Do you want to become an FPL (Fantasy Premier League) manager but not sure how to get started? Here’s how to begin your FPL career and setup your fantasy team.
What is FPL
FPL is an acronym for Fantasy Premier League. It is a virtual game that puts you in the role of a Fantasy manager of Premier League players. It is arguably the most popular fantasy football game available. The last edition had a record 8.3 million players worldwide.
Why should you play FPL?
Even though the official organizers do not attach cash prices, Fantasy Premier League players stand a chance to win lots of fantastic prizes and hospitality packages. The Weekly, monthly and overall prizes are quite attractive.
Manager of the Week
The manager with the most points in each Game-week this season wins the following prizes: A Copy of FIFA 22, 1 Nike Flight match ball, 1 FPL rucksack, and an FPL mug, while the top 20 Managers each week (incl Manager of the Week) will each receive an FPL t-shirt, a stress ball, a pen, and a pad and key ring. But that’s not all!
Manager of the Month
The manager that accumulates the most FPL points in during each month is awarded a Tablet computer, Bluetooth speaker, Copy of FIFA 22, Nike Flight match ball and a Nike manager jacket. The top 10 Managers each month (including the Manager of the Month) will each receive: An FPL goody bag consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, water bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring. Fantastic right? Wait, there’s more!
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At the end of the season, the overall winner, runner-up and 3rd placed manager will receive special prizes as
1st Prize – 2021/22 Fantasy Premier League Champion
- 7-night break in the UK including VIP hospitality at two 2022/23 Premier League matches
- A week’s worth of experiences at popular tourist attractions courtesy of Visit Britain
- Includes travel and 7 nights’ accommodation
- Hublot connected watch
- Copy of FIFA 22 and a games console
- Nike manager jacket
- FPL goody bag consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, water bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Runner-up
- VIP hospitality at one 2022/23 Premier League match
- Includes travel and 2 nights’ accommodation
- Copy of FIFA 22 and a games console
- Tablet computer
- Bluetooth speaker
- Nike manager jacket
- FPL goody bag consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, water bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
3rd place
- Copy of FIFA 22 and a games console
- Tablet computer
- Bluetooth speaker
- Nike manager jacket
- FPL goody bag consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, water bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
2021/22 FPL Cup Winner
- VIP hospitality at one 2022/23 Premier League match
- Includes travel and 2 nights’ accommodation
- Copy of FIFA 22 and a games console
- Tablet computer
- Bluetooth speaker
- Nike manager jacket
- FPL goody bag consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, water bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Fantasy Premier League prizes are updated each season on the official Premier League website.
How to setup and manage your fantasy Premier League team
Your FPL career begins when you sign up on the official fantasy Premier League website. After successful registration and activation of your FPL account, a budget of £100m is allocated to you. With these fantasy funds you will be able to purchase players (assets).
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Whether you are playing on the web or using the mobile app, the procedure is quite the same.
How to manage your Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team
Purchase players/assets
With the £100m assigned to you, purchase 15 players that will make up your team. You are allowed only a maximum of three players from a Premier League club, so choose wisely. The prices of FPL assets differ and may change as the season progresses – based on performances and popularity.
Pick your starting eleven
Just like in real life games, you must pick a starting team of eleven players while the remaining 4 members of your squad occupy the bench. Note that only points scored by your starting players will count except in cases where one of your starting players does not feature in that match week and is automatically substituted with one of your benched players.
Pick a captain and vice captain
Your captain’s point haul per Game week is doubled. Thus, always pick good players that perform well in real life and are on a good run of form. If your captain does not play, the vice captain’s points are doubled instead.
Organize your bench
Since your benched players will automatically replace starting players that did not feature during their teams match, organize your bench in the order that you would want them to be subbed into your team.
Make transfers
You can transfer out players you no longer need or that are injured, and replace them with new ones. One free transfer is given to you every Gameweek but you cannot accumulate more than two free transfers. If you need to make extra transfers, a points deduction of -4 will be applied on your next score for each extra transfer you make during a Gameweek.
Use chips
There 3 chips available in fantasy premier league, they are: Wildcard, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. Wildcard, when active, allows you to make unlimited free transfers during a Gameweek. Bench Boost adds the points scored by your benched players to your final score. Triple Captain triples your captain’s Gameweek points.
These chips can help boost your score. If used rightly and at the right time, they can give you a competitive advantage over your opponents.
Join mini-leagues
Joining mini-leagues lets you compete with other FPL players. These may be your colleagues at work or even school mates. It is usually fun and engaging. If you choose to, you can create your own mini-league and invite your friends to join you. Otherwise, you may require a mini-league code to join a private mini-league. Public leagues do not require league codes. There are lots of private leagues that offer additional prizes such as money. However, be careful and make commitments only if you trust the organizers of such leagues.
Follow the FPL show & social groups
A televised show is dedicated to the Fantasy Premier League. This means you can get all the latest news, tips and expert analysis as the season progresses. Joining FPL groups on social media also helps you stay abreast with the latest developments in the world of fantasy football such as player price rise, injuries and availability.