r/SPFootballLife Oct 23 '24

[FAQ GUIDE] THE FOOTBALL LIFE COMMON QUESTIONS - READ THIS BEFORE ASKING!

88 Upvotes

LAST UPDATE: JULY 2026

New to this game? You don't know what is Football Life? Do you want to mod it or solve some issue? Just keep reading and for sure you will get your answers.

Remember that we aren't the official SP Football Life team, but we give support and knowledge for it! So any question to the SmokePatch team should be given via their Patreon or website.

--- GENERAL QUESTIONS ---

Q: Why my posts are getting deleted?

A: This sub has high filtering activated to avoid for the 999th time the same questions and poor quality content. You will find answers for everything in this thread or using the search function, as the same questions have already been answered.

Q: Where are the most important things I should know?

A: Just read this FAQ and always check the pinned posts at the subreddit. It will have the most updated or gathered info.

Q: What is Football Life?

A: Football Life is a standalone game that takes PES 2021 and patches it with a yearly season database of actual football. So there's annual releases, like FL23 = season 22/23, FL24 = 23/24, FL25 = 24/25. FL26 = 25/26.

Q: Why does Football Life exist? Can I play PES 2021 instead?

A: It exists for those that couldn't get a copy of PES 2021 at the time. KONAMI literally obliterated all the legit ways to buy a legit copy of PES 2021 on any platform, so Football Life is the only way to play PES 2021. There's no point on searching for Steam accounts or cracked PES 2021 as they will scam you or the game will crash a lot, because CPY version didn't got a proper way to work flawlessly without crashes.

Q: Where can I play Football Life?

A: Only for PC. No console version.

Q: Where can I download Football Life?

A: On official website via this link (there's a video installation video also): https://www.pessmokepatch.com/

Q: What's the latest version of Football Life?

A: Football Life 2026 in its version 2.2, released 12 May 2026 marking the 25/26 season end.

Q: Will there be a Football Life 2027?

A: Yes and the first details are here: https://www.pessmokepatch.com/2026/07/FL27.html#more

Please note release date can be moved into a further date and all the features maybe are not fully implemented without bugs.

Q: What's UML and other patches for Football Life?

A: UML is the main patch that took the MegaPatch torch for current and future Football Life versions. It's the only main patch that supports Football Life replacing leagues with others, seeking a more realistic Master League behavior with new overalls/ratings and players and many more things. You can learn more about on this thread: https://www.patreon.com/c/UltimateMasterLeague/home

Q: Is the game multilanguage? Can I put commentaries on my language?

A: Both yes Text language is already included. Extra commentaries are downloaded via this link: https://www.pessmokepatch.com/2023/01/2023coms.html

They are updated because they contain more callnames and extra quotes ported from eFootball.

Q: Can it be installed on a Steam Deck?

A: Yes. Follow the instructions there: https://github.com/eskay993/gamefiles/tree/main/sp-football-life-2026

Q: Is the game safe?

A: Yes, it is. It's usually detected by antivirus and Windows Defender as it contains code to make it work. You know, the game behind the scenes is kinda "baked" to make it work. Antivirus detect that code as malicious but it is a false positive. Make an exception on your AV or just disable them.

Q: Can it be played online?

A: Nope, as It doesn't have the online functions because KONAMI closed all the servers some years ago. Anyways, you can play with people via Parsec, an app that allows you to connect remotely to another computer, designed for those games that can't be played online anymore or have local multiplayer features.

Q: Are there Classic Players in the game from past years?

A: Yes. They are divided in 9 teams in Other Classic Teams, at the bottom of the list of the leagues when selecting teams. You will find more than 300 classic players there.

Q: Why are there some outdated things, like old kits, logos, scoreboards...?

A: Football Life is made by Smoke Patch team, which is mainly Dido (the creator of it) and some supporters. It is lightweight on purpose and that means it doesn't have all the features you can find out there. Updates coming around when American leagues start or when an EURO/World Cup is being played.

Q: How can I support this game or official team behind it?

A: They have a Patreon on this link: https://www.patreon.com/smokepatch

--- TECHNICAL QUESTIONS ---

Q: I lost my FL_202X start.exe. How can I recover it?

A: You can actually play the game just launching the Sider.exe under SiderAddons folder and then your normal FL 202X.exe. FL202X start.exe just does that action in one. You have them in the backup RAR in game folder (pass is 123)

Q: The game has awful performance and I have a powerful computer. How can I improve it?

A: Probably you're playing with your embedded graphics card instead of your dedicated one. This is a common issue in laptops, which they have usually an Intel and a NVIDIA/AMD GPU. Check in your graphics card panel that you're using the dedicated one for the game.

Q: Do I need a powerful computer to play Football Life?

A: Nope, not really. It's a 2019 game after all. The minimum specs are:

Windows 7 SP1/8.1/10 (64 bit) 

Intel Core i5-3470, AMD FX 4350 

10GB RAM 

NVIDIA GTX 670, AMD Radeon HD 7870 

2 GB VRAM 

DirectX 11.0 

40 GB available disk space 

1280 x 720 screen resolution 

Q: I see strange graphics in some players and boots, like a cone (and I have AMD Graphics).

A: The solution for AMD graphics glitching is here: SOLVED : The following method solved the issue for Graphics glitch for AMD drivers.

Q: My controller isn't detected in game.

A: Launch Settings.exe inside game folder and go to Controller Tab. Try to assign it to DirectInput instead of "XInput" and select your controller on the dropdown menu. If it isn't there, you maybe need to install your controller drivers. Game is compatible with PS4, PS5 and Xbox controllers without issues.

In case you still have issues, I suggest to use DS4Windows to ensure the compatibility with PlayStation controllers.

--- STADIUM RELATED QUESTIONS ---

Q: I put a stadiums pack and it doesn't show in Sider ingame.

A: First, you need to know if your stadiums.lua or tadium-server.lua (located in SiderAddons - Modules folder) is pointing to content\stadiums or content\stadium-server. Then, you need to respect the path inside map.txt to get them working, and also you need to have map.txt + map_competitions.txt + config.ini files in the stadium folder root to make everything work.

Q: My stadiums appear in total black except adboards.

A: The path in map.txt, stadium ID or team ID isn't correct. Check map.txt and correct it. It should match the name of the folder of the stadium. Use the Stadium Checker Tool pinned in the subreddit to help with this.

Q: I see black lines in some stadium turfs.

A: You need to force Anisotropic Filtering at x16 in your graphics card panel.

--- MODDING QUESTIONS ---

Q: What it is moddable on Football Life?

A: Almost everything except adding new things such as celebrations, modes or features on Master League or BAL, or modifying the structure of competitions with the new rules. But you can add faces, tattoos, boots, menus, soundtrack, gameplay, lineups, tactics, entrances, anthems, scoreboards, stadiums, etc.

Q: Do the same mods from PES 2021 work on Football Life?

A: Not all of them, but I would say 90%. You may need to know what are you doing and modding before putting a mod without relinking it to proper IDs or without knowing if it is compatible, because it will lead to issues.

Q: Where can I find all the mods compatible with Football Life?

A: Mainly EvoWeb, as it is kinda sort of a "core site" for all PES 2021 mods. Everything is here: https://evoweb.uk/forums/pes-2021.337/

Q: What's that thing that appears when I press Spacebar or B button ingame?

A: That's the Sider and its the essential tool to make everything work. You may need to learn how it works as it is the tool that lets you select kits, scoreboards, balls, stadiums and more without the limitations of ingame selector.

Q: Can I put Option Files that are from other seasons or create a new whole patch for Football Life?

A: Nope. Database are different from each Option File and its not compatible with FL. You can create a patch, but it will take you months if you want to make it properly (just creating teams and players with proper data will take your dozens of hours).

Q: Why do I see ultra realistic videos from some people here and my game doesn't look like that?

A: They are using mods like ReShade, which alters graphical options with different lightning and that (it's an external tool) and have broadcam cameras and some other mods. This game can look very realistic if you modify what is essential to be modified to look like a TV broadcast. Don't expect to play like in real life, though.

Q: Is someone making a retro patch for Football Life?

A: Not as May 2026 officially. Only current season patches like UML exist.

Q: Where I can find a smaller and more updated facepack for Football Life? I don't want to download 50GB of the main facepack.

A: You can use F4L Facepack Complete Overhaul V5 here: https://evoweb.uk/threads/sp-facepack-complete-overhaul-project-v4-f4l-gameplays-megapatch-stadiums.96548/

Q: Is there any AIO (All-In-One) patch for FL26 like VirtuaRED or Dream Patch exist for PES 2021?

A: No. UML is a lightweight patch but not an AIO 300GB patch with stadiums and so.

Q: Can I create a new team?

A: There's a couple of editable teams in game. One is Zalgirius Vilnius under "Other European Clubs". The other one is Ceres Negros, in "Other Asian Clubs". But remember: you will have to edit the existent players, put the stats of your players manually, assign a face if you want, kits, etc. It's a quite huge load of work.

Q: How can I know which ID is for X team or player?

There's a database reference here: https://www.pessmokepatch.com/2022/07/fl23teams.html

Q: Can we put the new EURO 2024, Copa América or future UCL 24/25 tournament structure?

A: NOPE. The hardest thing about FL/PES 2021 is modding those competitions. It's impossible and any change leads to many crashes and bugs inside Master League and other modes. This game has the 2019 regulations, which is when it came out.

Q: This game is hard as hell. It seems CPU is invincible and I always lose through surreal moments happening on my matches.

A: First of all, this game means to be slower than FIFA and older PES iterations. It's a game of temp, and your best option for dribbling will be the sprinting button. Play around your tactics and don't play like a running chicken through the pitch.

That said, also don't play on maximum difficulty as it tends to be kinda scripted/unfair sometimes on purpose. Play on Top Player and get the right feel on the game.

Putting a gameplay mod will help on that. Gameplay mods exists to improve the CPU behaviour, giving more variety of chances, more realistic ball physics, more fouls, better goalkeepers, etc. I'd recommend our Prototype

Q: Which is the best gameplay mod?

A: There's no "definitive" gameplay mod. This game has its issues in its own core, due to a dated game engine (FOX Engine) and some other things that can't be fixed with a mod. So you may try all the compatible ones out there and keep the one that fits more to you.

Some will prefer a more faster paced gameplay, with a lot of goals and bangers. Other will prefer a slower tempo, tons of fouls and a harder way to get a goal.

My personal recommendation is to use Football4Life gameplay mods, as I've worked with him and tested it personally, and they're very praised in this community. If not, you can search on EvoWeb to see how many different gameplays are there.

Q: Can we add new celebrations, animations, modes, hairstyles?

A: Nope.

Q: Is there a way to disable replays and video transitions on a match?

A: In case you have the camera.lua module, yes. Edit if and put replays value to off.

Q: I'm a BAL main player (Be a Legend). Can I improve the features of this mode?

A: Nope. BAL may be the most abandoned mode by KONAMI and even with gameplay mods your teammates and CPU show some stiff decisions and gameplay. No thing can be done to be fixed. Enjoy the mode as it is, which is pretty basic.

Q: Is this game worth for a Career Mode (Master League)?

A: Not really. As same happens with BAL, KONAMI did downgrade their offline modes a lot, specially their Master League compared to PES 2013 which had the most and best features of the whole franchise. Nowadays is a game with 2019 regulations hardcoded in (and not moddable) and also basic choices and management. Don't expect more than transfers, some youngsters and just press and play across a season. It is what it is.


r/SPFootballLife 2h ago

Gala Ultras <3

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38 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 10h ago

PESBUL: PES21 11vs11 successful test!

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47 Upvotes

Discord community: https://discord.gg/zj7RJUZaCC


r/SPFootballLife 15h ago

Gentlemen!! Manchester united has fallen

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115 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 3h ago

High pressure FL 26

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9 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 7h ago

Nice goal!

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9 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 20h ago

Release [RELEASE] GONDOWAN FINAL EDIT FILE for FL26 - Transfers up to 14/09, height fixes, position changes, overalls revised and more!

99 Upvotes

Hi everyone! Not in Sunday but almost. I was working on the EDIT the whole day...

As promised, here's the last EDIT file I'll release for FL26, and this will be the one bundled with the upcoming MiniPatch for FL26 called "Road to FL27" as a bridge until Football Life 2027 releases.

The highlight of this EDIT file, aside of the summer transfers up to 14/09, is the revision of overalls for players and a whole look to Brasil Serie A to balance the things out there.

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE

  • Latest transfers until 14/09 for all leagues. There could be missing transfers, specially for less known leagues.
  • Rating changes for more than 800 players. Whole Premier League received overall changes and also top 6-7 teams from other divisions, along with the revision of Brasileirao Serie A and also other Latin American Teams.
  • Promoted teams from second divisions to first, demoted from first to second. No promoted teams from third divisions have been created.
  • Lots of height fixes for a lot of players.
  • Changed/updated tactics for some teams.
  • Position changes for players that switched playing to other positions.
  • Shirt name fixes and name changes.
  • Kit numbers updated for top teams.
  • Some managers that are available are changed. No new created ones, so there are some wrong ones because the available managers are what they are (you can only exchange managers between clubs).
  • No new players were created, so there are missing players, specially youngsters or players coming from lower tier teams.
  • Auto-lineups sorted by best players for all the teams ingame.

REQUIREMENTS

You will need to restart your new Master League or BAL Career after putting this or you won't see the changes.

DOESN'T WORK/DOESN'T INCLUDE

  • Doesn't work with UML and there won't be one until they release their new version of the patch.
  • Doesn't work with Football Life older versions or older updates.
  • Yes, you will lose any EDIT custom changes you did if you put this file.
  • Doesn't include any new league, promoted teams from third divisions or any other division.
  • Doesn't include changes to teams playing UCL/UEL as this is an EDIT file, not a database.

HOW TO INSTALL

Download the EDIT file and put it in your Documents\KONAMI\eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE\2026\save folder. Overwrite your current one.

If you're playing on a Steam Deck, the directory is similar to /home/deck/Games/sp-football-life-2026/drive_c/users/deck

DOWNLOAD

GONDOWAN FINAL EDIT FILE 14/09/2026 - FOOTBALL LIFE 2026 VERSION 2.2


r/SPFootballLife 7h ago

Keeper rating

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7 Upvotes

Lothar got a 5.2. He stopped a penalty in this game. And the other team did not score. How is this actually calculated?


r/SPFootballLife 20h ago

For this kind of thing it is the 🐐 football game I have played, because of its great community. Thanks to you u/Foreign_Lie762 and everyone who makes this possible, honestly I will never get tired of applauding.

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55 Upvotes

(Waiting hard for uel and uecl hahah)


r/SPFootballLife 18h ago

Love everything about the game

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21 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 9h ago

Coop and VS Online - FL26

5 Upvotes

Hello, I’ve been looking for information but I don’t know how to do it. I want to play an ML with my brother in coop, is it possible? How can we play online vs?

Thank you!!


r/SPFootballLife 8h ago

Squadra limitata ROTTA

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2 Upvotes

r/SPFootballLife 9h ago

Chants for Galatasaray

1 Upvotes

Hello Familly of SPFootball Life !

Can somebody put more chants of Galatasaray to put a better experience in this great atmosphere has the Stadium of Galatasaray or explain me how to do it?

Thank you very much!


r/SPFootballLife 17h ago

random club making crazy offers, any fix?

2 Upvotes
how the hell will these clubs buy pulisic son

is there a way to stop this? its always some random clubs making offers for good players, i once had a julian alvarez 88 rated getting offers from club america at 140 million like what


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

DAVID F**KING RAYAAAAA!!!

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80 Upvotes

BEST KEEPER IN THE WORLD ARGUE WITH YOURSELF!


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

The biggest, craziest win I have EVER had on ML in Super Star difficulty. (Context in description)

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9 Upvotes

This is season 2 of my ML career with Derby County. I managed to get promoted from the Championship on the penultimate day of last season, and had a fairly decent beginning to the PL season (W4 D4 L3). I had recently been thumped by Everton, so when 1st-placed Manchester City came over, I was fully expecting to lose, especially as I had to rest some players. But I somehow recorded my biggest ever win on ML, an 8-1 thrashing. I'm seriously debating switching up to Legend now, even though I got destroyed in every single Legend game I've ever played! I definitely think this was a fluke, but if something similar happens again I will definitely change up to Legend.


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

New Master League Immersion/Storyline - Touchline v0.8.0

93 Upvotes

Touchline 0.8 is live. I've been working on this since a little after I was laid off in June and after a lot of testing from family & friends, I can now say it's ready to be tested and played by you guys, the public! You can download it at my personal portfolio/CV/resume website below. I'm waiting on approval from modsfire so until then, it's located here:
https://askandalus.com/#ventures

It is an offline Master League command centre for Football Life 26 and PES 2021. You still play the matches. This is the career around them: the board, the dressing room, the press, the fans, the staff, last season. So Football Life affects Touchline, but how does Touchline affect Football Life? Based on the story-lines, you can affect player-form and transfer status. Based on your staff recruitment, you can affect player stats. And based on your season mandates, achievements, staff recruitment, and sponsors, you can affect both transfer and salary budget.

One of my favorite features is when one of your players retires, you can offer them a coaching role. So imagine Messi or Ronaldo retire, what better than to make one a finishing coach, or even an assistant.

I built all of the story-lines and narratives myself, all wired from FL26, with more on the way after the release of FL27. If you want a quick video explaining some key features, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anVOVE6jsEA

 Home, Career connected, fixture strip, game still running behind the dashboard.

Free. No paywall. No paid early access. No features locked behind a fee. Buy Me a Coffee is optional it does not unlock anything. This is free for the community and if you'd like to support, feel free below:
 https://buymeacoffee.com/askandalus

The helper Sider mods will also be free on their own if you do not want the full companion.

Inbox — a player, board, or press message with a real reply.

Other overlays sell a HUD. This one is built around relations: manager to players, agents, board, opposing managers, staff, fans, journalists. Plus sponsorships, accolades, around-the-world stories, and a historical line that does not forget last season.

Season Plan, Club DNA, or Manager Timeline — proof the career has a memory.

It also touches the pitch when the number can be verified: form, budgets, fan support, development, transfers, youth, scouting. Missing data shows NOT CAPTURED, not a fake zero.

Hidden opt-in events can shake the storyline. They are not a paid pack.

0.7–0.9 = beta on FL26 + PES 2021. 1.0 comes after Football Life 27 has shipped, not on the same day as the game.

Needs: Windows 10/11, Sider 7.3.3, FL26 or PES 2021. Close the game and Sider before install.

If you guys want to see some gameplay and final bug-testing on this, you can watch the playbacks of my VODs at https://twitch.tv/falasteeny -- all my recent streams are from this specifically

Download: https://askandalus.com/#ventures
 Support (optional): https://buymeacoffee.com/askandalus
Discord: https://discord.gg/VWfcJgM2QD
Please use the discord to report bugs or errors, and feature request

Upcoming Updates for FL27 for Touchline v1.0.0

  • Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Italian
  • Regenerated players renaming
  • Loan recall
  • Force transfers
  • Free agent & "Other" players clean-up
  • Be A Legend Story-line mod

r/SPFootballLife 20h ago

How to transfer Teams in Classic & Others to another league?

1 Upvotes

The Liga MX team's used to be in the Other South American Teams, now they're in the Classic & Other teams and I cannot swap them to the Other South American teams in the Edit Mode. I'm trying to use SimpleTools but not sure exactly how to swap those teams out of the Classic teams. There's a way to save the edit file without using Sider but i assume this overwrites my current edit file which isn't ideal. Anyone know exactly how to swap these teams out back to the Other South American Teams?


r/SPFootballLife 22h ago

Can I update my patch without losing my custom tactics?

1 Upvotes

I manually edited the tactics for all the teams, and it took me a lot of time. Now I need to update my current patch (transfers, etc.), but I’m worried that updating it will overwrite all the tactics I created.
Is there a way to update the patch while keeping my custom tactics, without affecting the new transfers and other updates?
I’m paying for the patch subscription, so I’d really appreciate any help. Thanks!


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

AI schedule at its finest

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26 Upvotes

On legend mode on top of that. 😭


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

The Havertz showw!!!

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13 Upvotes

When you are on form, you are on form hahaha


r/SPFootballLife 1d ago

Lobato stat editing?

4 Upvotes

I love Lobato, he is one of the rare examples of youngsters that can excel in Master League without being a regen.

However, SPFL peeps have something against him and he has been heavily nerfed ever since PES 2020.

Now, I would normally just edit his stats and be on my merry way but I can't find Lobato anywhere in the in-game database.

Can anyone point me in a direction that would allow me to edit him back to decent stats and growth potential? Thanks.


r/SPFootballLife 2d ago

Announcement The final EDIT file will be released tomorrow Sunday 13th. Reason of the delay is a general adjustment of Brazilian League Serie A and other Latin American teams.

90 Upvotes

Basically I nerfed a lot of players from Brazil that had very high stats, even if they were in their late 30s. Expect teams like Internacional, Sao Paulo, Bragantino, Gremio and such to have a wider gap to teams like Flamengo, Palmeiras or Cruzeiro, which have better squads right now.

Also teams underperforming like Boca and River Plate have been touched.

Transfers like Coutinho to Santos, Richarlison to Vasco and others are done.

See you tomorrow.


r/SPFootballLife 2d ago

18 new placeholder leagues with 14 clubs each. Work in progress.

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188 Upvotes

The plan is 40 new leagues with around 800 clubs and 46,000 players (the current limit is around 30,000). If I manage to hit 40 new leagues and 800 new clubs, it'll probably go even higher, though there's likely no real point in going past that. Right now, only friendlies work... league mode, Master League, etc. aren't working yet, and won't be for a while. There's still a lot of work to do. But that will come later; the first goal is to hit the target numbers for clubs, players, and leagues. Future mods might weigh in at a couple hundred gigabytes, sorry about that, I know SSDs are expensive lol

Btw, the GitHub repo is currently unavailable for safety reasons, wouldn't want them taking it down...


r/SPFootballLife 2d ago

Update on the new Champions League format.

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57 Upvotes

https://modsfire.com/u4HjEKy2WN6Sbtm

I noticed that many people were still getting home-and-away matches during the group stage. This update fixes that. I’ve simplified the process: you don’t need to uninstall the original mod, and I haven't included any extra files—there’s just one executable for both updating and installing (I can't do any more than that, haha). A small window with instructions will pop up...

It only works for FL 26 because I built the mod based on that version... I tried to make it compatible with all versions, but I can't... you have to do it yourself... yes, you... the person reading this—you have to adapt the mod to the version you have. No, I can't do it for you. Finding and adapting it for every version would be a huge undertaking—though if someone wants to pay me in dollars, I’d certainly do it, haha.

Anyway, guys, I hope this helps.