The gameplay remained very similar to other games based on Championship Manager 2 but offered far more than a simple database update. It was a clear indication of Sports Interactive's intent for the future of the franchise in two ways: the inclusion of a database editor with the game showed that Sports Interactive were actively encouraging users to modify and customise the game, and the inclusion of nine playable leagues from across Europe was a clear sign of things to come, in terms of the growing depth and global scope of the game.
The game featured nine playable league systems, three times more than in the previous version. It was also the first time ever that players could run more than one league concurrently (up to three in this edition). For example, the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues would all be simulated and players could manage a club in any of these nations and move between them. It also allowed the user to view results and league tables in these selected leagues, adding to the sense of realism. This was also the first time in the series that the Portuguese football league system had ever been a playable league.
Aside from the added playable leagues, bug fixes, and updated player data, there were also other new features in the game. Club squads could now contain 32 players (two more than the previous version), the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup formats were changed to reflect their real-life counterparts, added control over tactics (including selection of set-piece takers) and international under-21 matches were now simulated fully.
This was the first time in the series that the Portuguese league system had ever been a playable league.
Data editor and updates
Ever since the first game in the series, players had been trying with varying degrees of success to find a way of editing the data within Championship Manager, either to cheat or simply to add themselves as a player in the Championship Manager world. With this version, Sports Interactive included an editor that allowed users to do this and much more.
Notable players
There were many notable players within the game who gained cult status for their high abilities and potential, which often contrasted with their real life abilities. Some of them (e.g. Ibrahima Bakayoko) were really wonderkids at that time but did not eventually evolve into world class players, whilst some others were already mature players of minor league clubs (i.e. Bjørn Heidenstrøm) with inexplicably high abilities within the game.[citation needed]
Championship Manager 97/98 was the top selling PC game of 1997 in the UK,[2] despite Sports Interactive encouraging game-sharing by not including any CD-protection. The game could be installed on any number of PCs without needing a copy of the CD to play it, which indicates that it was most likely even more popular than it seemed. SI have since said that this move was to gain as much exposure from the Championship Manager 2 series as possible before the release of the Championship Manager 3 series.
