[FM22] North America Unleashed - A 3 File FM22 Database

[WotinTarnation]

Note: The scenario that this database is based off of is entirely fictional.

How did we get here?
It kinda all started in 2006 with the election of a ginger hammer. Well, if you know what I'm talking about, you know exactly where this is going. The election of a new commissioner for the league ended up spelling the beginning of the end for the titan that was the National Football League. Roger Goodell tried everything in his power to protect the shield, but the shield ended up crumbling. Spygate hit hard. Bountygate dealt a blow. The League's stance on concussions and trying to make the game safer didn't go so well. Pile on Deflategate and Kaepernick and the NFL was beginning to sound exactly like the No Fun League. Attendance began to dwindle, all while other sports began to rise to greater heights. All of a sudden, the biggest sports league in the United States was beginning to fall on its knees.

On the other side of the spectrum was Major League Soccer. To an casual American fan, what would be a good alternative to the non-football that the NFL now doled out every Sunday in the fall and winter months? There was always the NBA, NHL and MLB to fall back on, as those leagues had established fanbases. College football would be the next best option, and many former NFL fans flocked to see Alabama kick everyone to the curb like the legendary Barcelona teams of the late 2000s and early to mid 2010s. And then there was the other football, one that the American casual might call soccer. MLS was growing at a rapid pace. By 2016, MLS had 20 teams and had ambitions and plans to grow even further. Minnesota, Atlanta, LAFC and whatever Beckham had in Miami were on the way, and many more cities patiently waited in the wings. Sensing the NFL's slow march to irrelevancy, Don Garber pulls the ultimate smug move - A switch to promotion and relegation and a winter schedule by 2024. The NFL wasn't even confident that they would get that far.

However by 2020, the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the trajectory of both leagues. The MLS is Back Tournament drew in viewers from across the country, some already converted to the colors of their new soccer team while others wondered what the hell soccer even was beyond the funny non-qualification - Of course, Trinidad still happened so the USMNT missed out on Russia. Even with no fans in the stands and losses projected across the board, by the time the Columbus Crew lifted MLS Cup whilst the NFL saw tumbleweeds, it was clear who was top dog.

And then the NFL ceased all operations after Super Bowl LV.

MLS was scrambling to sort out literally EVERYTHING amid the sudden end of the National Football League, from all the unclaimed TV money to the messy stadium situation. It was clear those pro-rel plans came in VERY handy, and 72 hours after the NFL closed shop, the MLS season was postponed to August. Why? This wasn't really the MLS anymore.

Introducing the American Soccer League
The American Soccer League is the spiritual successor of MLS. All 26 American teams that will participate by 2023 (We'll get to the Canadian 3 later) are placed in a single league, with each team playing each other once before the league splits in two and they do it all over again but with the opponents in their own group. In the regular season alone it makes up a 37 game schedule, but Americans can't stomach a 37 game season without a sudden championship decider. They need playoffs. The ASL looked at that and simply scoffed. Of course there would be playoffs. A 12 team championship playoff tournament determines the ASL champions after the regular season, with all matches being played at neutral sites for... Entertainment and rewarding fan loyalty, I guess? For those in the bottom 8 spots, however, they get playoffs too. The teams ranked 18th to 26th have to go through a 2 legged relegation playoff. The losers go down with no mercy given to them by Garber and the ASL gods to...

USL Madness
This whole new radical pro/rel thing meant one thing would be obvious - A connection with the emerging USL space. This came, as expected, with a new 3 tier system, known as A12 - A-League, League One and League Two. The USL A-League is the top of the USL pyramid, with 20 teams, all from what we call in our world the USL Championship, playing each other twice for a 38 game season. The winner, as expected, gets promoted straight to the ASL and gets to take all the riches that the top flight provide. And then 2nd through to 13th play a single-legged neutral site promotion playoff series with the remaining 3 teams also going up. 15th and 20th go through the same 2 legged relegation playoff as the ASL guys, so only 14th place has to move onto the next season. With teams swooping down and flying up from the leagues in between and basically the entire league either in a promotion push or relegation fight, it's a good league to start off for those who care very much about their scenarios or just wants to be promoted in the most bonkers way possible.

USL League One is a tamer USL A-League, with 24 teams, with some from USL Championship and all the teams from the current USL League One and a strong NISA contingent taking part for a 46 game schedule. Again, like the A-League, the winner gets promoted and promotion and relegation playoffs are included. Unlike the A-League, the promotion playoff is contested by the teams who finished 2nd through to 9th, but are still neutral site matches, with the remaining 2 teams going up. 24th onto 17th go forward to the relegation playoffs, with the losers, yes all 4 of them like ASL, going down into division 4. And if you like madness, you sure as hell are going to like USL League Two.

88, yes, 88 teams contest the American 4th division, including all the current League Two first teams (And Park City for some reason) as of 2022 plus a custom team out of the fairly underrated former soccer hotbed that is Fall River, Massachusetts (Yes I live there, sorry for asking). They compete in 8 groups of 11 for a rather tame 30 game schedule. The top 4 in each group advance to a mad dash promotion playoff series where only 4 of them will go up into League One. It's lower league soccer at its most intense, and what could in some other format be a promotion guaranteed season might be snuffed out in the very last match of the campaign, forcing you and your squad to start right back at square one. For those who want the most intense road to glory perhaps offered in a custom US database, start with Manhattan SC (The only designated amateur team in the database) and somehow get to the ASL with them. It's probably impossible, so I will be DAMNED if one of you actually does that.

Don't Wanna Be A Canadian Idiot
Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and CF Montreal, the 3 Canadian teams in MLS, aren't present in the US pyramid because of politics and elitism reasons. When 2021 rolled around, those 3 teams, as well as the Thunder Bay Chill, took their sticks up and took a hike to the Canadian Premier League which, like the ASL, has also received a big boost from the fall of the NFL. Taking notes from the Scottish Premiership, the 38 game long Canadian campaign is made up of a triple round robin stage and a single round robin split stage with zero playoffs whatsoever. The team on top of the CPL wins the title for that year. Unlike the ASL, there is no promotion and relegation, and that's because it would be too difficult to implement in my eyes.

League1 Canada gets a major overhaul in this database, inspired wholeheartedly on League1 Ontario's "2024 Plan". Both Ontario (Adding a couple more teams) and an amalgamation of League1 BC, the AMSL and the Pacific Coast Soccer League known as League1 West adopt 3 tiers of promotion and relegation complete with playoffs for promotion between Premier, Championship and 2. Both Ontario and West have 12 team Premiers and 10 team Championships, but Ontario has a 16 team League2 made up of 13 first teams and 3 B teams of the most successful League1 sides while West has an 8 team League2. Quebec (Now known as Ligue1 Quebec) remains the same, with a 4 team playoff and CF Montreal's B team moved over for a new side. If lower league Canadian soccer is your thing, here's just the thing for you.

Cups Cups Cups
Just a quick rundown of the various cups for both the US and Canada:

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - The US main domestic cup, featuring teams from the ASL all the way down to lower tier sides in the UPSL, USASA and NPSL, winner qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League
ASL Challenge Cup - The league cup for ASL sides, not as important as the USOC but still doles out a decent purse
USL Cup - The league cup for USL teams, a very competitive competition where even the lower league teams can go far (I've seen League Two teams win the whole thing a couple times)
ASL Wembley Challenge - Inspired by the NFL's International Series, the US supercup between the ASL and USOC champions at Wembley Stadium in London right before Christmas... For some reason. Will work starting in the 2022/23 season, and yes teams can tie and share the victory
Canadian Championship - The Canadian main domestic cup, featuring CPL and League1 Premier teams with very generous payouts. Winner qualifies for the CCL
League1 Canada Cup - The "inter-provincial" cup competition for League1 Canada teams, with all Premier and Championship and some League2 teams involved
League1 Ontario Cup, Coupe L1Q and League1 West Cup - The provincial knockout competitions for the 3 League1 systems, Coupe L1Q remains basically the same as it was before but Ontario and West use all the teams from their systems

CONCACAF
The 3rd file in this database offers up a considerable overhaul to CONCACAF's continental cup competitions. Like what used to occur with the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores in CONMEBOL, the continental season is split up into fall and spring stages, with fall housing the 3 regional second tier competitions and spring hosting the CCL. A little explainer on each of these competitions:

SuperLiga - A revival of the first attempt of a MLS and Liga MX competition, this time featuring CPL teams as well. Each league gets 4 teams and 1 team per nation is placed on 4 groups of 3 for a double round robin group. Group winners advance to the Semi-Finals and Final at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Copa Interclubes Centroamericana - A revival of the UNCAF Interclub Cup which puts 16 of Central America's best teams in a straight knockout format, all matches consisting of 2 legs
Caribbean Club Championship - A complete retooling of the Caribbean's top club competition, with 18 teams (Yes, including those from amateur leagues) placed in 6 groups of 3 with single round robin, with the winners and best 2 runners-up going to the knockout stage. Quarters and Semis are single legged at the first team's home stadium, while the Final is a neutral site affair.
CONCACAF Champions League - The big one, the main continental cup competition. 4 teams from US and Canada (3 each from the leagues, 1 each from the domestic cups) and 3 from Liga MX as well as the league champions from the other nations who partake in the CIC and CCC partake in a 32 team knockout tournament to decide the continent's champions. Round of 32 up to the Semis are 2 legged, while the Final is single legged at the first team's stadium.

A couple of things to note:

-Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup are primarily Liga MX competitions, I once used Leagues Cup as the NA domestic competition instead of SuperLiga and after the first season the Mexican teams would overrun it if I had Liga MX loaded. Yes some ASL teams will compete in both competitions during year 1, but by year 2 it's an all Liga MX affair. In this timeline, consider it as the Mexican league wanting to expand to the American market.
-Yes, CONCACAF teams do still qualify for the Club World Cup, but since I didn't put in any qualification stuff for the CWC, it's primarily done by reputation by my best guess. Thanks to all of this, however, CONCACAF teams, especially ASL and CPL, are much more competitive and can beat the best teams in Europe.

Other Additions
-The youth rating for the US and Canada has increased to 170
-Huge buffs to training and youth stats for club sides - All ASL and USL teams and CPL sides have 20s across the board, while League1 sides have less
-Increases in finances and reps for ASL, USL and Canadian teams (CPL has 6 billion bucks to spend between them, for example)
-All ASL and USL sides are professional
-Added hashtags for all ASL sides, most of which are accurate to the actual MLS hashtags
-Added stadiums for teams that lacked them, some fictional, some moving into digs already in the game, and some actual ones being used in real life (Chicago House move to where New Fire Stadium would usually be as well)
-Moved teams in NFL markets into their NFL stadiums (Sorry Quakes fans, you're now known as the San Francisco Earthquakes thanks to this)
-Stadium easter egg - Daytona International Speedway is included (They played host to a NWSL regular season match and a friendly match between Deportivo Cali and America de Cali this year hence why it's in the database)
-Added kits and colors to Saint Louis City and USL teams who didn't have them in game (Couldn't get to Canada, sorry)
-Increased stats and rep to Liga MX as well so they aren't overshadowed immediately if you load all 3 nations
-Saint Pierre and Miquelon are now a FIFA member with heavy involvement by the New England Revolution
-Youth and reserve teams and leagues added for both the US and Canada (US has ASL Next and Next Pro, Canada has academy (U21) and reserve leagues for CPL and League1 teams)

A couple things I forgot to mention:
-All US competitions excluding the US Open Cup use golden goal extra time as well as penalties for knockout ties
-All ASL and A-League teams have affiliations with teams from other North American nations besides the US (Except El Paso and Juarez for reasons) or with lower-league Canadian teams. These are to help smaller nations generate youngsters
-Transfer and wage valuations for the US and Canada have increased

Notes
-This database requires the use of all 3 files to operate functionally (I could make a new file to make the CONCACAF overhaul playable without the other 2 files if the demand is there)
-Toggling "Add Players to Teams" is recommended, if not be prepared for Thunder Bay to dominate the CPL!
-I have tested this numerous times throughout development (I have developed this since June just so you know) so most bugs should be in the rear-view mirror, if you find some let me know
-I couldn't fix the faulty champions thing for USL League Two, so don't celebrate too early!
-Same thing for League1 Championship and League2 as well, just so you know
-For some reason TFC 2 and Vancouver 2 as well as the TFC, CF Montreal and Vancouver academies aren't in the CPL reserve and academy leagues and Victoria Highlanders have their reserve and youth teams in there as well, hence why LeagueR West and LeagueY West aren't really complete

Screenshots
 

Spoiler

...Yes that's a lot of screenshots.

Anyways, that should be it! If you have any problems or questions please let me know! Otherwise, good luck and pray to the FM gods!

 

NA Unleashed - United States.fmf NA Unleashed - Canada.fmf NA Unleashed - CONCACAF Competitions.fmf

Edited August 31, 2022 by WotinTarnation
Added more additions

[michaelfarrow]

I'll give this a go.  Chronically disappointed with most Pro/Rel patches.  I still play my own Pro-Rel CM 01/02 patch as a result.

[trebird]

I can't wait to play this as my local team  miami fc on a new computer as my fm keeps crashing can you post some regens please 

[Number seven]

This looks great, did you use existing clubs only or did you add fantasy clubs?

[WotinTarnation]

9 minutes ago, Number seven said:

This looks great, did you use existing clubs only or did you add fantasy clubs?

It's almost all existing clubs, with Fall River being a hybrid (An existing, albeit marked extinct, club with added colors and kits and whatnot). For FR, imagine that the team didn't really die around the 1960s like they did in real life and only just went to League Two in this world. Yes, St. Louis City is in the database AS an existing club, just without the colors. For the kits from the teams that didn't have them, they're also mostly based on real life with only a couple being thought up in my head. Yes, some of the clubs marked with U-23 or Academy in League Two that are just first teams were renamed (FC Florida U-23 becoming FC Treasure Coast due to the fact that they were the Treasure Coast Tritons beforehand are a main example) but Malaga City New York had to be renamed to Pathfinder... Because they are actually Pathfinder now.

[Jorgen]

As this is a pro/rel extravaganza, have you ever seen what they did in The Netherlands or Bulgaria?

In The Netherlands, you have the Eerste Divisie (for sponsorship called Keuken Kampioen Divisie) which is the 2nd level on the pyramid. Here pro/rel goes between winners of 1 of the 4 periods, or when a team won multiple periods, then the highest placed team under that; plus the teams that are highest on the endtable that have not won a period. 

Or in Bulgaria, where you can end just under the midtable position and have to play relegation play-offs, but when doing great in this part of the competition, you can also win the last European ticket.

I am not that great with the Editor, but I once dreamed about a 10-level pyramid with the strangest, hardest, greatest pro/rel matches of all time

[WotinTarnation]

26 minutes ago, Jorgen said:

As this is a pro/rel extravaganza, have you ever seen what they did in The Netherlands or Bulgaria?

In The Netherlands, you have the Eerste Divisie (for sponsorship called Keuken Kampioen Divisie) which is the 2nd level on the pyramid. Here pro/rel goes between winners of 1 of the 4 periods, or when a team won multiple periods, then the highest placed team under that; plus the teams that are highest on the endtable that have not won a period. 

Or in Bulgaria, where you can end just under the midtable position and have to play relegation play-offs, but when doing great in this part of the competition, you can also win the last European ticket.

I am not that great with the Editor, but I once dreamed about a 10-level pyramid with the strangest, hardest, greatest pro/rel matches of all time

Wales has a European playoff for the final spot, and I think Switzerland is adopting playoffs up the wazoo too in a couple years. Not to mention what Asenso MX did before that went away (If you win Apetura and Clausura you automatically go to Liga MX, if you win only one of them there's a playoff between you and the other stage winner to decide the winning team). And of course there's the Copa Peru where the winner automatically goes to the top flight. Certainly the US isn't alone here

Edited August 31, 2022 by WotinTarnation
Added parenthesis

[Jorgen]

@WotinTarnation Often, those are really strange ways to get no reward when you really did deserve one  

Edited August 31, 2022 by Jorgen

[podunkboy]

Looks intriguing, but I'll likely have to open it up in editor and make a FC Wichita team, whether I manage them or not, got to have the hometown boys in there. 

[WotinTarnation]

1 minute ago, podunkboy said:

Looks intriguing, but I'll likely have to open it up in editor and make a FC Wichita team, whether I manage them or not, got to have the hometown boys in there. 

Good news! They're in the database! You can add in the players from the team if you want.

Edited August 31, 2022 by WotinTarnation
Changed game to database

[igorlv]

awesome, can you send me continental file in xml for i use in fm21??

[yoshadii]

Is the transfer deadline event on in this? 

Edited August 31, 2022 by yoshadii

[WotinTarnation]

1 hour ago, yoshadii said:

Is the transfer deadline event on in this? 

The transfer windows are the same as you'd find in, say, England for example: June 1st to August 31st for Summer and January 1st to January 31st for Winter. I have seen the US and Canadian teams splash $5B in a single window multiple times.

[WotinTarnation]

1 hour ago, igorlv said:

awesome, can you send me continental file in xml for i use in fm21??

Unfortunately I don't really have the skills to do the XML file portion, sorry. But I do plan to do a standalone continental file at some point before FM23 comes out.

Edited September 1, 2022 by WotinTarnation
Fixed sentence formatting

[yoshadii]

8 minutes ago, WotinTarnation said:

The transfer windows are the same as you'd find in, say, England for example: June 1st to August 31st for Summer and January 1st to January 31st for Winter. I have seen the US and Canadian teams splash $5B in a single window multiple times.

Right the windows I get. is the deadline day event still in for the last day of a transfer window? Sorry if I wasn’t clear before. 

[WotinTarnation]

Just now, yoshadii said:

Right the windows I get. is the deadline day event still in for the last day of a transfer window? Sorry if I wasn’t clear before. 

Most likely yes.

[WotinTarnation]

10 hours ago, trebird said:

I can't wait to play this as my local team  miami fc on a new computer as my fm keeps crashing can you post some regens please 

Here's a regen by the name of John Chavez. Bought in my sim of this by (World champions might I add purely due to the CWC picking them at complete random) Minnesota United before even playing a game for the Charlotte Independence and played decently for them before being snapped up by Man City. Although not having scored a goal yet and having assisted a tiny bit he is essentially America's answer to Alphonso Davies, minus his versatility in attack.

[oche balboa]

Looks impressive 

[yoshadii]

The yellow card bans are brutal. It’s 2 then every yellow card after is a ban. I thought it was just my team but half of the games are being played with 2-4 players suspended. Is there any chance you would change the yellow card ban rules? Other then that it’s a great database in my limited time with it.  It’s all the way down to league 2 in the American Leagues. 

Edited September 1, 2022 by yoshadii

[anitamui]

I hope there is a Compatibility version of your CONCACAF File

[EnigMattic1]

What did you do with FC Manitoba? They were in the same league as Thunder Bay IRL. Couldn't spot them in the screenshots.

[WotinTarnation]

2 hours ago, EnigMattic1 said:

What did you do with FC Manitoba? They were in the same league as Thunder Bay IRL. Couldn't spot them in the screenshots.

I placed them in League1 West Premier to help them get up to 12 teams like Ontario Premier. They're still playable and can be a force in that league.

[WotinTarnation]

4 hours ago, yoshadii said:

The yellow card bans are brutal. It’s 2 then every yellow card after is a ban. I thought it was just my team but half of the games are being played with 2-4 players suspended. Is there any chance you would change the yellow card ban rules? Other then that it’s a great database in my limited time with it.  It’s all the way down to league 2 in the American Leagues. 

To be honest I didn't really do anything to the yellow card bans and just set them as the default the FM editor gave me. I understand that you can pluck in players from your reserves/2 teams or the youth teams you have, but that can be a pressing issue especially for a title/promotion charge or relegation fight. I'll definitely change up the yellow card ban settings to those of MLS in real life by October.

[oche balboa]

Basic or Advanced? 

[trebird]

Looks great thanks for posting 

[WotinTarnation]

48 minutes ago, oche balboa said:

Basic or Advanced? 

It's all in the Basic editor.

[Number seven]

Is there any chance you can create a new level in the pyramid with the NPSL and maybe the UPSL teams?

[WotinTarnation]

2 hours ago, Number seven said:

Is there any chance you can create a new level in the pyramid with the NPSL and maybe the UPSL teams?

There is a good chance. Towards July and early August I had planned for NPSL to be playable in the database as the 5th tier with no promotion and relegation between it and League Two, complete with its own league cup for its teams. However, I decided against it and instead shifted my focus towards the ASL and USL. In the future I might do NPSL but split it into 2 tiers, kind of like the English National League and NL North and South.

[Number seven]

Great idea to make it looks like the national league.

[yoshadii]

👍🏾

Edited September 6, 2022 by yoshadii

[trebird]

Looks awesome but Miami FC doesn't have a youth team first season 

[podunkboy]

Finished my first season with FC Wichita (although I adjusted their kit colors to the hideous orange and blue of the old Wichita Wings indoor team - looks great on the outdoor pitch). Clinched the league with 6 games to play, stormed through the promotional playoffs with a 3-game road sweep, outscoring the opponents 9-1. Had a real problem with the yellow-card suspensions near the end of the year (got the scrubs plenty of playing time), but even with several players losing two weeks of paychecks, the end-of-season payouts probably made up for it. No pressure, the board wants promotion again next season, even with 24 teams in League 1 (and to motivate me, they only gave me a 1-year contract.)  Onward and upward!

[WotinTarnation]

Sorry that I only got this out on Halloween, but there is a discipline update for NA Unleashed. US is up to MLS's yellow card suspension rule and Canada is up to the CPL's, both in real life. I was unable to do the standalone CONCACAF competition thing, but I think that there is some fixes there. See you in FM23 guys!

NA Unleashed - CONCACAF Competitions.fmf NA Unleashed - United States.fmf NA Unleashed - Canada.fmf

[yoshadii]

Will you be making this for fm23?