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%.
If you use sider with PES 2021 (or Football Life / SP Football Life), you know the overlay: a wall of grey text, and then "press [9], then [PageDn] 40 times, then [7]..." to pick a stadium. I wanted something nicer, so I made Sider Mod Menu: press F1 in game and you get a proper menu you can use with the mouse.
What it does
One window for all your sider modules: a sidebar with every module, and a page for each one.
Works with the modules you already have. Every module that has a classic overlay automatically gets a page with its live text and a clickable button for every key it mentions ("Press [0] to reload", "[PageUp][PageDn]", "F=FPS | L=lock"...). There is also a "Send keys" box, so module search functions (like StadiumServer's [F3] search) still work.
Module authors can add a native page with real controls (switches, searchable lists, sliders, image previews) in a few lines of Lua. Instructions are in DEVELOPERS.md in the zip.
Clicks and scrolling over the menu don't reach the game. Typing in a search field doesn't trigger game or sider keys.
Your classic sider overlay (Space) still works, and so does controller use through it.
Hotkey, size and opacity are set in a small ini file.
To be clear: some screenshots are native pages I added to my own copies of those modules (StadiumServer, Kitserver, camera, Goalnets, CustomExhibitionMatch). Those modified modules are not in the zip, because they are other people's work and you probably run different versions. Out of the box you get the automatic pages. If a module author wants a native page, DEVELOPERS.md shows how, and I'm happy to help.
Install
Close the game, extract the zip anywhere.
Double-click install-modmenu.bat and drag your sider folder into the window if it asks. It copies the files, backs up sider.ini, and adds lua.module = "modmenu.lua" as the first module. The installer is a plain-text PowerShell script you can read first.
Note: This mod was made with AI, specifically using Claude Code. I did not hand write this.
Credits: juce for sider, Omar Cornut for Dear ImGui, and the authors of the sider modules I built this around (zlac, mochnaufals, FicaBre, Hawkes and everyone behind Kitserver, SleeveBadge and the camera module).
You all know the legendary 16/17 squad (the Double!). But for this PES edit, I did not use their form that season. Instead, I gave every player in the squad their absolute career-peak "Prime Ratings."
What historic squad do you think could genuinely beat this specific fantasy team?
I've always wanted to customize the Player Camera in Football Life, just like other camera types, but I couldn't find any mods that allowed it.
So I decided to try developing one myself with the help of AI, and this is the result.
It's a Sider module that allows you to customize the Player Camera's FOV, distance, height and other settings.
It also includes an Immersive Mode, where the camera smoothly follows the direction your player is facing, and an Original Mode that preserves the game's native camera movement.
Tested on SP Football Life 2026 v2.2 with Sider 7.4.1.
The project is completely free, and everyone is welcome to modify or improve it.
Features:
🔸An additional slider has been added to the settings.ini file:
marks_strength = 50
🔸This parameter determines how visible the marks on the field will be.
🔸I recommend a value of around 30, but—as with other settings—you are free to choose any value you like.
🔸Feel free to try it out and experiment with different values.
# [FREE TOOL] We managed to edit transfers in an ongoing Football Life 2026 Master League!
After years of frustration with the transfer system in PES and Football Life, I've finally managed to achieve something I've been looking for: **transferring players between clubs in an existing Master League save without restarting the career.**
I worked with ChatGPT to investigate the save-file structure and develop a free transfer editor. After numerous failed experiments, we've now successfully tested it in-game.
### How we achieved it
**1. Decrypting the Master League files**
We investigated how PES 2021 stores its Master League data in the encrypted `ML000000xx` files.
Using community research from projects such as *pes-file-reader* and *pesXdecrypter*, we managed to decrypt real Football Life 2026 saves, verify their SHA-512 hashes, and encrypt them again without losing information.
**2. Understanding the squad structure**
We identified the tables containing club squads and the identifiers linking players to their teams.
In the save format we tested, each club record occupies 0x690 bytes. The squad list begins at offset +0x14C, with each player represented by two 32-bit identifiers. The squad-size counter is at +0x426.
This allowed us to locate individual players and modify squad registrations.
**3. Comparing real transfers**
One of our most important experiments involved Tom Bloxham, a player from my Everton team.
We compared three different Master League saves:
- Before Bloxham's transfer.
- After his transfer to FC Köln.
- A control save from the same date in which Bloxham remained at Everton.
This helped us understand how the game handles player movements and distinguish squad registrations from other internal records.
**4. Finding a working method**
Our early experiments with free agents failed. Players could appear in another team's squad while still being considered free agents.
However, we discovered that transfers between two existing clubs were different.
We developed a method that updates both clubs' squad registrations and player counts, then reconstructs the encrypted save with valid integrity hashes.
**5. Testing the results in-game**
We successfully transferred:
- **Kim Min-Su: FC Andorra → Arsenal.** He appeared in Arsenal's starting lineup, had normal contract details, and remained there after saving and reloading.
- **Andrew Robertson: Everton → Arsenal.** Robertson had only recently joined Everton, but the transfer still worked. We also confirmed that Everton's available wage budget changed by exactly the expected amount.
Finally, we built a graphical editor in Python and used it to reproduce Robertson's transfer without manually editing the save.
The generated ML file matched our previously successful experimental file byte for byte, and **the editor's transfer worked in-game too!**
### FL26 Transfer Editor v0.1
The program allows you to open an existing Master League save, select a source club and player, choose a destination club, and export a modified save.
It supports multiple transfers, player-name lists and squad-size validation.
No Cheat Engine, Sider or EDIT-file modifications are required.
### Current limitations
This is an experimental v0.1 release, tested on our Football Life 2026 saves.
- Club-to-club transfers only. Direct free-agent transfers are not working yet.
- Maximum 40 players per club.
- No manual transfer-fee or contract editing.
- Other game versions and databases are not yet fully tested.
**The program is completely FREE, with no subscriptions or paywalls. The Python source code is included.**
Our goal is to make this useful to the community, not charge people for it.
Anyone know why some players' shoes or GK gloves keep disappearing like this? I just swapped out the boot-root, do I need to re-generate something for it to update to the latest version? Thanks
I've been playing SP Football Life 2026 for a while now, and honestly, I'm getting tired of playing alone against the AI. I'd really love to play against real people online.
So, I have a couple of questions:
Is there any way to play SP Football Life 2026 online against other players ?
If so, how does it work? Are there any mods, tools, or workarounds I need to install ?
Is it possible to play something similar to MyClub in this game ?
I'd appreciate any help, tutorials, or recommendations. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to enjoy this game with other players!
Every-time there is a press conference, and no matter what you say, nothing ever happens and it feels really boring and doesn't even add anything to the experience. I hope to see some sort of a meter like in FIFA where you team can have the positive or the negative effect. + the part where your team is in the bottom of the table and you say 'we can win the league' etc and then the board is in agreeing with you also need to change.
I want them to Laugh at me for saying that.
OF course, i want that side where they have the message of social media ones to be better and maybe some unqiue storylines but that too much for now haha,
But i want to hear what the Overall thoughts of community is on what features you would like to see?
I'm using SmokePatch Football Life 2026 v1.4, and I've noticed that some teams have extra kits that I cannot edit or remove in Edit Mode.
For example, AS Roma and Bayern Munich have 4th kits that show up in Edit Mode and during matches, but the game says “Not editable” when I try to edit them.
Interestingly, some other teams, such as Chelsea, have an editable 4th kit, while some of their other kit slots are also not editable.
I'm using the built-in SP Football Life 2026 kitpack and haven't installed any external kitpacks or kit-server mods.
Is there a way to remove these uneditable 4th kits or replace them with different kits? If so, could someone explain how to do it safely without breaking the other kits or the game?
I had a great run at Central Cordoba's first half season with an all-around score of 7.9 IIRC. I got an offer for Widzew which I took since the average skill was higher and I felt it would help me grow my skill faster.
My first game went really well, with two goals and two assists. But I'm kind of worried that my projected growth doesn't seem too great, kind of low I'd even say. I also added an image of my training points in case I messed it up.
No more randomized Premier League fixtures in Master League. This change replaces the randomly generated schedule with the real English Premier League 2026/27 fixtures, accurately mapped across all 20 Premier League teams.
All 38 matchweeks reflect the real-life 2026/27 Premier League fixture schedule, from the opening weekend to the final matchday.
Playable with any of the 20 Premier League teams in Master League, allowing you to experience the authentic fixture schedule regardless of which club you choose.
Here is a list of the biggest mods, tools and projects on the scene for both PES 2021 and Football Life.
From modern UCL competition format, animations & AI mods, to tools expanding limits and automating roster updates. We're blessed with amazing community full of passionate people!
A while back (about 6 months ago), I played a "Become a Legend" (BAL) mode in FL26, but my player wouldn't receive any decent club offers—I wasn't looking for top-tier clubs like Barcelona; I would have been happy with mid-table teams in respectable leagues. However, I would usually only get one offer per season (sometimes not even that), and it would always be from the MLS or other lower-tier leagues. I’m curious about the current state of the game; I’ve noticed a lot of new mods appearing, and things that once seemed impossible are now achievable.
Has there been any improvement regarding this issue, or is it still the same as it was before?
Hey everyone, I probably made a mistake during installation or skipped a step, but I installed this gameplay mod and it was the closest experience to a real football match I've ever seen. However, the movements seem to be in slow motion. Does anyone who has used the mod know what I did wrong? And how to fix it?
Adds the Carabao Cup competition to SP Football Life 2026 Master League.
Designed as a standalone Carabao Cup addition.
Does not replace or remove the FA Cup.
What This Does Not Include
No additional competitions.
No Champions League or Europa League format.
No custom scoreboard.
No custom trophy presentation or additional graphics.
Compatibility
Game: SP Football Life 2026 only.
EXE Version: 2.2 only.
EXE Date: March 2026.
Requires the specific compatible Football Life 2026 executable for this release.
Limitations
This is compatible only with SP Football Life 2026 EXE version 2.2, dated March 2026.
It will not work with other EXE versions or other PES games.
It cannot be used directly with SP Football Life 2027; a separate version would be required.
Credits and Permissions
You are free to use and share this .
Please give credit to "Dre Modding" when using or sharing my work.
If you encounter any problems or bugs, please contact me.
Credits: Dre Modding
IMPORTANT INFO : The Lua code has been compiled into binary bytecode so that the game can read and execute it properly and reduce size for optimization.
