Croft Soft Software is aiming for a December 2026 release of Back of the Net!, a new top-down football game for the ZX Spectrum Next. It combines playable matches with league, cup, season and career modes, including transfers and managerial job offers.
The game features 444 parody clubs across 24 countries, alongside 36 national teams and around 200 spoof star players. Friendly matches provide a route straight onto the pitch, while custom leagues and cups sit alongside preset competitions.
On the pitch, the match engine includes passing, shooting, aftertouch, headers and tackles. Goalkeepers dive, catch and parry, with their handling and agility ratings affecting saves. Set pieces, substitutions, extra time and penalty shoot-outs form part of the match system, alongside instant replays.
A referee follows the action, plays advantage and issues yellow and red cards. Officials also have different temperaments, ranging from lenient to strict.
Beyond individual matches, career mode adds a manager’s office, transfers, sackings and job offers. Team and tactics editors provide further customisation, including club names, kits, players and positions. Save and load support uses the Next’s SD card.
Back of the Net! has reached a feature-complete beta, with testing and fixes continuing ahead of the intended launch. Recent work has addressed competition progression problems and introduced new full-screen title artwork.
December remains a release target rather than a fixed launch date. Further information is available on Croft Soft Software’s Back of the Net! page.
Disclosure: Croft Soft Software is a sister entity of SpriteFountain.
