Football Manager 2024: Best scouting regions to find wonderkids

Wanting to build an FM24 team of the next generation’s best players but don’t know where to look? We’ve got you covered with this detailed ranking of the best scouting regions to find wonderkids in Football Manager 2024.

It doesn’t matter if you are managing one of the biggest clubs in the world or are taking on the challenge of turning around a small club’s fortune, wonderkids are the key.

There is no easier way of improving your team and future-proofing a club than acquiring the world’s best youngsters. But finding them can be tricky, especially if you don’t know where to look.

To help you we’ve put together this cohesive ranking of all 24 scouting regions in Football Manager 2024, from the worst that aren’t worth looking at to the best that you need to be scouting.

Contents

• Ranking of Best FM24 scouting regions
• What is the best scouting region in Football Manager 2024?

Best FM24 scouting regions, ranked

24. Central Asia

• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan

Central Asia is arguably the only scouting region in Football Manager 2023 to have literally zero notable countries to scout. While Uzbekistan should be reasonable having produced the likes of Shomurodov in practice they rarely deliver and the other countries just aren’t worth using resources on.

23. Caribbean

• Anguilla
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• Bonaire
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Cuba
• Curacao
• Dominican Republic
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• Puerto Rico
• Saint Barthelemy
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin
• Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
• Sint Maarten
• St Kitts & Nevis
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Turks & Caicos Islands
• US Virgin Islands

It may total 29 countries but the Caribbean doesn’t offer much of a reason to scout it. Unfortunately, these primarily island nations have limited youth production and next to no infrastructure. However, it edges out Central Asia thanks to Jamaica showing some promise.

22. South Asia

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• India
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka

Another Asian region that struggles in FM24 is South Asia. The likes of Bangladesh and India aren’t hopeless but don’t justify a region-wide scouting focus. For the most part, this region is best left alone or manually scouted by browsing national teams.

21. Central Africa

• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Congo
• DR Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon
• Sao Tome & Principe

While Africa as a whole shows promise, Central Africa is the weakest scouting region on the continent. From time to time you may see Cameroon or DR Congo produce a promising player but it’s a rarity and usually not worth wasting scouts on.

20. East Africa

• Burundi
• Djibouti
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Mayotte
• Reunion
• Rwanda
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zanzibar

East Africa is the first region on this list that could justify a dedicated scout, especially for big teams that are sitting on 15-20+ scouts. Any of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania can produce surprisingly good talent with a wonderkid or two not being out of the question.

19. Oceania

• American Samoa
• Australia
• Cook Islands
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Micronesia
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa
• Soloman Islands
• Tahiti
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu Wallis & Futuna Islands

With Australia moved to the Oceania scouting region as of FM23, this becomes a much more appealing option. Alongside New Zealand, these two countries have a good chance of producing someone special. However, you are probably better off just scouting those two nations individually than the entire region.

18. Central America

• Belize
• Costa Rica
• El Salvadore
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama

While it doesn’t include the gold mine that is Mexico, Central America remains a good option thanks to Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama all having respectable youth ratings. Even Nicaragua will produce a good player from time to time making this a reasonable region to scout.

17. Southeast Asia

• Brunei
• Cambodia
• East Timor
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Phillippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

With Australia moved to Oceania, Southeast Asia is much less appealing than it used to be but it’s not useless with Vietnam and Thailand proving great options. It’s not out of the question for these countries to produce several top-level footballers and even the occasional wonderkid.

16. Middle East

• Afghanistan
• Bahrain
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Palestine
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Syria
• U.A.E
• Yemen

The Middle East isn’t exactly stacked for footballing talent but Iran can be fruitful while also being affordable enough for just about anyone to scout there. Some other present countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are all decent too, albeit expensive.

15. Southern Africa

• Angola
• Botswana
• Comoros
• Eswatini
• Lesotho
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Seychelles
• South Africa
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

It may not seem anything too special at a glance but South Africa alone makes this region worth scouting. It produces a lot of elite talent and they are all affordable. Don’t sleep on Angola and Zimbabwe either which have been known to have solid players in Football Manager.

14. East Asia

• China
• Chinese Taipei
• Guam
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Macau (China PR)
• Mongolia
• North Korea
• Northern Mariana
• South Korea

It’s practically inevitable that China, Japan, and South Korea will all produce a few wonderkids each in every save. The best part is that they tend to be cheap and most other teams won’t be scouting this region minimizing overall competition.

13. Western Africa

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cape Verde
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Liberia
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Togo

It’s not surprising that Western Africa ranks well with Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Mali all having the possibility to regularly produce wonderkids. You’ll want to catch these players early though as the teams in these regions have weak facilities which can stunt player growth.

12. Northern Europe

• Denmark
• Faroe Islands
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden

Mostly consisting of Scandinavia, Northern Europe offers a nice balance of promising youngsters and cheap prices. Any of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden could produce someone special with Norway standing out the most.

11. North Eastern Europe

• Belarus
• Estonia
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Russia
• Ukraine

Honestly, Russia and Ukraine produce some of the best wonderkids in FM24. However, we don’t rank them higher up because these nations are just so expensive to buy players from. Even so, if you’ve got the money it’s worth the investment.

10. North America

• Canada
• Mexico
• USA
• St. Pierre & Miquelon

While it can be expensive, this region is stacked with both Mexico and the USA producing an abundance of talent. Mexico especially is one of the best places in FM24 to find wonderkids outside of the obvious powerhouse nations.

9. South Eastern Europe

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Cyprus
• Georgia
• Greece
• North Macedonia
• Turkey

Anyone who has scouted on FM knows that Greece and Turkey are more than capable of spitting out cheap wonderkids. Equally, the likes of Armenia and even Azerbaijan are better than you think and worth keeping an eye on.

8. North Africa

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Libya
• Morocco
• Sudan
• Tunisia

While it’s no secret that Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco are all strong footballing nations you’d be surprised just how strong they are in Football Manager 2024. Egypt especially is known for producing numerous wonderkids and can be outrageously cheap. You will find world-class players hiding in this region.

7. South America (North)

• Bolivia
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Peru
• Suriname
• Venezuela

Colombia is the best cheap nation to scout in FM24 with it producing at least one wonderkid most years. Additionally, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru are all solid and equally affordable thanks to their high youth ratings.

6. Eastern Europe

• Bulgaria
• Hungary
• Moldova
• Romania
• Serbia

If you are looking for reasonably priced talents that are regularly elite look no further than Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia are top-tier nations to scout while Hungary offers another solid option that is equally affordable.

5. UK & Ireland

• England
• Northern Ireland
• Republic of Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales

Every single nation in this region can and will produce talented young players. However, it missed out on the top spots for one simple reason, it’s extremely expensive. Arguably even the most expensive region in FM24. Regardless, the UK & Ireland will produce wonderkids every year making it a fantastic option.

4. South Europe

• Albania
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Italy
• Kosovo
• Malta
• Montenegro
• San Marino
• Slovenia

South Europe is UEFA’s budget goldmine with the likes of Bosnia, Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia all demanding attention. Even Albania and Montenegro are worth checking out as they are relatively strong in FM24.

3. Central Europe

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Germany
• Holland
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Switzerland

It won’t always be cheap but you simply can’t ignore a region that has Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Poland, Slovakia, and Switzerland. That’s just an absurd amount of football ability making Central Europe easily one of the best regions to scout in FM24.

2. Western Europe

• Andorra
• France
• Gibraltar
• Portugal
• Spain

Western Europe hosts France, Portugal, and Spain. That’s not just three of the best national teams in history but also three hotspots for wonderkid production. Keep an eye on Portugal particularly as you can pick up world beaters on cheap deals.

1. South America (South)

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

Let’s be honest, you knew this was coming. To the surprise of no one South America (South) is the best scouting region in Football Manager 2024. Quite literally every nation here is top-tier with Argentina and Brazil being the two strongest in the entire game.

What is the best scouting region in Football Manager 2024?

South America (South) is the best scouting region in FM24. This powerhouse region contains five great nations that all can produce a ton of talent: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Even better, it’s cheap with even the best wonderkids from these countries rarely costing a lot, especially when compared to their European equivalents. Every FM player needs to be scouting South America (South) as soon as possible.

That’s everything you need to know about the best scouting region to find wonderkids in FM24. For more Football Manager tips check out some of Dexerto’s other content:

Football Manager 2024: Best bargain signings for every position | Biggest transfer budgets & richest clubs in FM24 | FM24: Top 50 players & their CA ratings | Is Football Manager 2024 Touch on iPad? FM24 Touch release date | Best free agents & expired contracts to sign in FM24 | Does Football Manager 2024 support cross-play & cross-progression?