Kevin Toms created the original Football Manager game for 8-bit home computers back in 1982, and his name (and face) are still well remembered by a generation of  gamers even to this day.

While the Football Manager name is best known by today’s gamers for the incredibly successful and long-running Sega series of that name, gamers from the 1980s will no doubt be interested to learn that the genre pioneer, Kevin Toms, is making his triumphant return to football management games with a new title, Kevin Toms Football Star Manager. Kevin Toms’ new football management game aims to “fully encapsulate the magic of the 80s.” The retro-style football management game is already available on mobiles, and an enhanced version  will be published by  Curveball Leisure on Steam on August 14th, 2025.

Publishers Curveball Leisure had this to say about Kevin Toms Football Star Manager: “Coming in time for this football season, the original game will be available for you to relive all your management dreams once again. Recapture the nostalgia in this fast playing, time friendly, simple pick up and play title. Work your way up the leagues, create your ultimate 5* team of players, edit rosters and lead your team to glory in this blast from the past management sim.”

Curveball Leisure go on to state that Kevin Toms Football Star Manager will offer “classic simplicity with subtle depth: Manage your club across four divisions, with promotion, relegation, domestic cups, and European cup competitions. There’s a transfer market, tactics to set, player fitness-wise decisions, and club finances to balance — all designed to be quick to learn but hard to put down, match highlights: stylised, text and graphic match highlights reminiscent of the original 8-bit title. It’s charming, easy to follow, and still engaging., customization & roster controls: Rename teams, edit kits, or retitle players. Player ratings consist of skill, fitness, and age. Aged out players retire or decline, while younger talent can improve season by season, strategic decisions: Purchase loans to fund signings, manage morale boosts (twice per season to lift spirit), bid on players with risk/reward valuation, and navigate transfer valuations that fluctuate with division status.”