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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Football Academy Director
Merla Interactive · Published by Merla Interactive
7 user reviews — 57% positive (7 reviews)
Last updated 29 Sept 2026
Build and lead a football academy from U11 to U19. Scout and recruit young talent, develop your squads, set tactics, compete for promotion and trophies, improve your academy, and follow your graduates throughout their senior careers.
Indie, Simulation, Strategy, Sports · 2026 · More free games
About this game
Develop the Next Generation
Take charge of an entire football academy, from the youngest age groups to the U19 side competing for league titles, promotion and cups.
Scout and recruit prospects, shape their development, plan future squads and build teams capable of winning now — while preparing the players who could become your club's future.
Every season brings new prospects, new decisions and another chance to raise the standard of your academy.
Scout and Recruit the Right Players
Build every generation before they reach the pitch.
Scout young players, run Youth Camps and identify the prospects who fit your academy. Compare ability, potential, personality and positional needs before deciding where to spend your recruitment resources.
Other academies are looking at the same talent. Interest changes, competition matters and Deadline Day forces you to make your final decisions.
Build Your Squads for the Future
Academy management is about more than your strongest XI.
Manage squads across multiple age groups and plan years ahead. Track where players are developing, where opportunities will open and which positions may need strengthening before those gaps reach your U19 team.
Use the Squad Planner to balance today's squad against the players coming through behind them.
Develop Players Your Way
Potential is only the starting point.
Manage training, playing time and individual development across the academy. Decide which players need regular football, which roles suit them and who deserves greater responsibility as they move through the age groups.
Some prospects will develop quickly. Others will stall, surprise you or force you to rethink your plans.
Set Your Tactics. Compete for Trophies.
Development matters — but results matter too.
Select your U19 squad, choose your formation and assign player roles before putting your academy to the test on matchday.
Compete through the Youth League pyramid, chase promotion and league titles, fight for cup trophies and take your best generations onto the World Youth Cup stage.
Every match is another test of the squad you have built.
Build a Stronger Academy
Turn results and long-term planning into progress.
Improve your facilities, expand your staff and strengthen the systems around your players. Better infrastructure gives you more tools to recruit, develop and prepare the next generation.
Your academy should not look the same after ten seasons as it did when your career began.
Produce First-Team Players
The best academy careers eventually lead beyond the youth system.
At the First Team Pathway Meeting, assess your leading prospects and decide who has earned the opportunity to step into senior football.
Graduation is not the end of their story — it is the point where your work as an academy starts being measured on a bigger stage.
Follow Their Senior Careers
Your graduates remain part of the football world after they leave the academy.
Follow former prospects as they move between clubs, establish themselves in senior football, earn international call-ups, compete for honours and eventually reach the end of their careers.
Over time, your alumni become a record of the players — and careers — your academy produced.
Build. Develop. Compete. Repeat.
Every season brings another intake, another squad to shape and another opportunity to improve.
Build better teams. Develop better players. Climb the pyramid. Win trophies. Strengthen the academy — and see what the next generation can become.
Key Features
Manage academy squads from U11 to U19
Scout prospects and compete with rival academies for signings
Run Youth Camps and build future recruitment classes
Plan future squads with the Squad Planner
Manage training, playing time and individual player development
Select your U19 lineup, formation and player roles
Compete for league titles, promotion and cups
Take elite generations to the World Youth Cup
Hire staff and improve academy facilities
Work towards board objectives and build your reputation
Guide prospects through the First Team Pathway
Follow academy graduates throughout their senior careers and through to retirement
Build new generations across a long-term managerial career
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: 64-bit dual-core processor
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: Integrated graphics with OpenGL 3.3 support
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Update 1.1 – Major Update
Update 1.1 is now available. This is a major update introducing significant changes to club finances, progression, academy development, matches and several core screens, alongside a large number of fixes and quality-of-life improvements.Finances & Club DevelopmentLP and EC have been replaced by €, with finances and progression now built around an actual club economy.Club Development has been extensively reworked, replacing much of the previous upgrade structure.The Finances screen has been completely rebuilt.Academy DevelopmentU11–U16 teams now play matches throughout the season.Player statistics and age-group reporting have been added for U11–U16.New Academy Squad Reviews, Age-Group Round-Ups and Mid-Season Reports have been added.Training Breakthroughs are now significantly more impactful and can immediately give a player +1 to an attribute relevant to their position.Academy player market values have been improved.Tactics, Matches & AnalysisTactics has received a major redesign.Match Analysis has been extensively redesigned.The Match Scene has received several improvements.Zone Analysis has been improved to provide clearer and more useful tactical information.Atmosphere and Team Talks have been improved.First-Team Pathway & Youth CupThe First-Team Pathway Review has been completely rebuilt.The Youth Cup draw now has a new presentation.Medical Centre & StaffThe Medical Centre has been reworked.Staff management has been improved.National-team scheduling and player recovery have been improved.Interface & Quality of LifeA large part of the game's interface has been rebuilt, giving tables, panels, popups and major decision screens a more consistent design.Players can now be shortlisted directly from their Player Profile.Squad-screen column explanations have been improved.Form indicators are now clearer.Scoring has been renamed to Finishing for consistency.Navigation when returning from Optimize Squad has been fixed.Numerous improvements have been made to the Dashboard,...Read full article on Community Announcements (mpersson)Patch NotesOfficial
Update 1.0.4 – Patch Notes
Update 1.0.4 is now available. This patch focuses on fixes and improvements based on reports and feedback received since release. Season Goals & Morale - Fixed an issue where finishing above the Finish Mid-Table target could incorrectly be treated as failing it. - Player departures now only reduce squad morale when the departing player had a meaningful positive social influence. - Players who have not appeared during the current season will normally have no departure morale impact unless they are recognised as a Team Leader. Ability & Potential - Ability and Potential stars for your players now use the Academy squad as one consistent benchmark across all age groups and relevant screens. Moving a player between age-group squads will therefore no longer unexpectedly change their star rating. - Ability and Potential sorting in the Squad screen now correctly follows the displayed half-star ratings. Tactics & Player Profiles - Selected player roles are now preserved when moving or swapping players in Tactics, including moves between the starting eleven and bench. - Previous/Next navigation in Player Profiles now retains the squad list from which the profile was originally opened, even after moving the player to another squad. - Player profiles can now be opened directly from player rows in Optimize Squad and Optimize + Review Releases. Squad Optimisation - Recommended moves now begin unselected, ensuring that changes are only applied when explicitly chosen. - Recommended release rows now display the player’s Academy Rank. - Releasing players through squad optimisation now requires a final confirmation showing the selected players and expected morale impact. - Improved the stability and clarity of the squad optimisation window when selections change. Scouting & Recruitment - Scouting signings now join the appropriate age-group squad where possible: 15-year-olds join U15 and 16-year-olds join U16, while older players continue to join the Academy squad. - Recruitment Reveal...Read full article on Community Announcements (mpersson)Patch NotesOfficial
Update 1.0.3 – Hotfix & Improvements
Update 1.0.3 includes a collection of fixes, interface improvements and balance adjustments based on the first days of player feedback. Scouting Repeatedly scouting the same region will now gradually produce fewer new player discoveries. Leaving a region unscouted for a while restores its effectiveness. All unlocked scouting regions remain available at all times. Redesigned the Regions panel to make scouting status and effectiveness easier to read. Improved scouting update news and region tooltips. Existing saves are fully supported. After updating, existing saves will begin with fresh scouting history, so all regions initially start at full effectiveness. Training & Tactics The Assistant can now recommend players for available Focus Training slots. Improved the Captain and Set Pieces selectors, including clearer attribute values and sorting. Added an **Open Training** shortcut to the Academy Training Groups review news item. Player Development Potential stars shown during Youth Intake now represent the player's projected level at age 19 rather than their current relative standing within the squad. Improved the presentation of Elite Potential pre-season news. Matches, Awards & Rankings Fixed Best XI selections occasionally placing players in incorrect positions. Fixed league positions displayed during World Youth Cup matches. Academy Ranking Update now correctly shows ranking movement for every club. Improved World Youth Cup information and full-time result presentation during matchdays. Recruitment Fixed an issue where using **Undo** after removing a player from Recruitment could restore the player in the database without immediately restoring them to the visible list. Balance Reduced the frequency of disciplinary incidents and recurring player conversations. Slightly adjusted Hall of Fame requirements. News & Interface Cleaned up several league, promotion, title and morale news articles. Improved various news layouts, tooltips and navigation shortcuts. Added updat...Read full article on Community Announcements (mpersson)Patch NotesOfficial
Hotfix 1.0.2 – Available Jobs After Dismissal
Fixed an issue where dismissed managers could be left unemployed with no available jobs. Available Jobs now ensures at least one job with a 100% acceptance chance after dismissal, provided there is a club you have not already applied to that season. This fix also applies to existing saves. If you are already unemployed, load your save and open Available Jobs. No new save is required.Read full article on Community Announcements (mpersson)Patch NotesOfficial
Hotfix 1.0.1 – Country Flags & Squad Position Order
This hotfix includes two fixes: • Fixed missing country flags on fresh installations. • Updated the Match Squad position buttons in Academy Squad to follow the same order as Tactics: GK, DL, DC, DR, ML, MC, MR, ST. Repeated positions are now grouped together. Existing lineup assignments remain unchanged.Read full article on Community Announcements (mpersson)
