Trebor Mahtal had a big decision to make at the start of July 2041 as, having strengthened a promising CS Sfaxien side, he was approached by South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns. So would he show some loyalty or go chasing a more sizeable pay cheque?

The second iteration of the new era of Football Manager is almost upon us, with Football Manager 27 being released on 10 November and a "Launch Preview" - whatever that means - in advance. So now's the time to begin planning who we want to manage in the game and consider any potential adventures we want to embark on throughout the 12 months of the FM27 game cycle.

From humble beginnings in his homeland of Zambia, Trebor Mahtal had risen to top of African football by lifting the CAF Champions League with an exciting Pyramids FC side. However, with consecutive Egyptian league titles also in the bag, it was time to move on for another challenge, so Mahtal resigned on 1 June 2040.

Fresh from winning Africa's most prestigious league title with Egypt's Pyramids FC, most commentators fully expected the typically disloyal Trebor Mahtal to resign from his position. However, after surveying potential roles available in the job market, the Zambian decided to stay in Egypt with the primary target of competing for the African Champions League for the first time.

Unexpected success in Morocco with promoted HUS Agadir had seen Zambian title specialist Trebor Mahtal restore his reputation to Regional, despite possessing elite levels of authority, motivating and people management. With a heavy heart, he stood down as Agadir manager and went in search of his 12th African club.

Trebor Mahtal arguably took a backwards step in his managerial career as a tricky season at semi-pro Nigerien side AS Police saw his reputation drop two bars down to local. And that effectively felt like he'd thrown away 11 years of management in which he'd won 9 trophies, as clubs in the major African nations had zero interest in his services.

With the new football season underway and a first international break incoming, it's about that time to start getting excited about news of a certain football simulation game. However, the world's biggest management simulation has had its thunder stolen by the Early Access launch of Non-League Manager.

Rejections leave Trebor Mahtal concerned about his job prospects and forced him back into the market, and eventually chooses the best of a bad bunch to move to Niger.

Massively underperforming league favourites Génération Foot sacked their manager and Mahtal cheekily threw his hat into the ring, not really expecting a call. However, on 21 June, he was invited for an interview and, 4 days later, the 5-time champions approached the Zambian

After two years in Ghana, Trebor Mahtal wrapped up his time at Asante Kotoko by lifting the club's 32nd league title. Now with a regional reputation and improved attributes, the Zambian manager went in search of his sixth job in management at the end of May 2033.

An exciting first season in Ghana saw Trebor Mahtal lead Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sporting Club to his first continental trophy in the CAF Confederation Cup. Now, the newly crowned greatest Zambian manager of all time was targeting the Ghanaian Premier League after finishing 15 points back from champions Hearts of Oak in 2032.

Two days on from securing his fourth African top-tier title with Benin's Coton FC, Trebor Mahtal was back on the job hunt as he looked to strengthen his managerial reputation. Six years into his career, now in June 2031, Mahtal still only had a Local reputation but a Continental C licence.

A growing reputation for defence-first football was boosted by Trebor Mahtal's Horoya side only conceding 6 goals en route to securing the Guinean title in 2029. Now armed with his Continental C license, Mahtal stood down from his role days before his contract expired, going in search of his fourth job and a new challenge.

Defensive dominance led Trebor Mahtal to two league titles in three seasons as his San Pédro side wrapped up an impressive Ivorian title success. But, on 1 May 2028, Mahtal handed in his notice to resign one month before his contract expired.

rebor Mahtal snapped up the first domestic cup of his career and was a final day decider away from making it two titles in two seasons of football management. But his focus was now fully on leading San Pédro to the Ivorian title in 2027/28.

Trebor Mahtal's managerial career began well as he led Zesco United to the Zambian Super Division in his first season as a Football Manager. With that title in the bag, his time in Zambia was done, so he resigned two days later and went on the hunt for his second job.

This new save, which should see us through to the end of the FM26 lifecycle, takes us on an ambitious mission to win as many league titles across different African nations and win the CAF Champions League.

An unprecedented campaign saw Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil add an unprecedented nine trophies to their burgeoning cabinet in 2037. They not only won consecutive Série A titles for the first time, they also added a sixth successive state title, back-to-back Copa Libertadores, a first Recopa Sudamericana, became world champions at the Club World Cup and won three more trophies en route to lifting the Intercontinental Championship.

Long before playing Football Manager, FIFA, PES and even the likes of Premier Manager 98 and Ultimate Soccer Manager 98, my first football management obsession was a Commodore 64 game called Football Director. I must have been about 8 years old, and thought my friend's parents were really cool because they'd allowed him and his two brothers to have a Commodore 64 in their bedroom.

Thirteen seasons into his tenure at Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil, manager Robinho Lazaró was heralded as the mastermind behind the club's meteoric 20-year rise from non-existence to champions of South America. Lazaró joined in the celebrations across Camaragibe as seemingly the entirety of northeast Brazil took to the city's streets, amid parties that lasted for days.

Just two decades ago, Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil didn't even exist. But now, in December 2036, 20 years on from its foundation, the club was celebrating not only winning its second Brazilian title but also becoming Champions of South America for the first time.

Despite racking up a record points tally in 2035, Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil fell short to Palmeiras in Série A. However, manager Robinho Lazaró was excited for the future as he continued to bring through an array of exciting young talents.

Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil had a solid maiden Série A title defence after a couple of star players displayed a disturbing lack of loyalty. But manager Robinho Lazaró was keen to keep developing a young side for another tilt at glory in 2034.

The streets of Camaragibe were awash with blue and yellow ticker tape and Caipirinha as supporters of Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil celebrated their young stars unexpectedly becoming Champions of Brazil. Just 17 years on from the club being founded, they'd risen through the ranks and claimed a maiden Série A title beyond the final day of the 2033 season.

The rise of Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil continued as they recorded yet another club high finish, coming 2nd only to Flamengo in Brazil's top flight in 2032. And, despite what the bookies continued to believe, manager Robinho Lazaró felt his young stars were ready to compete with Brazil's elite.

Little Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil were the talk of the nation as their young stars secured Copa Libertadores by finishing 6th in just their second season in Série A. Last year's success saw Retrô's share of TV revenue rocket to over £23m, which should transform the club's finances over the next 12 months.

Promotion joy filled the streets of Camaragibe as an exciting young Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil secured top flight football for just the second time in the club's 14-year history in 2030. The club's first foray into top tier football did not go well, as they took 18 games to win a match and finished bottom of Série A despite a late flurry.

After the disappointment of relegation, Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil steadied themselves and secured a Série B playoff spot in 2029. And that was a positive step for a club predicted to suffer back-to-back relegations.

With the new World Cup mode now active on Football Manager 26, we put it to the test to see how the 48 nations performed in World Cup 2026. And we ran 10 simulations to see which nations came out on top.

A chastening season in Brazil's top tier, which they were nowhere near ready for, saw Retrô Football Clube Brasil take a fairly welcome step back down to Série B for the 2029 season. Manager Robinho Lazaró just about survived after relegation, but was fairly offended the board had even considered sacking him after all he'd done for the club.

Retrô Football Clube Brasil were the talk of Brazil as the club only founded in 2016 gained promotion to the country's top tier for the first time in 2027. Most Brazilian football fans had never even heard of this little club in the northeast of the country, but it quickly gained appeal as they discovered its commitment to youth and deliciously stylish football kits.

A young Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil side just about survived in their first season in Série B, and an epic youth intake had fans dreaming of a bright future for the club that was only founded just over a decade ago.

Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil gained promotion to the second tier of Brazilian football for the first time in their short history in their first season under the tutelage of Robinho Lazaró. And the retirement of veteran stars Vágner Love and Fernandinho, several old players being released and a lack of finances saw the manager put his faith in youth.

The fifth iteration of our Wonderkid Factory series see us finally head to the spiritual home of football: Brazil. In this new adventure, we're basing ourselves in the northeast of South America's largest country for a monumental youth-focused challenge.

The streets of Cataluña were once again awash with red and yellow as the heroic young team of Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu paraded the La Liga trophy through the streets of the region. Homegrown stars like newly installed club legend Genar Iglesias, captain Luis Marín and his fellow Spain international Norbert led a wild party as they celebrated with their loving fans, who lifted their former Ultras leader turned manager Oriol Ribas shoulder high through the streets.

Supporters of Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu were in dreamland as, for the second summer in succession, they honoured their footballing heroes with an open-top bus celebration parading the European Cup trophy through the streets of Cataluña. The region was used to decking the streets out in red and yellow as their Catalan heroes Luis Marín, Genar Iglesias, Norbert, Dimitrije Radojicic and Pablo Guerrero led days of riotous celebration.

The people of Cataluña, traditionally accustomed to following the Blaugranes of FC Barcelona, had a new group of heroes as they celebrated the unexpected of Los Quadribarrats. One of their own, Oriol Ribas, had transformed Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu from fourth-tier anonymity to the very elite of the footballing world, as the former Ultras leader turned manager and his team of exciting youngsters became Champions of Europe in 2038.

In just 13 years, former Ultras leader Oriol Ribas had transformed his beloved Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu from fourth tier minnows to European champions. And the key to that success had been plenty of homegrown academy products and an army of exciting young prospects.

Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu recorded yet another highest-ever finish as they came 3rd behind Turf Wars rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2036. And Ultras leader-turned-manager Oriol Ribas was excited about the massive potential at the club.

Unió Esportiva Sant Andre came within a couple of penalty kicks of becoming shock European champions, only to lose out to Turf Wars rivals FC Barcelona in the Champions League Final in 2035. That marked an impressive decade at the helm for former Ultras leader Oriol Ribas, who was preparing to lead the club into a fifth season in LaLiga.

Thespakusatsu Gunma racked up a record four consecutive Japanese titles, taking them to five in total, with a new league record 97 points in 2045. However, it was the end of an era in July as a special homegrown talent, Atsushi Shimizu, departed the club after 13 years to claim a payday in Saudi at the age of 29. And this was likely to be the final season at the club for manager Robaato Rasamu, now 62 and heading into his 21st season at the club.

Nine years ago, Oriol Ribas was the leader of one of Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu's Ultras groups, proudly taking his place leading the chants at Narcís Sala every weekend. Now, he was the even prouder manager of this great club who, unbelievably, had led it to consecutive European trophies in the Conference League and the Europa League.

Thespakusatsu Gunma bagged consecutive Japanese titles and became world champions with a famous 3-0 victory over the mighty FC Barcelona in 2043. That success saw the club rise up the world rankings, becoming the 15th most reputable club in the world - 18 years on from lingering in J3 League mediocrity. Less than a year on from moving into the new Thespakusatsu Gunma Stadium, the club was immediatelyheading back to its former home.

The people of Cataluña showed the rest of the world how to party as they welcomed their team of young superheroes home after leading Sant Andreu to an unexpected Europa Conference League success. Around 30,000 Catalans ripped Turin to shreds before bringing the celebrations back to Barcelona, eclipsing the celebrations of their cross-city glory supporting rivals.

The streets of the Gunma Prefecture witnessed one of the wildest parties this part of Japan had ever seen as the homegrown heroes of Thespakusatsu Gunma paraded the J1 League, AFC Champions League and Emperor's Cup trophies.

Our fourth iteration of the Wonderkid Factory may well be our best yet as, 17 years into Wonderkid Factory IV, our homegrown Thespakusatsu Gunma squad won a second J1 League title, their first domestic cup and became Champions of Asia in 2042. Furthermore, 12 of the homegrown players are in the current Japan squad.

The meteoric rise of Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu picked up pace as exciting homegrown attackers led them to a massive overperformance, securing European football in their first season in LaLiga. That raised expectations and created a massive challenge for manager Oriol Ribas to manage domestic and continental football.

Supporters of Thespakusatsu Gunma were becoming all too accustomed to the feeling of being second best. They saw their side finish 2nd in J1 League for the fifth time in nine seasons in 2041, which, in fairness, they probably couldn't have dreamed of before manager Robaato Rasamu arrived at the club 16 years ago.