2026/27 Season: First-Half Review

Freja Holm rebuilt a Wrexham AFC Women squad to claim a historic Welsh treble and add the Adran Premier title to those won in Italy, Japan, France and USA. A few days on from that success, Holm resigned yet again and went in search of her ninth club.

A dramatic injury-time winner saw Bay FC claim their maiden NWSL Championship and Freja Holm become the 11th greatest women's football manager in November 2039. The 49-year-old Swede added the American title to those won in Italy, Japan and France, leaving, in theory, titles in Australia, Denmark, England, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Wales to tick off her Trailblazer challenge.

A narrow victory saw Thespakusatsu Gunma end their playoff hoodoo to earn their first ever promotion to the top tier of Japanese football in 2031. Now the hard work began for Robaato Rasamu to build a side capable of survival.

Intro Figueres is my hometown—where I was born, raised, and where I fell in love with football. I don’t live there anymore, but I still follow the football club from my city. A small city in northern ...

Freja Holm brought ageing superstar striker Barbra Banda back to the NWSL in 2038 but it didn't quite provide the spark that the Swedish manager was hoping for. Her Bay FC side finished in a record-equalling 5th, but finished the season in really poor form. But Holm had her sight set much higher than 5th place. She began the 2038 offseason by selling on underperforming players, including starting goalkeeper Thyrrestrup to Leicester, for a profit of £1.1m.

Having decided to jump ship from OL Lyonnes, it takes until January 2038 for a job that was interesting and she could actually apply for. And that arrived in the form of an offer from the USA.

Introduction & Meet The Squad

How I'm using the Football Manager 26 new transfer feature TransferRoom (In) within the save with Lokeren.

For the second time in 12 months, Thespakusatsu Gunma suffered promotion playoff heartache fresh from recording the best position in club history in 2030. Their overachievement saw manager Robaato Rasamu interviewed by relegated J1 League side Cerezo Osaka, but he remained committed to the Gunma cause.

An eight-time European champion invites Holm for an interview and swiftly offers her their vacant manager role. So Holm is off to her sixth club in six different countries.

The Forge Is on Fire

Swedish manager Freja Holm was back on the job hunt after a successful 12 months in Japan, leading Urawa Reds to their first league title in 11 years. That added the Japanese title to the two in Italy, as Holm looked to tick off all 11 playable nations in Football Manager 26.

Just six minutes separated Thespa Gunma from a surprise promotion to the Japanese top tier. However, the J2 League's silly rule that the home side gets promoted if a playoff final is drawn meant they missed out, which, in hindsight, was probably for the best given they'd just recorded the club's record high finish.

After wrapping up consecutive Serie A successes, including an invincible campaign in 2036, Freja Holm resigned as manager of Fiorentina and went in search of a new challenge. Upon resigning, very few opportunities were available, but Holm applied for a vacancy in Japan. And she was quickly given the chance to move to a new continent.

This is the third part of my Football Manager story about a football journey in the Faroe Islands. You can read the first and second parts…

The unfancied youthful side of Thespa Gunma were the surprise package of Japan's J3 League as they snuck into the playoffs and put in two huge performances to seal promotion to the second tier.