FMM 2018 is upon us and we now know what new features the game will bring to the table. While looking over the list one small item really caught my eye and that's the inclusion of being a female manager. I've found myself discussing the woman's game a lot during my time here and today is no exception as I'll be talking about this new feature.
Like I've said in previous articles I think FMM really missed the boat with female football as I think it could have been that unique experience to separate FMM from the crowd. I remember when FIFA announced it was having female teams and the buzz and free advertising that came with such a jump forward for the woman's game. FIFA is a console game and those consoles don't come cheap and it's typically a male dominated market, do you know what's not? Yep mobile phones and tablets. Not far off every female on the planet owns a mobile phone thus having the ability to play FMM if they so desired and let's face it the women's market is only growing. In recent years the Lionesses of England have grown in following and exposure with televised games on free to watch TV and more female players being interviewed and talked about in sports coverage like the BBC's. This exposure and coverage will only allow the game and it's audience to grow and as more people get invested in female football they'll look for more ways to be involved, after all aren't you all playing FMM due to your love of football? I honestly feel the free publicity, the chance to forge our own identity with a true exclusive feature and the fact the game would be accessible to almost all females is a missed opportunity but it appears steps are now being taken to draw in female players.
With the physio and coach options added in recent years we've seen a handful of females enter the game due to their real life positions but 2018 brings a big change to the table as we'll now be able to be a female manager. This generally intrigues me as what does it mean? This feature could be nothing or it could be a game changer so let's look at some options.
On paper this feature appears to mean we'll be able to play as a female character in the leagues present on the game. Looking at the leagues we currently have available they're rightly or wrongly all male dominated as the game includes only the male leagues. So how does a female manager break into this environment? Is this new feature nothing more than a gender icon on your profile or does it go deeper? For example do we have manager templates so we can physically see ourselves as a female? Or if it is just a gender icon on our profile will we be treated differently to our male counterparts?
Looking at the current landscape of football the sexism and discrimination is clear for everyone to see and we can only assume this will be shown in FMM as it's a real life sim. Will female managers have a lower reputation? Will they have to do more to build it up compared to a male manager? Will female managers struggle to get jobs or even be sacked sooner? Or is this paragraph all for nothing and this feature is just changing him to her on a few text boxes? Women are underrepresented in male football and they're treated poorly and while I agree this is wrong FMM has to showcase these struggles as if it doesn't what's the point? One example that comes to mind is the on going debate about black managers not getting a chance at managerial jobs and in many ways this is shown in FMM as the more obscure your chosen nationality is the harder it can be to get jobs. This has actually improved in recent years but the impact of your chosen nationality can be seen so what about your chosen sex?
That's where my intrigue comes from as this new feature can either be a skin swap that means nothing but potentially appealing more to female players or it can offer a brand new experience and way to play the game. This however is a double edged sword as if they did showcase the struggles a female manager would have in say the Premier League it could put off new female players to the series. FMM claims to be realistic with them shoehorning things like Brexit into the game last year so where do they fall on this subject? I know I'm watching with great interest.
Another interesting question to ask is what about the AI managers? Will the game come with a few high profile female managers we'll have to compete with regardless of if we're male or female? Will regen managers have a chance to regenerate as a female manager later in a save? (Come on who wouldn't want to see a female Jose Mourinho!) Or is this option purely a one off just for us?
While this is typically a sexist joke relating to female football something on the topic crossed my mind and that's pregnancy. Stepping away from the joke aspect of "oh she's out for nine months as she's pregnant" it is worth noting pregnancy is something already programmed into the game. What?! Yes you read that correctly, being pregnant is already a feature of FMM. While many of us wouldn't think of it the son unlockable is a feature and you can't have a son without being pregnant. Honestly this is very tongue in cheek but if you held off on earning the unlockable for the second half of a 30 year save questions would have to be asked! I'm sure this aspect will be ignored and brushed aside but I thought I'd beat you all to the punchline in the comments while using FMM to shut you up.
All in all I think this feature is a positive step as it'll hopefully add a lot to the game and open the door for more bold steps in the future. Vibe wise we've seen a handful of female members over the years and as more females find themselves invested in football it's only right that FMM follows suit and allows itself to be more inclusive. The question remains of how it's implemented and if it's a great new way to play or basically a skin swap but I'm intrigued and I'd love to hear your views on the subject.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment.
PS - I'd like to say a special thanks to @Stam and @Putzy for the awesome graphic!
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FMM 2018 is upon us and we now know what new features the game will bring to the table. While looking over the list one small item really caught my eye and that's the inclusion of being a female manager. I've found myself discussing the woman's game a lot during my time here and today is no exception as I'll be talking about this new feature.
Like I've said in previous articles I think FMM really missed the boat with female football as I think it could have been that unique experience to separate FMM from the crowd. I remember when FIFA announced it was having female teams and the buzz and free advertising that came with such a jump forward for the woman's game. FIFA is a console game and those consoles don't come cheap and it's typically a male dominated market, do you know what's not? Yep mobile phones and tablets. Not far off every female on the planet owns a mobile phone thus having the ability to play FMM if they so desired and let's face it the women's market is only growing. In recent years the Lionesses of England have grown in following and exposure with televised games on free to watch TV and more female players being interviewed and talked about in sports coverage like the BBC's. This exposure and coverage will only allow the game and it's audience to grow and as more people get invested in female football they'll look for more ways to be involved, after all aren't you all playing FMM due to your love of football? I honestly feel the free publicity, the chance to forge our own identity with a true exclusive feature and the fact the game would be accessible to almost all females is a missed opportunity but it appears steps are now being taken to draw in female players.
With the physio and coach options added in recent years we've seen a handful of females enter the game due to their real life positions but 2018 brings a big change to the table as we'll now be able to be a female manager. This generally intrigues me as what does it mean? This feature could be nothing or it could be a game changer so let's look at some options.
On paper this feature appears to mean we'll be able to play as a female character in the leagues present on the game. Looking at the leagues we currently have available they're rightly or wrongly all male dominated as the game includes only the male leagues. So how does a female manager break into this environment? Is this new feature nothing more than a gender icon on your profile or does it go deeper? For example do we have manager templates so we can physically see ourselves as a female? Or if it is just a gender icon on our profile will we be treated differently to our male counterparts?
Looking at the current landscape of football the sexism and discrimination is clear for everyone to see and we can only assume this will be shown in FMM as it's a real life sim. Will female managers have a lower reputation? Will they have to do more to build it up compared to a male manager? Will female managers struggle to get jobs or even be sacked sooner? Or is this paragraph all for nothing and this feature is just changing him to her on a few text boxes? Women are underrepresented in male football and they're treated poorly and while I agree this is wrong FMM has to showcase these struggles as if it doesn't what's the point? One example that comes to mind is the on going debate about black managers not getting a chance at managerial jobs and in many ways this is shown in FMM as the more obscure your chosen nationality is the harder it can be to get jobs. This has actually improved in recent years but the impact of your chosen nationality can be seen so what about your chosen sex?
That's where my intrigue comes from as this new feature can either be a skin swap that means nothing but potentially appealing more to female players or it can offer a brand new experience and way to play the game. This however is a double edged sword as if they did showcase the struggles a female manager would have in say the Premier League it could put off new female players to the series. FMM claims to be realistic with them shoehorning things like Brexit into the game last year so where do they fall on this subject? I know I'm watching with great interest.
Another interesting question to ask is what about the AI managers? Will the game come with a few high profile female managers we'll have to compete with regardless of if we're male or female? Will regen managers have a chance to regenerate as a female manager later in a save? (Come on who wouldn't want to see a female Jose Mourinho!) Or is this option purely a one off just for us?
While this is typically a sexist joke relating to female football something on the topic crossed my mind and that's pregnancy. Stepping away from the joke aspect of "oh she's out for nine months as she's pregnant" it is worth noting pregnancy is something already programmed into the game. What?! Yes you read that correctly, being pregnant is already a feature of FMM. While many of us wouldn't think of it the son unlockable is a feature and you can't have a son without being pregnant. Honestly this is very tongue in cheek but if you held off on earning the unlockable for the second half of a 30 year save questions would have to be asked! I'm sure this aspect will be ignored and brushed aside but I thought I'd beat you all to the punchline in the comments while using FMM to shut you up.
All in all I think this feature is a positive step as it'll hopefully add a lot to the game and open the door for more bold steps in the future. Vibe wise we've seen a handful of female members over the years and as more females find themselves invested in football it's only right that FMM follows suit and allows itself to be more inclusive. The question remains of how it's implemented and if it's a great new way to play or basically a skin swap but I'm intrigued and I'd love to hear your views on the subject.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment.
PS - I'd like to say a special thanks to @Stam and @Putzy for the awesome graphic!
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