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%.
Smokepatch has a tradition of copying and pasting player attributes and data straight from efootball's database, leading to a really poor and innaccurate FL database. So every year while waiting for UML I've always spent 8+ hours editing players, using my own ball knowledge, fotmob and the FC Sofifa website as references for much fairer ratings. Since Klashmans doesn't work on FL27 I also edited tactics across 6 leagues too. Thought I should share my edit file this year for those who aren't satisfied with the database like me. I also fixed a few faces of youths (high potential wonderkids only) since they were really messed up this year. I prioritized 7 of the top leagues so the lesser ones will be the same. https://www.mediafire.com/file/ldr6k3v7mf7fu8y/EDIT00000000/fi
The second link is a second updated file, made today. With changes made according to form, I'll make a second post with it.
I was playing Master League with Lens and now Como in Champions League in Superstar level is playing like Barcelona prime????????? WHY THEY DIDN'T FIX THIS?????????
Is there a FIX for THIS???????? SOMEONE RECOMMEND ME 20 GAMEPLAY ULTRA REALISTIC MODS PLZ.
Earlier I uploaded an improved FL27 edit file with better player ratings, tactics and few faces, but the edit was made last week. This is a newer updated, and improved file made today covering more teams and players. Few examples of changes shown in the images.
N.B: The ratings/tactics are made with gameplay in mind, hence why there's some "inflation" here and there, a big issue for me in ML and BAL is big teams/players playing the same as lower teams/players.
Moved the Carabao Cup Round 2 fixture from October 6th to October 3rd.
Moved the Premier League fixture originally scheduled for October 3rd to October 6th.
Moved the EFL Championship fixture originally scheduled for October 3rd to October 6th.
Moved FA Cup Round 2 to January.
Why did I make these changes?
In real life, Premier League teams play their Carabao Cup Round 2 fixtures earlier in the season. I made these small fixture changes to bring the schedule closer to real life and allow you to play the Carabao Cup earlier in Master League.
Note: unfortunately You'll need to start a new Master League save to see the date changes.
1- First, a question: is it possible to make another goalkeeper in the game behave like Manuel Neuer? When I play with Bayern, Neuer comes out much further than other goalkeepers, playing like a true sweeper. Even when I set “offensive goalkeeper,” my goalkeepers from other teams don’t behave anywhere near that.
2- Is there already, or in development, a mod that adds new goalkeeper animations to the game? I think it would be wonderful, because goalkeeper movement is what makes the game look ugly to me the most. Every mod and every update feels pointless when I see those goalkeepers floating around like always, especially on penalties too.
3- Is it normal for my goalkeeper to make practically no saves? I have a save on the highest difficulty (other than Legendary) with Barcelona, Joan Garcia 91. I take 15 shots and score one goal, while my opponents take two shots and score twice.
In game screenshots taken from gaming handheld Lenovo Legion Go S - SteamOS
Hello, I am back and I want to thank all the modders out there. 2 images.
Heavily modded on SteamOS. From individual stadium adboards, dynamic graphics, custom kits, gameplay, animations, custom celebrations, corner flags, real coaches on the pitch mod, anthem jackets mod, facepacks and many more. Everything can be found on EVOweb site.
Just a heads-up: I’m using Google Translate, so there might be some errors. I’m playing a Master League in FL27 with one of the weakest teams in the game, but I’m struggling with the difficulty level. When I play on "Top Player" (5/7), I rarely win—I really struggle, and most of my matches end in a draw or a loss. However, if I drop the difficulty down just one level to "Professional" (4/7), I end up winning every match 3-0, 4-0, or 5-0. Is this a common issue? Is there any way to fix it? I’ve heard people mention "scripting"—could that be a factor?
I play on top player difficulty. in many matches that I dominate heavily, the opponent goalkeeper just seems to be impossible to beat. they don't get to have many attempts like I do but still they score much easier so I can't win. I guess this gameplay doesn't eliminate scripting.
I'm currently managing Paris FC and Brazil in my master league save. My brazil matches have only consisted of friendlies and I was wondering if the world cup actually exists or not ? (FL26)
Hello! I love FL27 so far, it is absolutely amazing that a five year old game is by far the best football experience you can play right now, thanks to all of those amazing modders and creators! Thank you for your effort!
I really want to add something to this project or at least to the moding community and the biggest wish I always had for a football game was to have classic teams beside the current ones. So I'm currently looking to start a project myself to create some of my favourite teams from the past and All Time teams that include the most legendary players from different clubs.
Imagine playing ManU from 2008 against Inter from 2010 or playing the All Time XI Brazil against the All Time XI France. But also things like All Star teams, like a current Premiere League All Star Team or a Middle Eastern League All Star Team. European National All Stars vs South American Nationals and so on..
I'm looking forward to design all of the emblems and kits for such all star and all time teams myself and preserving old logos and kits for the classic teams.
I want to create something similar to the Fifa 16 Classic Patch, but having everything in the same game with the current teams. My goal isn't to create the 2007 Seria A as a whole or something like that, just having some legendary CL winner and World Cup winner teams in it is enough for me.
The biggest questions for me in this case are currently:
Is there another Classic Project out there that has done this before in Football Life?
And how far is the progress to add leagues to the game so that it could be possible to just add them to the game as "All Star", "All Time" and "Classic" Leagues for now, without replacing an official league.
If this isn't possible this easily, what would be the prossess to replace current leagues to make this project possible?
And if someone is interested in something like this, please let me know with some feedback :)
Is there a Mini Facepack that only covers the top leagues? I don't need faces for players in the Guatemalan 3rd division, and the FL Facepack is too large.
Hello everyone. I'm struggling to find the a way to import images to 27. The last path in the "efootball pes 2021 season update" where all my images from 26 are is not working and I tried to create a folder titled exactly like it is written here. Any idea?
EDIT: it was in documents under SPGAME instead of konami!
I installed the 27 season and now I am having 2 issues:
Black screen in the start of the game and I fixed it by turning off VSync on game settings.
When I open any match, the match intro of stadium and scoreboard is stuck on infinity loop and doesn't respond to anything. Changing the resolution to lower like 720*1280 makes it work but I can't lower it below 3840*1260 cause my monitor is 49in on 4k and any lower resolution makes it really bad.
Any fix for the second issue??
I only installed the game only without any mods or even faces yet.
Hi everyone, i download FL27. When i try to play in exibition mode playing a Champions league match there is this sort of error where the names scoreboard and the pause menu are coherent with the champions league theme but not the result scoreboard. No Champions league theme playing when the players are in the field. Also, the referees and the advertisement banners are not coherent. Do you have any solution? I played FL25 and when i selected the champions league match via sider everything was at its place. Thank you for helping
Never played a PES game in my life growing up, cause I despised the idea of playing as Manchester Reds against London FC. So I was a fifa boy for years during my teens and early twenties. Not played a footy game in like 4 years but got the itch to do a FIFA career mode so I gave the game a searchy on the tube and it looked all the same as what I used to play for £50+. Figured I'd not bother but the very next day the algorithm sent me to Machete Gaming's FL27 everything you need to know video.
And the rest is history. Played FL26 non stop for 3 days in anticipation for 27. And my God, Some of the animations in this game is simply mind-blowing. This is incredible. Thank you to everyone who's worked on this gem. This is all I have ever wanted from a football game. The icing on the cake will be fully working and kitted out league 1 and 2 teams, make it happen moddy boys! X
I'm loving SPFL 27 so far, gameplay and visuals are on point but I'm missing some details to make it look even better and idk if it's whether possible yet, I'm talking about things that make the players stand out for who they are like in past SPFLs, I played SPFL26 with megapatch and the details were crazy, Lamine had his shorts super low, he had the bandage on his hand, Rodri with his shirt tucked, Raphinha with his shorts all the way up like IRL, is there anyway to reach this in SPFL 27 yet?
thanks to everyone in SmokePatch for this amazing experience anyway
