Embrace Free Football Fun: Old Championship Manager, Windows Edition

Championship Manager 01/02 was one of the highlights of the Championship Manager series, the precursor to the Football Manager franchise. Many soccer fanatics and more casual players still adore that retro game because it’s both an accessible yet in-depth soccer management simulator that’s not overly complex, with many playable leagues and a big database of players.

Eidos Interactive made Championship Manager 01/02 a freely available download from 2008, and online communities have kept this classic retro game alive and kicking ever since. This is how you can play the Championship Manager 01/02 soccer management game on a Windows 11/10 PC.

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links

If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

1. Download and Extract the Championship Manager 01/02 ZIP

The Championship Manager 01/02 download is an ISO image file packaged within a ZIP archive. You can download the game from thisChampionship Manager 01/02 FMINSIDE.NET page . Click theDirect download button and selectDownload on the new tab that opens.

When you’ve downloaded Championship Manager 01/02, you’ll need to extract its ZIP archive. You can do that with one of the methods in ourguide to extracting ZIP files in Windows .

2. Download and Install WinCDEmu

As the downloaded Championship Manager 01/02 file is an ISO, you will need to mount its image with WinCDEmu. WinCDEmu is one of thebest freeware software packages for mounting ISO files on a Windows PC. That software will create a virtual disc drive with which you can access and install Championship Manager 01/02. This is how you can download and install WinCDEmu:

1. Open this WinCDEmu download page onSoftpedia .
2. Click WinCDEmu’sFree Download option.
3. You will now see some download location options. ClickSoftpedia Mirror (US) , which is the best option for players in North America.
   
4. Next, press theWindows + E buttons on your keyboard to open File Explorer and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded WinCDEmu file.
5. Double-clickWinCDEmu-4.1.exe to bring up that software’s installation window.
6. ClickInstall in the WinCDEmu Installation window.
   
7. SelectOK when the installation is complete.

You can delete the WinCDEmu installation file when you’ve done with it. Right-click theWinCDEmu-4.1.exe file in Explorer and selectDelete to erase it.

Click here

3. Mount the Championship Manager 01/02 ISO File

Now you’ve installed WinCDEmu, you can mount the Championship Manager 01/02 ISO file with that software. These are the steps for mounting the Championship Manager ISO:

1. Open the extractedcm0102 folder that includes the Championship Manager 01/02 ISO file within Explorer.
2. Right-click theCM0102.iso file to selectOpen .
   
3. Then select a suitable letter for your virtual drive on the drop-down menu.

4. SelectOK to mount the ISO file.

You should now see a new virtual CD drive within File Explorer. ClickThis PC in Explorer’s sidebar to view drives there. There you’ll see a CM0102 CD drive with the letter you selected for it.

4. Install Championship Manager 01/02 With Its Setup Wizard

The final stage is to install Championship Manager 01/02 with its setup wizard. That setup wizard is accessible on the virtual disc drive mounted with the ISO. You can install Championship Manager 01/02 as follows:

1. ClickCD Drive CM0102 within File Explorer’s left sidebar.
2. Then double-click theSetup.exe installer for Championship Manager 01/02.
   
3. SelectEnglish and clickOK on theChoose Setup Language drop-down menu.
4. ClickYes to continue within the setup screen.
5. SelectBrowse to choose an installation directory for the game and clickNext again.
   
6. TheTypical setup option will be selected by default. ClickNext to continue with that option selected.

7. SelectNext again to install Championship Manager 01/02.

Click here

8. ClickYes when asked about creating a Championship Manager 01/02 desktop shortcut.
9. SelectFinish to leave the setup screen.

Click the Championship Manager 01/02 desktop shortcut to start the game. The game will run at a low 800 x 600 resolution, which isn’t something you can change. Selecting to play Championship Manager 01/02 in windowed mode will crash the game when your monitor is set at a resolution higher than 800 x 600 pixels.

Press theStart New Game button to select the countries to include in your game. Input your manager’s name and select a nationality. Then choose a club team to manage in one of the countries.

Start Your Soccer Management Career in Championship Manager 01/02

Now you can discover one of the best and most addictive sport management games released for Windows PCs. Try winning the top European divisions in Spain, England, Germany, Italy, and France with bigger clubs first. Then have a go at getting a smaller club promoted up the divisions in England. You can also manage international teams to go for World Cup glory in Championship Manager 01/02.

Also read: