boosted if the team has higher chemistry (up to a maximum of 10%). Friendly matches no longer decrease your chemistry level, it can only increase.

Home Team Advantage: Similar to how the home crowd can affect a player in a real football match, the home squad 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 squad ratings will increase around 5% faster than the away squad 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 form also lose condition at a slightly slower rate.

Players Attributes: Players attributes degrade over the course of a match. The attributes will degrade much faster if the player has low condition and/or low rating.

Condition Lost: Condition is an indicator of a player’s stamina. Condition is lost when a player moves, and the faster he moves the faster condition points are lost. Players also lose condition points if they are involved in a tackle. Players with higher fitness lose condition at a slightly slower rate.

Effect of Condition: As players lose condition, their attributes decrease. The lower their condition, the poorer they play in the game.

Injury Chance: Every tackle increases the chances of an injury. A tackle currently produces a less than 1% chance of causing an injury. But this chance is also affected by the condition of a player and the type of tackling managers call for in their tactics.

Player Actions

Penalties

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

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

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 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 a cross is the right choice they will lift the ball towards the target player. The accuracy of the cross is based on the crossing attribute, as well as 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, whether the player considers the potential pass target to be better positioned then 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 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 a 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 take into consideration 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.

Saves

A goalkeeper will dive faster the higher their agility and strength is. 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.

Formation

Managers are responsible for their squad’s tactics, which ranges from general player instructions to setting 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 have to 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 and reserves. Users can change players from one group to the other by selecting and dragging their name to their desired positions. Injured players can only be placed in the reserves group. Note that although players who have below 60% condition can be placed in the playing squad or named as substitutes, they cannot play a match and will be replaced automatically before the match. If the starting eleven is not filled up with enough players, the match is automatically forfeited.

There are 3 main zones on the pitch: defense zone, midfield zone and the attack zone. 3 – 5 players can be fielded in the defense zone, 2 – 5 players in the midfield zone, and 1 – 4 players in the attack zone. This is to ensure managers do not make "bunker", or "park-the-bus", or any other unfair formations.

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 towards nearby players.

Sweeper (SW) – Sweepers primaryly 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) – Centerbacks stop opposing attackers from passing the defensive line and clear the ball from danger when required.

Wingback (WBR) (WBL) – While 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 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 closing down the opposition and also support 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 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 for strikers, is to score. As such, strikers play near to the goal, and look to provide the finish to the team’s offensive plays.

Squad Chemistry

The level of cohesion a team earns throughout the season can allow a squad to perform better. Squad Chemistry is displayed as a decimal number between 1 and 20. It is unique for each formation the team plays and is affected only by players in the starting eleven. Other factors that affect chemistry are:

• The number of matches each player played during the current and the past season: This is the biggest factor in squad chemistry. If the same eleven players started in 20 games, the squad gets 10 points of chemistry – the highest possible score. If none of them have played for the squad before, the resulting chemistry score is 0. In order for this factor to give the highest score, 20 matches must have been played. If less than 20 matches have been played, the highest score of this factor is calculated based on number of matches / 2.
• Rating of players in the squad also affects chemistry. If the players have high ratings, squad will get a better chemistry score. Maximum number of points achieved from this factor is 5.
• Number of players in the squad that are from the same country. The more players from the same nation that play in the squad, the higher the chemistry score. Maximum number of points achieved from this factor is 5.

Tactics

To get the best of their team, managers will want to customize every bit of the team’s tactics. For new managers though, they can start off 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.

Counter Attack

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 down opponents quickly when they have the ball and making tackles at the earliest opportunity.

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 with the defense slider.

Pressure

A higher pressure stat increases the chance players have of closing down 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

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 played 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 whether 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 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 of 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, defenders in a losing side will join the attack. A defender will also take into account 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 takes into account 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.

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 preset 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 himself up for a pass, or to get 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.

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 also 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 despatches the free kick.

Player Attributes

A manager starting a new club has 23 players for each squad at his disposal. Players vary in age, between 18 to 32 in the main squad, and 15 to 21 in the youth squad. Outfield players normally retire at 34-38 years old, while goalkeepers can play till the age of 38-42.

When viewing players from other squads, their defensive, offensive, and physical/mental skills are hidden. Although the exact skill level are 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: players specialize in a position through training and match practice. The higher their position level, the better they are able to perform in that specific role during a match. A player’s position can be changed but there is a penalty in position level for this action.

Age: The age of the player.

Value: The value of the player based on his attributes ranked from 1-20.

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. Player will also request a salary increase if they are played often during a season.

Condition: The physical condition of the player. When it decreases, levels of the rest of their stats also decrease, reflecting how the more tired a player is, the worse he play.
*** It is important that players are fully fit and have a 100% condition when playing a match, because unfit players do not perform well and get injured more frequently. A player cannot participate in training sessions or matches if his condition drops below 60%. The condition ratio increases or decreases depending on the player’s fitness level. Managers must find a balance for each player between training sessions and matches as these activities will decrease the player’s condition level.

Potential: The potential of a player on a 15-20 scale.

Rating: The average match rating for the current and the past season.

Country: 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 in 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 also win the header in the first place.

Steal - The higher the steal attribute, the better a player is able to 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 is able to control the ball at the first attempt.

Pass - The higher the pass 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 is able to deliver his shots from the ground or from 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 to make better runs.

Injuries

Similar to a real game of football, injuries are part and parcel of Football Strategy. 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 80% 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 2 to 10 days, depending on the severity and the skills of the physio.

Category 1 injuries include:

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

1 physio reduces injury length by |rating * 0.2| days.
2 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.4| days.
3 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.6| days.
4 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.8| days.

In 15% of cases, much less frequent, Category 2 injuries, occur. Medium severity injuries like these have some impact on the players attributes and require a longer recovery period. Injuries in this category last from 10 to 18 days, depending on the severity and the physio.

Category 2 injuries include:

• Broken Toe
• Calf Muscle Strain
• Dislocated Knee

1 physio reduces injury length by |rating * 0.2| days.
2 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.4| days.
3 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.6| days.
4 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.8| days.

Only in 5% of cases do Category 3, the least frequent injuries, occur. These high severity injuries have a major impact on the players health and attributes. A Category 3 injury requires extensive recovery periods and last from 18 up to 30 days, depending on the severity and Physio.

Category 3 injuries include:

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

1 physio reduces injury length by |rating * 0.3| days.
2 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.6| days.
3 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 0.9| days.
4 physios reduce injury length by |average rating * 1.2| days.

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 three types of possible transfer methods:

• List players for loan on 12-, 18-, or 24-week periods. Clubs can do this through fixed-price loans or auctions for 4-12 days on the transfer market.
• List players for sale through an auction format for 4-12 days on the transfer market.
• List players for sale for a fixed price for 1-12 days on the transfer market (PLUS subscribers only).

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

Restrictions

• All fixed price sales have to be manually approved by admin. Approval can take up to twelve hours.
• All fixed price sales require a player to be listed for at least 80% of his market value while auction sales require a player to be listed for at least 10% of his market value.
• 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 twenty-four players can be released within a twelve-week period.
• A maximum of twelve staff members can be released within a twelve-week period.
• A minimum of 16 players must be maintained for each main and youth squad.
• A maximum of 40 players can be employed for each main and youth squad.
• 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 youth squad.
• 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 are able to have their own National Team and National U21 Team. For this to happen, your country must have at least 3 active managers to be eligible for participation in the two tournaments available, otherwise the National Team will be AI-controlled in order 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 Squad’s)

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. The National Team manager would be able to freely see the stats of players in National Pool and can call up the player into the National Team squad 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 2 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 by: MINUTES_PLAYED * (RATING / 10). Training points are applied as soon as the NT match is finished. Football Strategy staff closely monitor this selection to prevent the abuse of this system. Please note that this bonus does not apply 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 squad (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):
First Place - 2% Fanbase Increase
Second Place – 1.5% Fanbase Increase
Third Place – 1% Fanbase Increase
Fourth Place – 0.5% Fanbase Increase

World Cup:
First Place - 4% Fanbase Increase
Second Place – 3% Fanbase Increase
Third Place – 2% Fanbase Increase
Fourth Place – 1% Fanbase Increase

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

The FS Community

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

Join in the discussions at the forums, where managers are convening to figure out the best tactics for their side, and offering suggestions to help improve the game even further. Or, 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 we can improve the game.

There are four types of clubs, categorized through the color their club name is written in. Blue represents staff members, yellow represents Plus subscribers, black is for active players, and green represents bot, AI-controlled clubs.

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, in order 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.