Football Manager player sets world record with a 10,000-hour campaign spanning 500 virtual years

A Football Manager player has broken the world record for the longest ever campaign with a game lasting 500 virtual years.

As officiated by Guinness World Records, Polish Football Manager player Paweł Siciński set out to set a new world record for the longest single game in January 2018 and continued playing all the way until the in-game date of May 21, 2546. In real-world time, he played the game for 10,887 hours, which equates to 453 days and 15 hours. 

Guinness World Records' guidelines dictate that you can only go on holiday, which is a feature in Football Manager that lets you step aside and let the computer take over duties for a little while, for 5% of your game time to be eligible for the world record.

Siciński's record-setting Football Manager campaign includes an eye-watering 310-year stint with the Icelandic team Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar from 2114 and 2434.

"My biggest achievement was leading them to 301 national championships, 677 cups and victories in the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup," he said.

"I love lesser-known leagues and I've been interested in this league since I was a kid, plus achieving success with a practically unknown club brings so much joy and satisfaction."

Siciński also had success managing much more well-known European clubs like PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Internazionale.

The previous record holder was Sepp Hedel, from Germany, who managed a 333-year run in Football Manager 2017, which totaled 81 days and 20 hours of real-life play time.

For more, check out our picks for the best sports games you can play today.