If you’ve ever logged into eFootball on Steam only to find your save data corrupted after a recent update, your myClub squad filled with players you never wanted, or your progression tree messed up from a friend borrowing your account, you’ve probably wondered if starting over is possible. A lot of players assume the only way to get a fresh run is to create an entirely new Steam account, which means losing access to all your other purchased games and DLC. If you’ve been stuck with that frustration, learning how to restart eFootball account on Steam is far simpler than most players assume. I’ve walked through this process twice myself, once when a broken patch erased half my save data and once when I wanted to test a full new playstyle from scratch, and none of my other Steam games were affected at all. This guide only covers methods approved by Konami, so you won’t risk getting banned from online matches or losing eligible rewards.
How to Restart eFootball Account on Steam Without Bans or Data Loss
The biggest fear most players have when restarting is either getting hit with a Konami ban for “account tampering” or accidentally deleting save data for every other game in their Steam library. Neither has to happen if you follow the official, approved steps closely. This process works for both the free-to-play base version of eFootball and any premium DLC you’ve purchased, since platform DLC is tied to your Steam profile, not your in-game Konami account. Before you start, make sure you have access to the email linked to your existing Konami ID, as you’ll need it to confirm the unlink request. The full step-by-step process is as follows:
One thing to note before you hit delete: always back up your eFootball save files to a separate folder on your desktop before removing them from your Steam directory. If you change your mind a week after restarting, you can restore the old save files and relink your original Konami ID to pick up where you left off, as long as you haven’t already linked your Steam to a new Konami account. Never use third-party save editors or account reset tools, even if they promise to speed up the process. Konami actively flags accounts that use these tools for online play bans, and there’s no way to appeal those bans once they’re issued.
Reasons You Might Want to Restart Your eFootball Steam Account
Restarting isn’t just for players who messed up their account somehow. There are tons of legitimate, common reasons players choose to start fresh, and Konami doesn’t penalize you for going through the official reset process. For example, many players restart after their first week of play when they realize they spent all their initial free coins on packs that gave them no usable meta players for myClub. Starting over lets you reroll those initial pulls to get a stronger starting squad without spending real money on additional coins. Other players restart after a major game update breaks their save files, leading to constant crashes mid-match or missing progression rewards that support can’t restore. If you share your Steam library with a family member or friend who played eFootball and messed up your custom control settings, player builds, or in-game settings, restarting is far faster than fixing every setting one by one. Restarting your account through official channels is always safer than buying a pre-made smurf account online, as those accounts are often stolen or linked to banned Konami IDs that will get locked as soon as you log in.
Some players also choose to restart when they switch to a new main position or playstyle. If you’ve spent hundreds of hours playing as an attacking-focused player and want to learn how to play defensive, tiki-taka football without your old muscle memory leading to bad decisions, a fresh account lets you learn at your own pace against lower-ranked opponents instead of getting crushed in your existing high-level lobbies. You don’t need a “good” reason to restart, either; if you just feel like shaking up your routine and starting over, that’s more than enough justification.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Restarting Your eFootball Account
Even with the clear steps above, it’s easy to make small mistakes that can cost you time or force you to wait months to try again. The most common mistake I see is players deleting their entire Steam user data folder instead of just the eFootball specific subfolder. Your Steam user data folder holds saves for every game you own on the platform, so wiping the whole thing means you’ll lose progress on everything from Stardew Valley to Counter-Strike 2. Always double check the folder name before you hit delete to make sure you’re only removing eFootball files.
Another common mistake is forgetting to unlink your old Konami ID before you relaunch the game after deleting saves. If you skip that step, the game will automatically pull your old progression data from the linked Konami account, and you’ll be right back where you started. You can only unlink your Steam account from a Konami ID once every 6 months, so if you mess up the process, you’ll have to wait half a year to try again. Other mistakes include using the same email address for your new Konami ID as your old one, which will cause a linking error, and skipping the initial onboarding tutorial, which makes you miss out on hundreds of free coins and exclusive new player packs. Take the extra 10 minutes to run through the tutorial, the rewards are absolutely worth it.
What to Do After You Restart Your eFootball Steam Account
Once you’ve linked your new Konami ID and loaded into the game for the first time, there are a few quick steps you can take to set yourself up for success, instead of fumbling through your first few matches. First, adjust your control settings and camera angles before you jump into online play. It’s easy to rush into matches to test your new account, but playing with default controls that don’t fit your playstyle will lead to frustrating losses you could have avoided. Spend a few minutes in practice mode to tweak your pass sensitivity, shot power, and button mapping to match your preferences, and you’ll have a far better first experience.
Next, claim all your new player welcome rewards from the in-game mail tab. New accounts get a ton of free coins, player contracts, and training items for their first 30 days, and many of these rewards expire if you don’t claim them within a week of account creation. If you play eFootball on mobile or console too, link your new Konami ID to those platforms right away to sync your progression across all devices. All platform-exclusive DLC you purchased on Steam will still be accessible on your new eFootball account, since it’s tied to your Steam profile rather than your Konami ID. That means if you bought the premium edition of the game or any exclusive team packs, you won’t have to repurchase them for your new account. If you run into any linking errors or missing DLC after restarting, reach out to Konami support with your Steam ID and new Konami ID, and they’ll usually fix the issue within 48 hours.
Restarting your eFootball account doesn’t have to be a complicated, risky process, and you don’t have to give up your entire Steam library to get a fresh start. As long as you follow the official steps, back up your old saves, and avoid the common mistakes we covered, you’ll be able to jump into a new run of the game in less than 15 minutes. Now that you know how to restart eFootball account on Steam safely, you can stop putting off that fresh start you’ve been thinking about, whether you want a better initial myClub squad, a fix for corrupted saves, or just a chance to learn the game again without old bad habits. I’ve used these exact steps multiple times without any issues, and thousands of other players have too, so you don’t have to worry about unexpected bans or lost data. The only thing left to do is decide what kind of squad you’re going to build first on your new account.