Football Manager 2021: What do "CA" and "PA" mean?

In the discussions around Football Manager, the abbreviations "CA" and "PA" have been popping up for years. If you're wondering what they are, we'll explain what's behind them.

Today and tomorrow: "CA" and "PA" indicate current and future strength.

Player evaluation takes up a lot of time in Football Manager 2021. Those who use Genie Scout will find important additional information there.

Football Manager 2021: "CA" and "PA" as practical info

"CA" and "PA" are about the overall strength of players. The abbreviations are based on English terms:

• "CA" is the "Current Ability", i.e. the current strength of a player.
• "PA" describes the "Potential Ability", i.e. the maximum potential.
• The "Ability" ratings in Football Manager are given with values between 1 and 200.
• However, these values are not visible in the game itself - for this you need the tool Genie Scout, which has been used by the community for many years.
• The difference between the two values is thus well suited to find out how much increase is possible in a player. Thus, some players are already quite good at a young age, but then do not develop much further.
• Inversely, an inconspicuous player can still make great leaps upward if his "CA" value is high.

As valuable information "CA" and "PA" also provide, it is important not to rely solely on it. After all, all attributes are added together here without weighting; however, different skills are important depending on the position and role. Consequently, you must pay attention not only to "CA" and "PA", but also to how the points are distributed.