Why Max Dowman is missing from Football Manager 27 despite being old enough to feature

Where is Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman in the new Football Manager? The 16-year-old's absence from the latest instalment of the game has not gone unnoticed amongst fans.

Dowman, who is the Premier League's youngest-ever goalscorer, was too young to meet eligibility requirements last year, when Football Manager 26 was released.

He was born on December 31, 2009, meaning he was still 15 years old when the game's age eligibility cut-off passed in August that year.

READ MORE: 10 'hidden' wonderkids every Football Manager 27 player needs to buy in first save

Sports Interactive's general eligibility rule is that a player must be at least 16 to be included without special parental permission. So, why isn't Dowman in the new game after turning 16?

Dowman is old enough to feature in FM 27, but meeting the age requirement doesn't automatically guarantee inclusion.

According to community website Passion4FM, his absence is down to licensing restrictions. In fact, Dowman is said to be one of 20 Arsenal academy players removed from the database.

Other Arsenal players missing from the database are said to include Gabriel Arteta, the 17-year-old son of manager Mikel Arteta, as well as Emerson Nwaneri, Jayden Oba and Josh Sesay.

FM Scout, another community site, have recently addressed the matter by releasing a 'real names' fix, an unofficial modification that replaces fake or unlicensed names with their real-life equivalents.

Where can I buy Football Manager 27?

Multiple retailers have Football Manager 27 available for pre-order for your Xbox or PC.

At full price, the game costs £49.99, but there's currently 16 per cent off on the Fanatical website. And you can snag an additional five per cent off with our exclusive code SPORTBIBLE5, bringing the cost down to £39.89.

Anyone that pre-orders the game will be able to access the title after the five-day free preview ends on November 3, 2026 and before general release on November 9, 2026.

You can apply the code at checkout here.

Shop FM27 at the following retailers:

• Steam/Microsoft: Fanatical
• Xbox: Loaded
• PS5: Playstation

Max Dowman is related to former England captain

Back in 2024, a retired teacher uncovered an unexpected connection between his family and Arsenal prodigy Dowman after watching an under-16 friendly between England and Italy.

Dave Male was on holiday in Murcia, a city in the southeastern region of Spain, when he decided to visit the nearby Pinatar Arena, a venue often used for football training camps and friendlies.

On this occasion, the arena was playing host to an under-16 friendly between England and Italy.

England's line-up included several familiar names, including goalscorer Amir Ibragimov, who is widely regarded as one of Manchester United's top youth prospects.

But for Male, one name stood out amongst the rest. “I was looking at the team sheet and that’s when the name Dowman hit me straight away," he said in a recent interview with The Guardian.

Male recognised the Dowman name from his own family history.

“My grandmother was born Maria Maud Dowman and she was the mother of George Male, who captained Arsenal and England," he added. "So it turns out he is distantly related to Max through his great, great, great, great grandfather William Dowman."

George Male, who made his Arsenal debut in 1930, played a significant role in their success under manager Herbert Chapman and won five league titles in eight seasons for the Gunners.

In fact, he became the first player in history to win six English top-flight titles when Arsenal were crowned champions in 1948.

Male, whose name is celebrated in two places outside the Emirates Stadium, went on to become a coach and chief scout at Arsenal after hanging up his boots.