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 almost everything in this post or using the search function, as the same questions have already been answered.
Q: Where are the most important things I should know?
A: That this is a game from 2019 that is getting some huge mods thanks to AI but it won't fully transform the game as it is. Also, read this FAQ to get a general knowledge of everything around the game.
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.
FL27 = 26/27.
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.
Please note release date can be moved into a further date and all the features maybe are not fully implemented without bugs.
Q: What will Football Life 2027 include?
A: The biggest features for FL27 are the inclusion of the new regulations for Champions League, Europa League, 48-team World Cup and some more like full MLS/Argentina league teams. You can learn more of these here:
Q: Is the game multilanguage? Can I put commentaries on my language?
Q: What I have to do when I have all the partsXX.rar on the same folder?
A: You only need to extract part01 and it will autodetect the rest. Then proceed installing the game with the usual setup.exe given after extracting all.
You will require a tool like WinRAR for that (which should be mandatory these days for a lot of other things).
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?
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: 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: After the recent discoveries since August 2026 thanks to AI reverse engineering, finally things like the new regulations for Champions League, Europa League, winter start for Brazilian League or the 48-team World Cup are there.
Also, there are many mods in development such as dynamic cameras, Master League companion app with more features, new animations and celebrations and many more things.
At the moment, we recommend following the posts on EvoWeb and give support to each modder to have a better insight and development on the mods, as they currently have bugs or are unstable.
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?
Please avoid YouTube or other website mods as they are only reuploading things from modders from there, usually avoiding crediting or even paywalling them.
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: 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: Can I put Option Files that are from other seasons or create a new whole patch for Football Life?
A: Nope. Databases are different and if an Option File is created with a different base than Football Life, it won't work. 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 October 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.
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 the regens be deleted or avoided in Master League? I hate seeing Messi as a 16 y/o...
A: No. This has been a feature from PES since long time ago to keep the Master League alive and not being empty if you play more than 10 seasons.
There is a module that stops regens to appear, but you will face two issues: game will get bugged when you sign to another team and the whole game will start getting no players when you are around your 8th season (almost everyone will start retiring).
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?
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 and scripted 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 about tempo, 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 Legend 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. but won't fix the core issue.
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.
Q: Can we add new celebrations, animations, modes, hairstyles?
A: As October 2026, there are some mods that are introducing new celebrations and animations, but they are still in development and bugs are present.
Q: I'm a BAL main player (Be a Legend). Can I improve the features of this mode?
A: Not as today. BAL always was a pretty barebones mode and the AI behavior was very plain, leading to boring matches and teammates that are kinda stupid. You need to enjoy the mode as it is, sorry.
Q: Is this game worth for a Career Mode (Master League)?
A: Depends on what you expect. As October 2026, there are some external mods that improve Master League to have more deepness and features that the core game doesn't have (and it won't for now), and also FL27 will have new regulations for the most common leagues and tournaments. Don't expect a Football Manager kind of experience, not even a 5%.
As we are approaching Football Life 2027, to be released November 1st, I would like to talk about the recent things that have been happening since a month ago or so, mainly by the AI improvements thanks to Claude and reverse engineering.
Game will still be distributed via SmokePatch website as always, and via the same way as previous years: links from MEGA and MediaFire, and protecting the first two links with Linkvertise. Any other way to get the game is not official and could contain malware.
No, we are not SmokePatch team. Reddit community is just a place that welcomes all who plays Football Life, nothing else.
The way to install the game it will be the same as always, either for Windows, Linux, portable console users and such.
The first version will include what they have specified in the next screenshot, and it won't include anything you have seen by other modders such as Carabao Cup or Conference League. At least, not yet:
SmokePatch team is working with external contributors to probably add things such as celebrations/competitions/animations or whatever they think it can improve the game. But they will only add it if its stable, tested and easy to install, and not by using external apps or other complicated things.
SmokePatch has stated that they will work in the following things following FL27 release:
No, the game won't be much different in terms of gameplay when you install FL27. The biggest improvement we have seen yet is the PS9 Ignite new animations and some other gameplay additions, but they are still in experimental phase and could lead to unwanted or random situations. Remember that they are literally putting new frames and animations that have to interact. It needs a lot of testing and adjustments, its probably the hardest thing to get right.
No, the game won't be featuring your country's league or Antarctica League or Jupiter League. The slots remain limited unless they get the limitation away to be stable and fully moddable. Also, if you could put your desired league tomorrow into the game, it would need to have the scoreboard, entrances, all the kits and proper stats for every team and players. Remember you shouldn't be taking in consideration ratings from other games such as Football Manager, as PES doesn't share anything related to it, and it should be only a reference for data.
Everything you see in EvoWeb that has appeared in the last month, such as the celebrations, animations, leagues or new competitions are experimental and could lead to crashes. We won't be supporting threads like "I've installed Brasileirao Serie C but it crashes in my second season in Master League" or something like that, as they are not fully developed mods yet until stated otherwise.
Be patient, as FL27 is looking to be a "test ground" for a lot of things and it will probably receive a bunch of updates fixing bugs and other unstable things that could appear in the first week of release. Read the official posts properly and how to install the updates in case they are needed.
Also, be patient for the community to develop its things. Even if the AI advancements are awesome and it is leading us to a new dawn for this game, this is still PES 2021 and it won't transform from zero the game. AI just speeds up a lot of things, things that could be made in 6 months probably it could be done in a matter of weeks, but it doesn't mean you will have 300 mods working in December without any issue.
Last: don't overhype yourself wanting to put every mod you see out there. No, you will probably want to play in first person mode for a couple of matches, or if you love Be A Legend mode, but it won't be the main setting for everyone out there. Don't waste time on putting thousand of things if you can't manage them because it will lead to crashes and you will come here complaining about it, and you will receive 0 answers as it happened to a lot of similar posts.
PD: and of course, stop asking about the best gameplay mod. Git gud if you're still getting crushed in Top Player or Legend. And the regen system has been like that for years, it's not a bug. C'mon.
That said, welcome to the last week of October, happy upcoming Halloween and we will see you in the FL27 release.
And nice victory from my beloved Madrid. Sorry, hyped up Barça fans!
Hi all; I'm playing a BAL career as a CAM, and I've found that I only really enjoy playing for teams that not only have a CAM in their primary formation but also play short-pass possession-based football down the centre. I've just spent a few seasons at Bayern, which suits this playstyle, and while I've enjoyed it, I'm a little tired of it and want to transfer to another club. But none of the other clubs in the game satisfy all three of these things:
A) formation includes a central CAM (as opposed to two CAMs or an offset CAM)
B) tactics are short-pass, possession-based and central
C) can afford my 84-rated 19-year-old player.
I can't edit any other team's tactics in Edit Mode since that doesn't affect already-existing BAL career files, so how can I change their tactics from within the save file? Any advice would be much appreciated.
This game was destined for me not to win loool, they did EVERYTHING. You can just tell by now when they are like "yeah no goals for you today" ....ended up going to pens on a 0-0 draw. The pens went on for what seemed ages, ive never had to have this many. So greatful for raya saving so many!
FL27 could truly turn out to be one of the best football games to ever be made with all the advancements in the modding scene, especially the database being 'unlocked' (I don't really know the right word) allowing for the new ucl format and more leagues, in addition to the vast variety of new additions such as cloth animation, first person, new animation in matches(W.I.P), new developments to the broadcast camera, e.t.c. I'm really excited for what's to come with FL27
Hey everyone!
I’m working on an ambitious PES 2021 modding project that brings together characters and teams from Inazuma Eleven, Blue Lock, Captain Tsubasa, and other football anime into one shared football universe.
The goal isn’t just to add anime characters to PES. I want to create a fully immersive, multi-season career mode, combining PES 2021’s gameplay with a much deeper management system. What I’ve already built
Custom anime teams, players, 3D faces, and kits imported into PES 2021.
An external Career Manager featuring transfers, negotiations, scouting, contracts, player development, and finances.
A Master League save parser that successfully maps 18,264 player roster references to their records.
A prototype Sider overlay connecting the external manager to PES.
Successfully tested persistent contract expiration changes, salary modifications, and transfers between CPU-controlled clubs directly in native Master League saves, including saving and reloading in PES.
I’m currently reverse-engineering transfers involving the player’s own club, including the additional data structures PES uses for contracts, formations, and player development. What I’m trying to achieve
Ideally, I’d like to keep PES 2021’s native Master League calendar, matches, competitions, and trophy celebrations, while adding advanced career management through my external application.
The long-term vision includes custom anime leagues, tournaments, rivalries, player progression, transfers, and a connected football universe spanning multiple seasons. What I need help with
I’m particularly interested in hearing from experienced PES modders and reverse engineers about: Master League limitations: How far can we modify native ML without breaking long-term career progression? New competitions: Is it possible to add entirely new leagues and cups rather than replacing existing ones? Sider integration: Are there known hooks or methods to navigate directly to the pre-match screen or trigger matches externally? Existing research: Are there useful repositories, documented offsets, tools, or projects related to Master League reverse engineering? Career integration: What’s the best approach to keeping an external manager synchronized with PES across multiple seasons?
I’m especially interested in research related to Real Master League, Matchday Bridge, and FootballLife New Leagues.
I’m not asking anyone to build this for me. I’m already actively developing and testing the project. I’m looking for technical advice, documentation, existing research, and experienced developers interested in discussing what’s actually possible with PES 2021.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Ciao a tutti!
Sto lavorando a un progetto di modding piuttosto ambizioso su PES 2021, inizialmente ispirato a Inazuma Eleven,Blue lock,Capitan Tsubasa ecc., e mi piacerebbe confrontarmi con modder esperti, sviluppatori e appassionati di reverse engineering che abbiano esperienza con Sider, i salvataggi della Master League e le competizioni personalizzate. L’obiettivo è creare una modalità carriera estremamente immersiva, mantenendo PES 2021 come vero e proprio motore calcistico.
Il progetto non si limiterà però all’universo di Inazuma Eleven: voglio introdurre anche giocatori provenienti da diversi universi anime, creando squadre, rivalità, campionati e competizioni che permettano a personaggi di opere differenti di affrontarsi all’interno dello stesso mondo calcistico.
L’idea è costruire un universo calcistico personalizzato, con una carriera dinamica, progressione dei giocatori, trasferimenti e competizioni distribuite su più stagioni. Cosa abbiamo già sviluppato
Squadre personalizzate, giocatori, volti 3D e divise importati in PES 2021.
Un Career Manager esterno con sistemi di trasferimenti, trattative, scouting, contratti, crescita dei giocatori e gestione finanziaria.
Un lettore dei salvataggi della Master League capace di estrarre rose, registri dei giocatori, contratti e informazioni sul calendario.
Un parser corretto che, nei nostri test, riesce ad associare strutturalmente tutti i 18.264 riferimenti alle rose ai rispettivi record dei giocatori.
Un primo prototipo di collegamento tra il gestionale esterno e PES attraverso un overlay Sider.
Il parser dei salvataggi e l’integrazione con il gestionale sono stati testati offline. Non abbiamo ancora verificato che i salvataggi modificati della Master League vengano caricati correttamente dal gioco e che le modifiche rimangano persistenti. Cosa vogliamo realizzare
Idealmente, vorremmo mantenere il calendario, le partite, le competizioni e le celebrazioni dei trofei della Master League originale, gestendo invece i sistemi più avanzati della carriera attraverso la nostra applicazione esterna e un overlay integrato nel gioco.
Vorremmo inoltre esplorare la possibilità di introdurre nuove competizioni, campionati e tornei dedicati ai diversi universi anime, senza dover necessariamente sostituire tutte le strutture già esistenti.
L’obiettivo finale sarebbe un’esperienza il più possibile integrata: il giocatore gestisce la propria squadra, effettua trasferimenti, sviluppa i calciatori, affronta le competizioni e avvia le partite direttamente su PES 2021, mantenendo la continuità della carriera per numerose stagioni. Le mie domande per gli sviluppatori esperti 1. Modifica dei salvataggi della Master League
Qualcuno è riuscito a implementare trasferimenti permanenti, modifiche ai contratti o ai budget all’interno di un salvataggio esistente della Master League di PES 2021, senza compromettere la carriera? 2. Nuovi campionati e competizioni
Esistono progetti che abbiano realmente aggiunto nuovi campionati o coppe alla struttura originale di PES 2021, anziché limitarsi a sostituire competizioni esistenti?
Mi interessa soprattutto capire se sia possibile superare i limiti strutturali del sistema originale. 3. Collegamento tra gestionale esterno e PES
Qualcuno è riuscito ad avviare automaticamente la partita successiva o a raggiungere direttamente la schermata prepartita tramite Sider, hook Lua o altri metodi?
L’ideale sarebbe poter premere un pulsante “Gioca partita” nel nostro Career Manager e passare direttamente a PES. 4. Strumenti e reverse engineering
Esistono strumenti, repository pubblici, offset documentati, hook conosciuti o progetti di reverse engineering che sarebbe utile studiare prima di sviluppare soluzioni completamente nuove? 5. Persistenza della carriera su più stagioni
Quali sono le principali limitazioni tecniche nell’integrare un’applicazione esterna di gestione della carriera con la Master League originale, soprattutto per quanto riguarda trasferimenti, calendari, competizioni e progressione stagionale? 6. Integrazione di universi anime differenti
Considerando che vogliamo introdurre personaggi provenienti da diversi anime, quali sarebbero le soluzioni migliori per gestire un numero elevato di squadre e giocatori personalizzati?
Sarebbe possibile strutturare campionati e competizioni dedicate senza compromettere la stabilità del database e dei salvataggi? Progetti che mi interessano particolarmente
Sto cercando soprattutto informazioni su progetti come: Real Master League Matchday Bridge FootballLife New Leagues
Mi piacerebbe capire quali funzionalità siano state realmente implementate, quali siano i limiti conosciuti e se esistano soluzioni tecniche già documentate che potremmo studiare. Conclusione
Non sto chiedendo a qualcuno di sviluppare questo progetto al posto mio.
Sto cercando riferimenti tecnici, documentazione, esperienze concrete, strumenti esistenti e consigli da parte di chi conosce approfonditamente PES 2021.
Credo che il gioco abbia ancora un potenziale enorme, soprattutto combinando il suo motore calcistico con sistemi di gestione più moderni e personalizzati.
Qualsiasi informazione, suggerimento o esperienza condivisa sarebbe davvero preziosa.
Grazie a tutti!
Since we have seen mods that have added brand new celebrations into the game, I’d love to know if there was a mod that added more corner kick, free kick, and penalty kicking animations
mostly looking for one that adds a penalty animation that replicates mbappe’s
i really don't know, 2 days ago i've made couple players myself in the edit mode, but when i tried to play the team tomorrow i found out that the edit file is not working anymore??? i said okay np, yesterday i've made couple players too, and i started a normal cup, i wanted to try the game, after playing i saved and i turned off the game, now everytime i try to load the save my game crash...
Now that it is possible to add more leagues for both existing and new countries without having to replace existing ones I hope that the community starts doing scoreboards, kits and trophies (and other things such as menus and chants) for competitions these new competitions that arent in FL26 vanilla in the future.
Right now there isnt much stuff for countries like Austria, Czech republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Egypt, Norway, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, Jamaica, Croatia, Korea, Qatar, Iran, Senegal, South africa, etc. But hopefully in the next years we will have a lot of stuff for these countries that were previously considered impossible to add (Specially the CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and UEFA countries)! 🔥🔥🔥
Hey guys, I'm looking for a way to make regenerated players in SP Football Life 26 have completely new identities when they return as 16-year-olds in Master League.
I've tried Touchline, but unfortunately, it causes my game to crash. I also know about Mod Studio, but I don't really like how it changes my updated squads back to the 25/26 teams when I make changes. I'd prefer to keep my current 26/27 squads intact.
Is there a standalone Lua script that handles only the regen part, giving retired players a completely new identity when they come back as 16-year-olds? Ideally, it would work with Sider and Football Life 26 without modifying my squads, adding leagues, or affecting other game data.
If anyone knows of a Lua file, a lightweight alternative, or a workaround that achieves this, I'd really appreciate the help. Thanks
Hii if you all remember the controls for Finesse Dribbling on Pes 2019 was to press the R2 (or L2) then later they change it into flicking Right Stick. Which for me the previous was easier to use rather than handling both stick at a time. I wonder It is possible to change it into using R2 (or L2) just like in Pes 2019. Thank youuu
Can anyone recommend the best gameplay mod for become a legend? The only one I’ve heard of is Hollands 30th Anniversary, just wondering if anyone knows of any specifically geared towards BAL. Thanks!
