Last updated: 29 October 2026

Top 100 is competitive, but it is also a community. The rules exist to keep the game world fair, active and enjoyable — not to create administration for its own sake.

This page is the canonical Top 100 rulebook. Competition-specific rules published by the Tournament Centre take precedence where they are more specific than the general game-world rules below.

Key rules at a glance

If you are new to Top 100, start here. These are the rules newcomers most often miss:

1. 50-player squad limit. Loans count both ways: players loaned in and players loaned out.
2. Agreed deals are binding. Once both managers clearly agree a transfer, neither side can back out.
3. New database players: public bids only. Maximum £1,000,000 cash, with no hidden bids or side deals.

Each is covered in full below: the squad limit in section 4 and transfers in section 5.

1. Core principles

Top 100 is built around four simple expectations:

• Fair play — do not exploit loopholes, bugs, inactive managers or administrative ambiguity for an unfair advantage.
• Activity — manage your club, participate in fixtures and respond when other managers or administrators reasonably need an answer.
• Respect — disagreements are fine; abuse, harassment and deliberately disruptive behaviour are not.
• Good faith — agreed deals, competition arrangements and community decisions should be honoured.

Managers are expected to know the rules relevant to their club. If something is unclear, ask before acting rather than relying on an assumed loophole.

2. Game-world structure

Top 100 consists of five divisions of 20 clubs.

At the end of a normal league season:

• four clubs are promoted from each of Divisions 2–5;
• four clubs are relegated from each of Divisions 1–4;
• the bottom three managers in each division are normally subject to the game world’s automatic sacking rule.

Where a season requires a temporary variation because of vacancies, game-platform changes or another exceptional circumstance, the administrators will publish the change before it is applied.

3. Manager activity and conduct

Managers should:

• log in and manage their club regularly;
• make a reasonable effort to field competitive teams;
• respond to transfer negotiations and administrative messages where a response is needed;
• arrange or complete competition requirements by published deadlines;
• treat other managers and administrators with respect;
• avoid conduct intended to manipulate results, transfers, ownership or other game systems.

Repeated inactivity, serious misconduct or deliberate attempts to undermine the game world can lead to sanctions or removal.

Formal historic manager contracts are no longer the governing system. Performance-related sackings and the published bottom-three rule remain part of Top 100.

3.1 Sackings and reappointment

The bottom three managers in each division are subject to sacking at the end of the season. The administrators review each case. Reappointment is common.

The VAR standard. As set out in S25 Manager Reappointments, a bottom-three manager is reappointed unless reappointing them would be a clear and obvious error. The manager gets the benefit of the doubt. A second chance, though, is the administrators’ decision, not a given.

Never reappointed. A manager is not reappointed, and not offered another club, if they:

• are not a Gold member: every Top 100 manager must be, as every new manager joining is;
• are inactive: removed by Soccer Manager for not logging in, logging in irregularly (two or more spells of seven days or more without logging in during the season), unresponsive to the administrators or to fixture requests, or not setting teams;
• have committed misconduct, as recorded by the administrators.

This applies even to a manager who took over during the season.

Clear and obvious errors. Otherwise, the errors are those the S25 decisions relied on:

• Forfeits: three or more forfeits in Top 100 competitions in the season, including the World Club Cup, which is mandatory.
• A repeat: bottom three for a second season running, or a manager told at an earlier review that it was their last chance.
• A collapse: a finish at least 12 places below the position the squad’s strength predicted.
• A sanction during the season, such as a transfer ban.
• A low review score (see below): below 45 out of 100 in Divisions 1 and 2, where expectations are higher, and below 40 in Divisions 3 to 5.

Outcomes.

• Two or more errors: reappointing would be a clear and obvious error, and the manager is not reappointed.
• One error: the administrators decide whether to give a second chance, each recording a reason. It takes a majority. A manager given a second chance is on a last chance the following season.
• Took over during the season: reappointed (unless never reappointed, above). That season’s finish never counts against them, here or in an application (3.2).
• Divisions 3 to 5: reviews are usually routine. The manager is reappointed, without a review score or a vote, unless they ask to move or step away or “Never reappointed” applies. The administrators can still review any case in full where there is reason to.
• Standing reappointment: Frank Hirst, Top 100’s founder, at Genoa.

A manager who is not reappointed (other than under “Never reappointed”) may apply for any vacancy, and is offered the clubs still open after the vacancy round (3.2). Their club goes into the round.

Where reappointment would turn on a review score less than five points from the line, the administrators vote on that too, each recording a reason. An administrator does not vote on their own case. A manager may also ask to move or to step away; the request is recorded with the decision.

Review score. Each manager given a full review is scored out of 100, from the Stats & History record, the current league table and the administrators’ assessment. Everyone reviewed finished in the bottom three, so the score asks how the club did against its squad, not where it finished:

Filling the places. Top 100 aims to have 100 managers, but it is not a requirement. Vacancies at bigger clubs, in Divisions 1 and 2, attract existing Top 100 managers and keep the game world active, and the clubs they leave are filled in further rounds and by new managers joining. The administrators publish how many clubs need a manager after the review alongside the decisions.

Order. The bottom-three review comes first, so that every vacancy is known before applications close.

Record. As in 3.2, the administrators publish each manager’s errors, score and breakdown, the outcome, and the reason for any decision that departs from them.

3.2 Club vacancies and manager appointments

A club becomes vacant when its manager resigns, leaves Soccer Manager, is sacked, or is removed. A caretaker may run a vacant club until an appointment is made; being caretaker gives no preference in the appointment.

Applying. Vacancies are published with a closing date. Current Top 100 managers apply by naming the vacant clubs they want, in order of preference. Applying for one club only is fine: many managers prefer a long-term project to a move up. Applicants from outside Top 100, including Top 100 Regen managers, are considered for any club still vacant after current managers.

Eligibility. An applicant is not eligible if they:

• are not yet in at least their second season at their current club;
• are serving a transfer ban or another open sanction;
• are not a Gold member, as every Top 100 manager must be.

A bottom-three finish and a big step up do not rule anyone out. They are weighed in the score.

Scoring. Each applicant is scored out of 100 for each club they apply for, from the Stats & History record, the current league table and the administrators’ assessment:

A finishing position counts both within the division and across the 100-club pyramid. Squad strength uses the Stats & History ETOT measure.

Appointment. The scores guide the decision; they do not make it. Each applicant is matched to the club they most want that is still open. The highest of those scores is offered first, then the process repeats for the remaining clubs. Where applicants for the same club are within five points of each other, the administrators vote between them; each records a reason, and the reasons are published with the decision. An applicant who moves leaves a vacancy at their old club, which is filled in a further round in the same way.

Confirming. An appointment is offered to the manager, who confirms within 24 hours. A manager who declines, or doesn’t confirm in time, stays at their current club; the decision is published as declined and the club goes into the next round.

Record. The administrators publish each vacancy, the applicants, every score and its breakdown, and the decision. A decision that departs from the scores must give its reason.

3.3 Joining Top 100 or Top 100 Regen: the waiting list

New managers, and former managers who would like to come back, join the waiting list through a Manager Account. You can join the list for either game world, or both. New managers are encouraged to start in Top 100 Regen and prove themselves there.

Joining. Sign up with your email, give your Soccer Manager manager name, choose the game world or worlds, tell us how you found Top 100, and accept the rules agreement below.

Rules agreement. I have read and understood the Top 100 rules, and the Top 100 Regen rules where they apply, and I agree to follow them. I accept that the rules may change after I join, by a vote of the managers or by decision of the administrators, and that I will follow the rules as they stand at the time.

Order. When a club is still vacant after current managers have applied (3.2), it is offered from the waiting list. Former Top 100 managers returning after a break come first, then everyone else in order of their waiting-list score. The score guides the administrators; it does not make the decision.

Waiting-list score. Out of 100, from the records the administrators keep:

Where the records don’t yet show Gold or the number of game worlds, half the points are used until they do. A concern raised by a current manager takes 10 points off each time. Concerns are confidential to the administrators. Recommendations and concerns are one per current manager for each applicant.

Staying on the list. Confirm once a season that you are still interested, or your place lapses. You can leave the list at any time.

Offers. An offer of a club comes with a deadline. If it is not accepted in time, the club is offered to the next manager on the list.

Taking a club. Once you have taken the club in Soccer Manager, your Manager Account is linked to it and you leave the waiting list for that game world.

4. Squad management

4.1 Squad limit

A club may have a maximum of 50 players associated with its squad.

The limit is intended to prevent player hoarding and protect competitive balance. Managers are responsible for keeping their squad compliant. The limit applies at all times, including between transfer turns, and Soccer Manager’s own squad setting does not enforce it.

Going over 50, even briefly, normally means:

• a one-month transfer ban, during which the only permitted deals are cash sales to clubs outside Top 100;
• the signing that took the squad over 50 is sold for cash to a club outside Top 100 once that player’s own transfer ban ends, and the club may not bid for them again.

Squad sizes are checked regularly (see How we check), and managers are told when a check finds their squad over the limit. Managers and administrators can also report a squad seen over the limit (Manager Portal, Squad & Transfers); the administrators check each report, and the club’s manager is told if it is upheld. A breach that began while a club had no manager, such as loans taken while it was vacant, is not held against the manager who is then appointed, though they must bring the squad back within the limit. Players signed while a club had no manager, if frozen by a transfer ban, do not count towards the limit; they are sold once the ban ends.

4.2 Loans and the squad limit

Loan players count towards the 50-player limit in both directions:

• a player loaned to your club counts;
• a player loaned out from your club also counts.

A loan therefore does not create an extra squad place.

4.3 Youth Cup loans

Loans are not permitted in the Youth Cup. The current Youth Cup eligibility rules are maintained by the Tournament Centre and must be followed in addition to the general squad rules.

5. Transfers

5.1 Agreed deals are binding

An unambiguous transfer agreement between managers is binding.

Once both managers have clearly agreed the deal, either privately or publicly, neither party should withdraw simply because circumstances later change or a better offer appears.

5.2 Genuine mistakes

A five-minute grace period applies to a genuine mistake on a system bid where there was no prior agreement between managers.

This exception is for mistakes, not buyer’s remorse. Where a deal had already been agreed, the binding-agreement rule applies.

5.3 Multi-part and future deals

Deals involving several stages, future completion or other conditions should be recorded clearly so both managers — and, if necessary, administrators — can establish what was agreed.

Where the platform or current administrative process provides a dedicated place for future transfers, managers should use it.

5.4 Newly added players

Special bidding rules apply to players newly added to the Soccer Manager database:

• bids must be public, not hidden;
• the maximum bid is £1,000,000 cash;
• managers must not use side deals or other devices to evade the limit.

Breaching the new-player bidding rules can result in a transfer ban.

5.5 Third-party and artificial arrangements

Managers must not use another club as a device to evade a transfer restriction, squad rule, transfer ban or other rule. Transfers should reflect genuine management decisions by the clubs involved.

If an unusual deal may fall into a grey area, check with the administrators before proceeding.

6. Competitions

Top 100 runs competitions in addition to the five league divisions. Each competition may publish rules covering entry, player eligibility, scheduling, forfeits, tie-breaking and other competition-specific matters.

Where those rules are more specific, the competition rules take precedence for that competition.

Youth Cup

The Top 100 Youth Cup is administered through the Tournament Centre.

The full Youth Cup rules cover player eligibility, squad restrictions, loans, fixture arrangements, forfeits and Fictional Extra Time.

For Saturday fixtures, managers must now work to the current Soccer Manager arranging window: fixtures are normally available by Sunday evening; the home manager sends the friendly request promptly and no later than Wednesday; the away manager checks proactively and chases before Wednesday if no request has arrived. The responsibility remains shared, but the two duties are not identical. Evidence of a timely request, message or attempt to resolve a problem may distinguish an individual forfeit from a double failure.

World Club Cup

Historical World Club Cup coverage is preserved in the World Club Cup archive. Current tournament administration will move through the Tournament Centre as the competition is brought into the newer system.

7. Breaches and sanctions

Rules only work if they can be enforced consistently. Depending on the seriousness and circumstances of a breach, sanctions may include:

• a warning or reprimand;
• reversal or correction of an action where that is practical;
• a transfer ban;
• a competition forfeit or other competition sanction;
• removal from a competition;
• dismissal from a club or removal from the game world in serious or repeated cases.

Administrators should take account of intent, impact, previous breaches and whether the manager acted promptly to correct an honest mistake.

A sanction in one area does not automatically prevent a separate competition-specific sanction where both are relevant.

8. Reporting a possible breach

If you think a rule has been broken, provide enough information for the issue to be checked: the clubs or managers involved, what happened, when it happened and any relevant screenshots or messages.

Reports should be made in good faith. The purpose is to protect the game world, not to weaponise the rules against rivals.

Use Contact / Join or email admin@smtop100.blog if a matter needs administrator attention.

How we check

Some rules can be checked without waiting for a report. Admin regularly update Top 100’s records: league tables, squads, transfers, Gold membership and logins. AI is then used to crunch the numbers, for example to spot squads over the limit, expired Gold and long absences, and to prepare the figures for end-of-season reviews and appointments.

When a check finds something, the administrators are told, and so is the manager concerned where it affects them. The checks only flag things; every decision is made by the administrators, as these rules set out.

9. Rule changes and community decisions

Top 100 has always combined administration with manager democracy.

Significant rule changes and wider game-world decisions can be put to Community Polls so managers can help shape how the world is run.

Minor clarifications, corrections and administrative procedures may be updated without a full vote where they do not materially change the substance of a rule.

When a substantive rule changes, the effective date should be clear. Historical decisions should be preserved rather than silently rewritten so that an older dispute can be judged against the rule that applied at the time.

Change record

10 November 2026 — Voting counts towards activity. In section 3.2, activity and contribution includes voting in awards votes and polls (2 points: the share of the votes in the last 12 months the manager could take part in and did). Community and social activity is now worth 2 points and focus 1, so activity stays at 20. A vote still open never counts against anyone. How many managers have voted is shown publicly while each vote is open.

10 November 2026 — Confirming an appointment. In section 3.2, an appointment is offered to the manager, who confirms within 24 hours. A manager who declines, or doesn’t confirm in time, stays at their current club; the decision is published as declined and the club goes into the next round.

5 November 2026 — Waiting list and rules agreement. New section 3.3: new and returning managers join a waiting list for Top 100 or Top 100 Regen through a Manager Account, accept the rules agreement (including later changes by vote or by the administrators), are ordered with returning Top 100 managers first and then by a published waiting-list score, confirm their place once a season, and are offered vacant clubs with a deadline to accept.

31 October 2026 — Appointment scoring. In section 3.2, an applicant loses 2.5 points from stability and conduct for each forfeit in a Top 100 competition this season, such as the Youth Cup. Community and social activity, and sanctions, are assessed by each administrator separately, and the average is used.

28 October 2026 — Sackings, vacancies, appointments and squad limit breaches. Section 3.1 records how bottom-three sackings work in practice: each case is reviewed and scored, reappointment is common, and a manager who took over during the season is reappointed unless inactive. Reviews in Divisions 3 to 5 are usually routine (reappointed unless the manager asks to move or step away), with full reviews where there is reason. Reappointment follows the VAR standard from S25: a manager is reappointed unless reappointing them would be a clear and obvious error, with the benefit of the doubt; a second chance is the administrators’ decision. Gold membership and regular logins are required, and Gold membership is required to apply for a vacancy. Section 3.2 sets out how vacant clubs are filled, with published eligibility rules, a scored assessment (activity includes focus: managing in no more than three Soccer Manager game worlds in all) and a recorded decision; it first applies to the vacancies at the end of S28. Section 4.1 records the sanction applied to squad limit breaches in S28 (Olympique Lyonnais, 19 October 2026), and that players frozen by a transfer ban do not count towards the limit. Section 8 explains how the administrators check the rules (How we check).

13 September 2026 — Youth Cup fixture arrangements. The Youth Cup arranging procedure was updated because changes to Soccer Manager mean Wednesday can now be the last opportunity to arrange a Saturday friendly. The obsolete instruction for the away manager to wait until 24 hours before kick-off was replaced by the Sunday-to-Wednesday procedure in the current Youth Cup rules. The clarification applies from 13 September 2026 and does not retrospectively reopen S28 Youth Shield Round of 32 decisions from 12 September 2026.

10. Top 100 Regen

Top 100 Regen is a separate sister game world.

Regen uses this Top 100 rulebook as its foundation unless a Regen-specific rule says otherwise. Its own requirements and exceptions are published on the Top 100 Regen rules page.

Where the two rule sets differ, the Regen-specific rule applies inside Regen.

11. Which rule takes precedence?

If two pages appear to conflict, use this order:

1. a current competition-specific rule for the competition concerned;
2. a current Regen-specific rule for Top 100 Regen;
3. this canonical Top 100 rulebook;
4. older archived posts or historic versions of the rules.

If the answer is still unclear, ask the administrators before acting.

12. Historical rulebooks

Older versions of the Top 100 rules are part of the history of the game world and should remain available as archived records, but they are not current authority once superseded by this page.

The former standalone rulebook at rules.smtop100.blog is being retired in favour of this canonical page.