FC Architect

You are handed a pot of money and one ambition: build a football club that climbs from the bottom of a real European pyramid all the way to the top flight.

FOUND YOUR CLUB
Name it. Name its ground. Design its crest, then design its home, away and third kits. Pick one of seven nations — England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal or the Netherlands — and enter at the lowest fully professional division, where you face the real clubs that actually play there.

THE PYRAMID IS REAL
Every country's promotion and relegation rules are reproduced exactly as published, asymmetries and all: England's four-team play-offs, Germany's 16th-versus-3rd play-off, France's barrage, Italy's Serie B play-outs and 28-club Serie C bracket. Reserve sides hold their league position but can never be promoted — just as in the real game.

THE CUPS TOO
All seven national cups, each to its real format: who enters when, who hosts, one leg or two, extra time or straight to penalties. Your tie is played live or simulated; the rest of the competition plays out around you. Real prize money per round.

PLAY THE MATCH, OR MANAGE IT
Set your formation, mentality and tackling approach, and watch a projected scoreline respond to every change before you commit. Then resolve the match in one tap, or manage it live: a real-time clock, a speed bar, substitutions, and stoppage time that accrues while you are in the menus. Dithering on the touchline costs you, exactly as it should.

A MATCH ENGINE TUNED TO REAL FOOTBALL
The simulation is calibrated against seven seasons of real match data — not just the average scoreline, but the whole spread of results. And every league scores like itself: the Bundesliga outscores La Liga by the margin it really does, and a German second-division match genuinely outscores a Spanish first-division one.

THE MONEY IS REAL TOO
Each division carries real economics: broadcast deals, commercial income and gate receipts from your own stadium, set against wages, travel, matchday and admin costs. Wages eat a bigger share of turnover the further down you are, so the lower leagues structurally lose money and climbing genuinely matters. Losses draw on your personal fortune — and when that runs dry, the club is insolvent and the run is over.

A SQUAD THAT LIVES
Players age, grow toward their potential, and decline. Contracts run down and expire. Injuries, form and morale swing from week to week. Sign, sell and scout to hold a squad together, or watch your best player leave on a free because you were not paying attention.

BUILD THE GROUND
Capacity sets your gate, and it does not grow just because you were promoted. Commission an expansion at real construction costs and wait seasons for the seats to open. Add hospitality, sell the naming rights, upgrade the training facilities. Your stadium is drawn as a plan of the actual ground you have built, tier by tier.

FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE DETAIL
Real, current-season club lists. Real tiebreakers, resolved by each country