Football Manager 27 adds Shuffle Draft as a new online competitive mode

Sports Interactive has announced Shuffle Draft, a new online game mode for Football Manager 27 that reworks Fantasy Draft and gives players another way to test their managerial skills against friends, family and online rivals. The developer says the mode was built in partnership with FIFAe, FIFA’s official digital, multi-game tournament circuit, and is designed around quick squad building, tactical variety and head-to-head competition ahead of FM27’s full release on 10 November.

The announcement lands alongside FM27’s wider pre-launch push, which has already included the game’s free Launch Preview on PC and Mac. This latest reveal focuses on a mode for players who want a competitive format that is more flexible than a standard online match, while still using the same broader match presentation and management tools found in the new game.

How Shuffle Draft changes Fantasy Draft

Sports Interactive says Shuffle Draft is meant to make the old Fantasy Draft idea faster, more adaptable and less predictable. The mode can be played solo, against friends or against online opponents, and both private and public lobby options are available. That gives hosts the choice between a closed event with a known group or a wider session open to other managers.

The setup starts with the host choosing the event parameters and creating draft pools in sets of 20 players. The studio says those pools can be built from preset collections such as Wonderkids, Veterans and World’s Best, or narrowed to specific strengths like Physicality and Leadership. Hosts can also create a fully custom player pool using filters and search tools. Men’s and women’s football can both be used in Shuffle Draft, although not in the same event.

That mix of preset and custom pools is central to how the mode is framed: the event host chooses the kind of squad building challenge they want, then everyone drafts from the same starting conditions. Sports Interactive also says the mode allows re-drafts, adding another layer of adjustment before the tournament begins.

Drafting, squad sizes and team limits

The draft itself works differently from a traditional turn-based format. The pool of selected players is split into sets, with as many sets as there are teams in the event. All participants choose at the same time from their own set, rather than waiting for a turn, and they each have a host-selected amount of time to make a pick. Once every team has chosen a player, the sets are passed to another participant for the next round.

At the end of each round, players can see the player chosen by every team and view squad information across the event, not just their own. Sports Interactive says that helps managers plan tactics and track gaps in their roster. Players can also bookmark options during the draft to help with squad planning.

• Up to 32 players can take part in a Shuffle Draft game.
• Knockout Cup and Group Stage & Knockouts formats support up to 32 teams.
• League format supports up to 20 teams.
• Squads can be made up of 14, 16, 18 or 20 players.
• Offline events can use AI opponents, and online events can fill empty slots with AI managers.

Tournament play, re-drafts and match flow

Once the squads are complete, Shuffle Draft moves into tournament play using the same squad selection, tactical setup and Match Engine systems as FM27’s single-player Career experience. Sports Interactive says matches can take place simultaneously, so a knockout round or league match week can unfold across multiple fixtures at the same time, with results and statistics visible between games.

Before the next match, any injuries or fatigue are removed. That means every team goes into each game with a fully fit squad, keeping the focus on short-form tournament strategy rather than long-term squad wear and tear. The mode is built to deliver a compact competitive loop: draft, adjust, play, then draft and adjust again if the host uses the re-draft feature.

Re-Draft is one of the more distinctive tools in the mode. Sports Interactive says the host can either return players to the draft pool or remove them from the tournament entirely and replace them with a new player. Re-Drafts can happen up to five times during a Shuffle Draft event, and each one can include up to 20 returns or removals. The host sets those options during the initial setup process.

What is still to come before launch

The gameplay shown for Shuffle Draft comes from a development build, and Sports Interactive says it is still subject to change before FM27’s full release on 10 November. The studio also notes that some information in the build remains under approval from rights holders and may not fully reflect real-world data yet.

Sports Interactive says its next pre-launch focus will be on non-PC versions of the game, with more features and additions due for Football Manager 27 Console, Football Manager 27 Touch and Football Manager 27 Mobile. For FM27 players who want a more flexible online competition format, Shuffle Draft now sits alongside the rest of the game’s launch window plans.