Football Manager rule files for AFC v26.1

In this package, you will find rule files for AFC Member Nations.

I did my best to use realistic formats for all the leagues that are included. The rule files contain:

• real divisions and cups with real formats from 2025/26
• teams from the 2025/26 season
• all nations have transfer windows, registration periods, tv dates, match rules, prize money - when I was able to find this in my online research

Compatibility

• FM Database 26.0.0 (only)

License

Football Manager rule files for AFC v26.1 by MasterIgor is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

The rule files are free, but every tip will greatly improve my motivation to provide updates and other federations, because I spent a great deal of free time researching and editing. So if you really enjoy the rule files, then every small contribution is greatly appreciated. Support Me.

How to install

Copy the .fmf files for the nations you want into "Editor Data" folder. This folder can be different depending on where you got the game or what system you have. I am assuming you know where this folder is. If not, check other sources on where you can locate it for your setup.

Also, it is better to have the checkbox "add players to playable teams" checked. Otherwise you may end up with a lot of greyed-out non-database players.

Testing

all rules files have been tested by me in the editor and in the actual game (unemployed mode)
of course, it is possible that there are issues and mistakes in the rule files. If you find an issue, you can contact me by E-Mail.

Available rule files:

Afghanistan
[1] Afghanistan Champions League

Australia
[1] ISUZU A-League
[2] National Premier leagues (ADDED)
  [2.1] NPL ACT (ADDED)
  [2.2] NPL New South Wales (ADDED)
  [2.3] NPL North New South Wales (ADDED)
  [2.4] NPL Queensland (ADDED)
  [2.5] NPL Victoria (ADDED)
  [2.6] NPL Southern Australia (ADDED)
  [2.7] NPL Western Australia (ADDED)
  [2.8] NPL Tasmania (ADDED)
[Cup] Australian Championship (ADDED)
[Cup] Australia Cup
[Cup] Capital Football Federation Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] Waratah Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] NNSWF State Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] FSA State Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] Football West State Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] Dockerty Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] Queensland Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] Milan Lakoseljac Cup (ADDED)

• Schedule of NPL leagues and Australian Cup was adjusted to fit the August to July schedule of the A-League - so it does not accurately match real life
• Australian Championship is a cup which is played among the 8 founding teams and the 8 NPL winners after the NPL season
• Australian Cup was changed to get the 22 qualified teams from the State/Federation Cups

Bahrain
[1] Bahrain Premier League
[2] Bahrain Second Division
[Cup] King's Cup
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Khalid Bin Hamad Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Bangladesh
[1] Bangladeshi Premier League
[2] Bangladeshi Champions League
[Cup] Federation Cup
[Cup] Independence Cup

Bhutan
[1] Bhutan Premier League

• The Bhutan Premier League has a qualifier tournament with 6 teams. I have set the schedule so that the qualifiers take place after the league, and the winners remain in the league and the losers relegate.

Brunei Darussalam
[1] Brunei Super League
[Cup] FA Cup

Cambodia
[1] Cambodian Premier League
[Cup] Hun Sen Cup
[Cup] League cup
[Cup] Super Cup

China
[1] Chinese Super League
[2] Chinese First Division
[3] Chinese Second Division (ADDED)
  [3.1] Northern Group (ADDED)
  [3.2] Southern Group (ADDED)
[Cup] Chinese FA Cup
[Cup] Super Cup
[Yth] Chinese U21
[Yth] Chinese U19
[Yth] Chinese U19 FA Cup

Chinese Taipei
[1] Chinese Taipei Premier League
[2] Chinese Taipei Second Division

Guam
[1] G-League

Hong Kong
[1] Hong Kong Premier League
[2] Hong Kong First Division (ADDED)
[3] Hong Kong Second Division (ADDED)
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Senior Challenge Shield
[Cup] Sapling Cup
[Cup] Hong Kong-Canton Interport Cup
[Yth] U18s League

• corrected prize money of FA Cup

India
[1] Indian Super League
[2] I-League
[3] I-League 2
[Cup] Indian Super League Cup
[Cup] Durand Cup
[Cup] AIFF Super Cup

• This replaces the original Indian leagues from SI completely, because there was no Super League
• Teams in I-League changes from 11 to 13 after 1 season
• Teams in I-League 2 changes from 11 to 12 after 1 season
• 2 (slightly random) teams are picked from I-League 3 to start in the first season of I-League 2 - since it's currently unknown who qualifies in real life

Indonesia
[1] Indonesian Super League
[2] Indonesian Championship
[3] Liga Nusantara(ADDED)

• Indonesian Cup was removed since it is no longer played.
• Format and foreigner rules of Championship was corrected
• Subsitution Rules changed to "5 from 12"

Iran
[1] Persian Gulf Pro League
[2] Azadegan League
[3] Iranian League 2
  [3.1] Group A
  [3.2] Group B
[Cup] Hafzi Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

• Super Cup is not played if a team wins both the top league and the Hafzi Cup

Iraq
[1] Iraqi Stars League
[2] Iraqi Premier Division
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Japan
[1] J League 1
[2] J League 2
[3] J League 3
[4] Japan Football League (ADDED)
[Cup] JFA Emperor's Cup
  [Cup.*] 47 Prefectural Qualifiers for the Emperor Cup (ADDED)
[Cup] JFA League Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

• JFA Emperor's Cup was modified to take the qualifiers from the 47 prefectural tournaments instead of random teams
• IMPORTANT! > For optimal experience, please following file, otherwise the Prefectural Qualifiers will not have enough teams and some will never start:
  [Football Manager 26 Installation Folder]\shared\data\database\db\2600\dbc\permanent\1_japan_removed_clubs.dbc
  

Jordan
[1] Jordanian Professional League
[2] Jordanian First Division
[Cup] Jordan Cup
[Cup] Jordan Shield Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

• Jordan Super Cup expands to 4 teams in 2026

Korea DPR
[1] DPR Premier Football League
[Cup] Hwaebul Cup

• There is not enough information available to accurately create the rules. So, some free interpretations were added to make it work.

Korea Republic
[1] K1 League
[2] K2 League
[3] K3 League (ADDED)
[4] K4 League (ADDED)
[Cup] FA Cup
[Yth] U18 League

• Reserve League was removed as it is no longer played, and some reserve teams joined K4
• Teams in K2 League changes from 14 to 16 teams after 1 season
• Teams in K3 League changes from 15 to 14 teams after 1 season
• Teams in K4 League changes from 11 to 10 teams after 1 season
• Promotion between K2 and K3 as well as K4 and K5 starts regularly from 2027 season onwards

Kuwait
[1] Kuwait Premier League
[2] Kuwait Division One
[Cup] Amir Cup
[Cup] Crown Prince Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Kyrgyz Republic
[1] Kyrgyzstani Premier League
[2] Kyrgyzstani National League
  [2.1] Group A
  [2.2] Group B
[Cup] Kyrgyzstani Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Laos
[1] Lao League 1
[Cup] Prime Minister's Cup

• there are 3 different possibilities how teams can register foreign players, but this is impossible to map into the game, so I opted for the most common/logical one: up to 10 asian players are allowed in the squad

Lebanon
[1] Lebanese Premier League
[2] Lebanese Second Division
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Federation Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Macau
[1] Macanese First Division
[2] Macanese Second Division
[Cup] Macau FA Cup

Malaysia
[1] Malaysian Super League
[2] Malaysian A1 Semi-Pro League
[3] Malaysian A2 Amateur League (ADDED)
  [3.1] North (ADDED)
  [3.2] East Coast (ADDED)
  [3.3] Central (ADDED)
  [3.4] South (ADDED)
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Malaysian Cup
[Cup] Challenge Cup
[Cup] Charity Cup

• Foreigner rules of Super League corrected

Maldives
[1] Dhivehi Premier League
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] Charity Shield

Mongolia
[1] Mongolian National Premier League
[Cup] Mongolian Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Myanmar
[1] Myanmar National League
[Cup] Myanmar National League Cup

Nepal
[1] Nepali A-League
[2] Nepali B-League
[Oth] Nepal Super League

• The Nepal Super League runs as other division in the game. You cannot manage any of the teams

Northern Mariana Islands
[1] Northern Mariana Division A

Oman
[1] Omani Professional League
[Cup] Sultan Qaboos Cup
[Cup] Omani Professional League Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Pakistan
[1] Pakistani Premier League

• There has been no premier league football in Pakistan since 2021. Rules are based on 2021 season with current 10 teams in the database.

Palestine
[1] Palestine Premier Leagues
  [1.1] West Bank Premier League
  [1.2] Gaza Strip Premier League
[Cup] Yasser Arafat Cup

• There has been no football competitions in Palestine since 2023. Rules are based on 2023 season with the current teams in the database

Philippines
[1] Philippines Football League
[Cup] Philippines Football League Cup

Qatar
[1] Qatar Stars League
[2] Qatar Second Division
[Cup] Amir of Qatar Cup
[Cup] Qatar Cup
[Cup] Qatar Stars Cup

Saudi Arabia
[1] Saudi Professional League
[2] Saudi First Division
[3] Saudi Second Division
  [3.1] Group A
  [3.2] Group B
[4] Saudi Third Division
  [4.1] Group A
  [4.2] Group B
  [4.3] Group C
  [4.4] Group D
[Cup] Kings Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Singapore
[1] Singaporian Premier League
[2] Football League Division One (ADDED)
[3] Football League Division Two (ADDED)
[Cup] Singapore Cup
[Cup] Community Shield
[Rsv] Singaporian Premier League 2

• No promotion/relegation between Premier League and Division One
• Schedule of Division One and Two was moved to July-November to match the Season Update Day of the Premier League

Sri Lanka
[1] Sri Lankan Super League

Syria
[1] Syrian Premier League
[Cup] Syrian Cup

Tajikistan
[1] Tajikistan High League
[2] Tajikistan First Division
[Cup] Tajikistan Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Thailand
[1] Thai League 1
[2] Thai League 2
[3] Thai League 3
  [3.1] North
  [3.2] Central
  [3.3] Northeast
  [3.4] East
  [3.5] West
  [3.6] South
[Cup] FA Cup
[Cup] League Cup
[Cup] League 3 Cup
[Cup] Champions Cup

Timor-Leste
[1] East Timorese Premier League
[2] East Timorese 2nd Division
[Cup] Taca 12 de Novembro

Turkmenistan
[1] Turkmenistan High League
[Cup] Turkmenistan Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

United Arab Emirates
[1] ADNOC Pro League
[2] UAE First Division (ADDED)
[3] UAE Second Division (ADDED)
[4] UAE Third Division (ADDED)
[Cup] UAE President's Cup
[Cup] ADIB Cup
[Cup] Emaar Super Cup

• UAE Cup was renamed to UAE President's Cup and corrected qualification mistake

Uzbekistan
[1] Uzbekistan Super League
[2] Uzbekistan Pro League
[3] Uzbek Birinchi League
  [3.1] West
  [3.2] Centre
  [3.3] East
[Cup] Uzbek Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

Vietnam
[1] V.League 1
[2] V.League 2
[3] Vietnamese Second Division
  [3.1] Group A
  [3.2] Group B
[Cup] National Cup
[Cup] Super Cup

• V.League 2 changes from 12 to 14 teams after 1 season

Yemen
[1] Yemeni Football League

• There has been no football leagues in Yemen since 2023. Rules are based on 2023 season with the current teams in the database

AFC Continental Competitions
[Cup] AFC Champions League Elite
[Cup] AFC Champions League Two
[Cup] AFC Challenge League
[Cup] South East Asian Club Championship (ADDED)

• I have recreated the AFC Club Competitions because the in-game versions had multiple issues. Here is a list of what my version (should) fix:
  
  • Preliminary Round of ACLE for more than 4 teams fixed according to real rules (in-game version had losers advance to next round instead of winners)
  • East and West teams are in correct groups (in-game version had them mixed)
  • ACLE League Phase teams from same nation do not play eachother (in-game version did not care about this)
  • Round of 16 in ACLE now in correct format (in-game version did not seperate east and west)
  • KO Round in ACL2 now in correct format (in-game version did not seperate east and west)
  • KO Round in ACGL now in correct format (in-game version did not seperate east and west)
  • ACLE Quarter final to final now played in host city (in-game version chose different neutral stadium for each match)
  • Final of ACL2 and ACGL alternates between home stadium of East and West teams every year (in-game version just picked home stadium randomly)
  • Foreigner rules removed and real rules about home-grown players added
  • coefficients fixed (in-game version gave round of 16 teams twice the points, and no points for final participants)
  • Qualified teams from Nepal now picked from A-League (in-game version picked from Super League)
  • maybe more, but I don't remember...
• WARNING: Since this file replaces all the in-game AFC competitions, there is a chance that it may not work well together with other editor files or other in-game competitions (though I must say, the in-game version is a poor implementation). Please be aware of the risk. I have designed the rules so they work with my rule files for each country and I recommend to use that setup. If you wish to use this file together with files from other editors, please do some tests before starting the save to observe the behaviour.
• NOTE: there is a helper competition called "AFC Continental Competitions". This is not a real competition, but only contains stages to seperate east and west and setup the qualified teams for ACLE, ACL2 and ACGL. (I left it visible so that I could analyze it in case of issues).
• NOTE 2: in the Champions League Elite, there is group stages (groups A to F) for seeding the teams and scheduling the matches so that teams from the same nation do not play eachoter. Normally this is a hidden stage, but FM26 has a bug (it's not the only one) that hidden stages are not hidden.. so you will have to live with seeing stages that should be hidden.

Changelog

• v26.1 is released