FIFA Soccer 96 is a football (soccer) simulation. The game includes eleven leagues from all around the world, ranging from the unknown players of the Malaysian league to the celebrated stars of the English and Italian leagues. 59 International teams are also featured, and it's possible to match the teams you want to against each other through friendlies, or you can also choose to play domestic tournaments or International ones such as the World Cup. If you're not satisfied with the composition of the various teams, you can create your own dream team through the custom team creator.

British commentator John Motson comments all the incidents and happenings on the pitch in real-time. The ambient commentary is varied, and systems with more than the minimum memory level get extra commentary phrases. The Virtual Stadium technology has numerous pre-defined camera angles.