Where apps hide your files
Football Manager keeps saves, cloud saves and graphics in one hidden Library folder named for your edition. Here is where to find it, which subfolder holds what, and how to back it up.
For Football Manager 2020 and later on a Mac, everything the game writes lives in one folder per edition. Saves you make as local saves are in its games folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 26/games/Swap in your edition's folder name: Football Manager 2024 for FM24, Football Manager 26 for FM26 (FM26 drops the "20"). Saves you make to the cloud go one level deeper, in cloud/games inside the same edition folder. SEGA's support pages give the Mac folder as ~/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/<Football Manager title>, and say it also holds the cache, logs and preferences. To see the exact names on your Mac:
ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Sports\ Interactive~/Library is hidden. SEGA's own route: in Finder, open the Go menu, hold ⌥ so Library appears, choose it, then open Application Support > Sports Interactive. Or choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) and paste the path. From Terminal:
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Sports\ InteractiveFM19 and earlier used ~/Documents/Sports Interactive/ instead; an FM Scout post says Sports Interactive moved Mac user files into Library with FM20 because of permission changes in macOS Catalina.
The Save As screen (FM > Save As in a loaded game) lets you choose Local or Cloud. Steam's cloud settings for FM24 and FM26 sync .fm files from cloud/games and other game files from the cloud folder, so:
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
games | Local saves (.fm files) |
cloud/games | Cloud saves, synced by Steam |
cloud (other subfolders) | Other synced game files (.fmf), such as exported tactics; community answers place FM26 tactics in cloud/tactics |
graphics | Facepacks, logos and kits you install |
| Cache, logs and preferences folders | Working files SEGA says live here too; list the folder for their exact names |
Some folders appear only after you use the feature, so list yours rather than expecting every row.
Quit the game first, and follow the pack author's instructions, because packs differ.
graphics inside your edition folder, in its own subfolder. If graphics does not exist, create it (lower case).Facepacks and logo packs usually include a config.xml, which is what maps pictures to players and clubs. A pack placed in the wrong folder is ignored without an error.
Skins changed with FM26's new engine. Early reports said custom skins were not possible; community tools now install them, so a skin for FM26 comes with its own installer or instructions rather than a folder you drop in graphics. Check which game update a skin supports before you install it.
SEGA's backup advice is to copy the game files folder and to turn on autosave weekly or fortnightly with New File for Each Auto Save, so you always have a recent copy. With the game closed:
For a quick one-off, copy games and cloud/games. SEGA notes you can delete old autosaves by hand from the same folder when they pile up; check the date before you remove one.
SEGA's article on saving failures suggests, in a loaded game, FM > Save As, then Browse to save somewhere else such as the Desktop. If that works, the problem is likely permissions on the default folder. You can also try saving to Cloud rather than Local. To change the default location, search Preferences for "location". Check who owns the folders with:
ls -ld ~/Library/Application\ Support/Sports\ Interactive/*That lists names and permissions only. Your own account should own them.
On Steam, cloud saves are a second copy, not a replacement for your own backup. If you restore an older file into cloud/games, Steam may report a conflict or sync over it. Quit the game, restore, then open Steam and, if it offers Local Save or Cloud Save, choose the one you know is right. Restoring into the local games folder avoids the question. To pause syncing while you work, open the game's Properties in Steam and turn off Keep game's saves in the Steam Cloud for it.
~/Library/Containers rather than the folder above; ls ~/Library/Containers | grep -i sega lists the candidates.~/Library is left out of Spotlight and Finder searches, and a .fm file carries whatever name you typed when you saved, not the club or season you remember.
Type the save's name, or just .fm, into Everywhere to list every Football Manager save on the Mac with its folder, which shows at once whether it went to games or cloud/games. The Application Support folders are scanned without extra permission. Press ⌘↵ to reveal one in Finder. It reads file names only, so the game's load screen is still where you see which club a save belongs to.
For FM20 and later, in ~/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/<edition>/games/, for example Football Manager 2024 or Football Manager 26. Saves made to the cloud are in cloud/games in the same folder; FM19 and earlier used ~/Documents/Sports Interactive.
In a graphics folder inside your edition folder under ~/Library/Application Support/Sports Interactive/. Create it if it is missing and follow the pack author's instructions; FM26 skins use community install tools instead.
Quit the game and copy the edition folder, or at least games and cloud/games, to another drive. SEGA also suggests weekly or fortnightly autosaves with New File for Each Auto Save turned on.
SEGA suggests FM > Save As, then Browse to save to another location such as the Desktop, or saving to Cloud instead of Local. If that works, the default folder probably has a permissions problem.
Everywhere keeps track of every file on your Mac — including the folders Spotlight hides and drives you have unplugged. Free for a day, then $19 once.
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