Rules

Fullmanualleague (FML) is a competitive EA Sports FC league focused on Full Manual gameplay, competitive integrity, realism, long-term club management, and community-driven competition. The league prioritizes competitive fairness, long-term club building, realistic squad management, tactical gameplay, transparent administration, and respectful competition.

Club means the organizational entity controlled by a manager. First Team is the primary senior squad. U21 Team is the secondary development squad. Team means either First Team or U21 Team unless specified. Board means league administrators and officials. Market Value is the current publicly recognized value used by the league. Internal Transfer is between FML clubs. External Transfer involves players outside FML. Promotion means movement from U21 Team to First Team. Cooling Time is a restricted period connected to real-world transfer developments. Playable XI means eleven active EA Sports FC players eligible for the match and not suspended or injured.

The Board has final authority regarding rule interpretation, dispute resolution, transfer validation, disciplinary actions, exploit investigations, and exceptional circumstances. Board decisions should prioritize competitive integrity and league stability. The Board consists of voting board members and may include non-voting supervisors or officials. Supervisors may assist with administration, evidence review and rule application without holding voting authority unless separately approved.

The Board may update, modify, clarify, or remove rules when necessary for league stability, balance, technical compatibility, or competitive integrity. Major changes should be communicated publicly before taking effect whenever reasonably possible.

A club may contain one First Team and one U21 Team. Both teams belong to the same club organization.

A First Team must contain exactly 19 players. Additionally, one dedicated 20th squad slot may be used for an eligible U21 promotion or an approved external loan player. The dedicated 20th slot exists outside the normal 19-player limit.

U21 Teams must comply with all applicable squad registration and eligibility rules established by the league. The Board may enforce minimum and maximum roster requirements when necessary.

A club must always maintain a Playable XI: eleven active EA Sports FC players who are eligible for the specific competition match and are not suspended or injured. Player positions do not affect Playable XI eligibility. If a player no longer exists in the current EA Sports FC game database, the player is unavailable.

Only registered and eligible players may participate in official matches. Managers are responsible for ensuring squad legality before each match.

Managers may suggest a club name, nicknames and three-letter codes when a new club is created. The Board may approve, reject or adjust names and codes that are already in use, offensive, confusing or unsuitable for the league. If no suitable code is suggested, the Board may assign one. U21 teams normally use a related code, often with the final letter identifying the U21 side.

A normal team structure requires two goalkeeper roles: Goalkeeper 1 and Goalkeeper 2. When a new goalkeeper is registered into one of those roles, the previous goalkeeper in that role must be moved, swapped or transferred according to the approved transfer package.

Only players available in the current EA Sports FC game database are considered active players.

Players removed from the active EA Sports FC database are considered retired or inactive unless otherwise approved by the Board. Retired players may remain in league historical records.

A player may only belong to one FML club at a time. Duplicate ownership is prohibited.

Player market values are determined using league-approved value sources. The Board may manually correct, reject, or validate values when necessary.

First Team players must be at least 17 years old. U21 Team players must be at least 14 years old. A U21 player who has turned 22 must leave the U21 team at the end of the calendar year unless the Board has approved a specific exception.

A team may have at most one player who was not available in the current EA Sports FC/FIFA database at the time the player was brought into the team. The Board may require evidence and may reject unclear player identities.

All clubs are responsible for maintaining legal financial operations within league rules.

Artificial financial manipulation, collusive transfer structures, or intentionally exploitative transactions are prohibited. The Board may reject any transfer or financial action deemed harmful to competitive integrity.

The U21 Team net worth cap is 30.000M. U21 net worth means U21 team market value plus U21 bank account. The U21 bank account may become negative if U21 player market values rise above the cap. If the U21 bank account is negative, each incoming U21 player may cost at most 0.400M until the U21 bank account is no longer negative. The values are configurable by administrators and apply to future validations.

Market value means the league-recognized current Transfermarkt value. Bank balance means money available to the team. Net worth means team market value plus bank balance. Purchase price means the market value or approved price when the player joined the team, except where original value promotion rules apply. Club value combines the First Team net worth with the U21 team market value.

First Team initial bank account is 120M. U21 Team initial bank account is 30M, subject to the U21 net worth cap.

A First Team bank account must not be negative after an approved transfer package. If an exceptional correction creates a negative bank, the balance must be corrected with the next transfer activity. The Board may restrict player use or transfers until the balance is corrected.

Transfers may only occur during officially approved transfer windows unless explicitly authorized by the Board. The standard recurring transfer windows are 07.09.-06.11., 07.11.-06.01., 07.01.-06.03., 07.03.-06.05., 07.05.-06.07. and 07.07.-06.09.

All transfers must be properly registered and approved according to league procedures. A transfer must be announced in the official Transfers and Announcements channel and entered into the FML website within 24 hours. Late website input may result in a 0.5M fine per started 24-hour delay, capped at 5 percent of the team market value. Incomplete or improperly submitted transfers may be rejected.

Internal transfers are transfers between two FML clubs. Internal transfers are exempt from cooling time restrictions.

External transfers involve players entering or leaving the FML ecosystem. All external transfers remain subject to market value and cooling time rules.

Promotions move a player from a club U21 Team to its First Team. Promotions do not count as transfers. A club may make one regular U21-to-First-Team promotion per calendar week.

Once every four months per club, a U21 Team player may be promoted to the First Team using the player original purchase value instead of current market value. The promoted player may not be externally transferred for four months after promotion.

Cooling time applies to relevant real-world transfer situations and market value developments. If a player Transfermarkt value changes on the same day or the next day after a real-world transfer development, the updated value must be used. If no market value update occurs, the cooling time lasts three months from the transfer completion date. Internal FML transfers are exempt. External loans and loan plus option or obligation structures must follow the specific loan and cooling time rules and may not be used to bypass cooling time.

Loan structures may not be used to bypass market value systems, cooling time rules, or purchase restrictions. The Board may reject any loan arrangement considered exploitative.

First Team may make a maximum of six counted external transfers per transfer window. The first four are free. The fifth costs 2M. The sixth costs 3M. Promotions and internal FML transfers do not count against this allowance.

A transfer must be submitted as a complete package. In normal roster moves, the incoming and outgoing player must be included together. Internal transfers must include both parties before review. Promotions must include the required U21 replacement, and any first-team or loan-slot consequences must be connected to the same package.

A newly acquired player must remain with the team for at least 21 days before being sold, released or loaned to another team, unless the Board approves an exception.

Internal FML transfers and special clauses must be made public to the league with all relevant terms. Internal league loans are not part of the current FML system and may not be used. The Board may reject clauses that create unfair benefit, restrict normal competition, prevent a player from playing against a parent club, or otherwise undermine competitive integrity.

A new manager may not make internal FML deals for four months from the manager joining date. The restriction applies to internal transfers, scouting-service arrangements, buyback clauses, option clauses, special clauses and comparable internal deal structures. External market transfers are allowed. The restriction applies to both First Team and U21 Team. If a former manager later starts a new club, the four-month period does not restart. If a U21 Team is created later, that U21 Team has a 14-day internal-deal restriction.

Buyback clauses cannot be activated before a full round robin has been completed. Managers may not use owned-player, scouting-service or similar arrangements to bypass squad, finance or competitive restrictions. The Board may set or enforce numerical limits when needed.

Players bought or moved during a match may not be used in that same match. All transfers affecting a match squad must be submitted and approved before the match begins. If a Transfermarkt value changes on the same day after a late purchase, the Board may require the updated value where the old value would create an unfair advantage.

External loans are permitted according to league rules. Internal league loans are not part of the current FML system. U21 Teams may not loan players.

An external loan player may occupy the dedicated 20th First Team squad slot. Only one player may occupy the dedicated 20th slot at a time. A player in the 20th slot may be moved into a normal First Team squad slot at any time if the squad remains legal. The player may participate normally in official matches.

Loans end automatically at expiry unless renewed while still active. An expired loan player is automatically removed from eligible squad registration. Using an expired loan player is treated as an illegal lineup issue, not as an automatic loan renewal.

External loans last two months. A standard external loan costs 10 percent of the player current market value. If the team wants the loan-start market value to remain available as a purchase option during the loan, the loan fee is 20 percent. The minimum external loan fee is 1M. A team may terminate an external loan at any time, but paid loan fees are not refunded.

A loan renewal must be completed while the loan is still active. Renewal uses the original loan end date as the base date for the next two-month period and applies the league renewal discount. If no renewal is completed, the loan ends automatically. If the player is used after expiry, illegal lineup rules apply.

A club U21 player may be promoted into the First Team loan/20th slot under normal promotion rules. If a U21 player is promoted into the First Team loan/20th slot, the First Team must also contain another player who has played for the club U21 Team. A player promoted into that slot may remain there until the end of the calendar year in which the player turns 24, unless another rule or transfer package moves the player earlier.

FML is strictly Full Manual. Gameplay assistance systems are prohibited. No gameplay assistance exceptions are recognized. Custom gameplay sliders are prohibited.

Official competitions are played using EA Sports FC.

Cheating, exploit abuse, intentional manipulation, or attempts to gain unfair competitive advantage are strictly prohibited.

If a disconnect occurs, the match continuation should replicate the remaining match conditions as accurately as reasonably possible. Late-match disconnects may result in partial replay only. Red cards, injuries, and disciplinary outcomes remain valid.

Official matches must be streamed on Twitch for transparency, entertainment, dispute review, and evidence preservation. Technical failures are treated differently from intentional refusal. YouTube is not an official substitute platform.

For local games, attributes must be set to Classic, injuries on, offsides on, cards on, handball off, and referee strictness default unless the league announces a different official setup.

Official matches must use the approved FML game settings: Full Manual controls, no gameplay aids, Competitive Master Switch on, Tactical Defending, FIFA Trainer hidden, Pass Block Assistance off, Player Lock off, default game speed and co-op camera. Settings marked as personal preference may be adjusted by each player.

Friendlies use eight-minute halves. Official competitive matches use ten-minute halves unless a competition rule states otherwise. League matches and friendlies do not use extra time or penalties. Cup tie-break procedures may use replay or golden-goal rules according to the competition format. If a cup match is tied after regular time and the competition format uses golden goal, a new match is started with home and away sides swapped. The first goal decides the tie. Shirt colours should remain the same as in the previous match where possible.

Required broadcasts should show player ratings, goal scorers, assists and the event log for goals, cards and other relevant events. Missing evidence may limit later correction requests or dispute handling.

A manager may pause and request a rematch during a match if lag or connection quality makes the game unreasonable. A rematch request cannot be made only after the match has ended. If less than 40 minutes have been played before a server error, a new match may be played with previous goals counting. If more than 40 minutes have been played, the Board may require only the remaining half or a partial continuation.

Accidental menu presses, display problems or other personal technical mistakes are normally the responsibility of the affected player. Opponents are encouraged to use fairness and common sense where the interruption is not in an immediate scoring situation, but play is not automatically stopped.

Managers are responsible for keeping EA Sports FC updated before official league, cup, shield and final matches. A preventable failure to update is treated as a manager responsibility issue.

Official FML competitions may include league competitions, cups, finals, super competitions, and seasonal tournaments.

Competitions may maintain independent standings, card records and suspension systems where the rules say so. Injuries are normally cross-competition and count down across all played official matches unless a specific rule states otherwise.

Official competitions may include trophies, medals, historical recognition, and statistical records. Shared trophy and engraving policies are managed centrally by the league.

Apertura and Clausura are normally home-and-away round robin league phases. League positions are determined by points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head games. If a decisive tie remains unresolved, the Board may order a deciding playoff.

Super Final is a two-legged tie between the Apertura winner and the Clausura winner to decide the season champion. The team with more total points from the combined season table starts away. If teams have the same points, the away starter is decided by goal difference, goals for and then head-to-head games. If the same club wins both Apertura and Clausura, that club is crowned season champion directly. If the Super Final is tied, extra game or games are played with golden goal rule; the team with more total points from the combined season table starts the first golden-goal game at home and home team alternates after that. The season winner receives the Iron Trophy for the next season with engraving.

League Cup may be played during Apertura and Clausura. League Cup group stage can use selected league matches. Those matches remain league matches, so cards and suspensions from those games affect league discipline normally. After the League Cup group stage, the League Cup card record is reset for the cup-format knockout phase. League Cup knockout matches, such as semi-finals and finals, are not league matches. Cards and suspensions from League Cup knockout matches apply only within the League Cup knockout phase unless the Board announces otherwise. Group positions are determined by points, goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head games and finally a draw if no sporting separator remains.

Bavaria Cup is the main cup competition for U21 teams. Teams may be drawn into slots. Competition-specific home/away and knockout rules are set by the seasonal format and may differ from league competition rules.

Super Shield is played between the cup winner and the season winner. The season winner is the home team. The winner receives a rotating award until a new champion is crowned, with engraving paid by fullmanualleague.

In League Cup Final, Super Final, promotion/relegation games and comparable decisive matches, a player must have played at least six matches for the team to be eligible. Internally promoted U21 players are exempt if they remained inside the same club during the season and were not sold or removed outside the club.

Apertura, Clausura, cup competitions and finals follow the published seasonal schedule. Managers are expected to keep pace with the calendar and inform the Board early if delays become likely.

Official awards may include season winner, Apertura winner, Clausura winner, Super Shield winner, cup winners, Golden Boot, Assist King, most Player of the Match awards, Manager of the Season, Club of the Season and other awards approved by the Board.

Plus Cup is played between the best two positioned clubs first teams in the fullmanualleague full season table that have not been part of any final games. The home team is the better-positioned team.

Suspended players may not participate in matches affected by the suspension. Managers are responsible for tracking suspension eligibility.

Injuries are administered by league officials. Managers may not self-administer injury rolls. Injury results are final. Injury duration is randomly determined between one and three matches. Injuries are cross-competition unless a specific competition rule states otherwise. An injured player is unavailable for all official matches until the injury has been served.

Using suspended, injured, or otherwise ineligible players is prohibited. The Board may overturn results or apply additional sanctions.

A player first receives a one-match suspension after three yellow cards. After that, each further two yellow cards create another one-match suspension. If a player receives two yellow cards in the same match, the player is dismissed and receives a one-match suspension; the cards still count in the player card record.

A straight red card creates a two-match suspension unless a competition-specific rule or Board ruling changes the sanction. Earlier yellow cards and cards from the same match remain in the player card record.

Suspensions apply to the next eligible scheduled matches or rounds in the relevant competition. If matches are played out of order, the suspension follows the next eligible future round rather than retroactively changing earlier unplayed fixtures. League Cup and cup competitions may have competition-specific handling.

Suspensions do not automatically transfer between all competitions. Bavaria Cup, League Cup knockout matches and other competitions may have their own card and suspension systems. League Cup group matches that are also league fixtures follow league card and suspension handling. League Cup knockout matches have their own card and suspension system. League Cup knockout cards and suspensions do not affect league matches unless the Board specifically rules otherwise. Cards and suspensions stay with the player if the player transfers during the same season and competition.

If a player is injured during a match, the Board or an approved official determines the injury outcome. The standard injury roll is one to six; results one to three create an injury of that many matches. If the injured player is withdrawn immediately at the next game break, only the lowest injury result applies. Injuries count down across played matches and are cleared after the season unless the Board rules otherwise.

Fielding an injured player results in an automatic 0-3 loss unless the real result was a larger loss. The injured player receives three additional injury games, and the Board may apply further sanctions if the violation was intentional or repeated.

Player card records are cleared only for the Super Final and for the next season, unless a competition-specific rule states a separate reset. League Cup group-stage cup records may be reset before the League Cup knockout phase.

Managers are expected to behave respectfully toward opponents, officials, and the community.

Harassment, repeated personal attacks, targeted hostility, or intentionally disruptive behavior are prohibited.

Attempts to gain competitive advantage through manipulation, pressure tactics, or unsporting conduct may result in disciplinary action.

Competitive disagreement is acceptable. Persistent abusive communication is not. The Board may distinguish between emotional competition-related reactions and genuinely harmful behavior.

Managers may agree before a match whether voice communication is used during non-friendly matches. A manager may mute the opponent before the match. Abuse, distraction or persistent hostile communication remains subject to conduct rules.

Violations may result in warnings, fines, transfer restrictions, suspensions, forced reversals, match forfeits, removals from competitions, or permanent bans.

Repeated violations may result in escalated punishment.

The Board may apply exceptional rulings when unforeseen situations are not adequately covered by existing rules. Such rulings should prioritize fairness, consistency, competitive integrity, and league stability.

If a team fields a player who was not eligible for that match or not supposed to be in the team, the match is normally recorded as a 0-3 loss unless the real result was a larger loss. Goals and assists for the offending team may be removed. Following transfers by the offending team cost an additional 1M until the end of the next transfer window. If the illegal player received a card, the card is reassigned randomly to another eligible starting eleven player who did not receive a card and is not a goalkeeper. If the illegal player was the goalkeeper, the card is assigned according to the goalkeeper-specific Board procedure.

The home manager must suggest multiple reasonable times early enough for the upcoming game week. The away manager must respond within the required timeframe and suggest alternatives if needed. If a match is not scheduled by the required time, the Board must be informed of the reason. Re-scheduling must also be communicated promptly.

Failing to follow scheduling duties may result in an automatic 0-3 loss or another Board-approved sanction. Suggested times must be reasonable; deliberately impossible or hostile scheduling is treated as unsporting behaviour.

FML is intended to combine competitive gameplay, long-term club building, realism, entertainment, and community identity.

Managers are encouraged to compete seriously while still contributing positively to the broader league environment.

League history, records, achievements, and club identity are considered important parts of the FML ecosystem.