Fantasy football fans looking for a serious season-long challenge now have another excellent option alongside the official FPL game, with FanTeam launching its 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League tournament.
With a £20 entry fee, a guaranteed minimum £65,000 prize pool and prizes paid to the top 15% of entrants, the competition has quickly become one of the most attractive paid fantasy football contests available.
Unlike weekly games or short tournaments, this contest runs across the entire 38-Gameweek Premier League season, rewarding managers who can successfully navigate fixture swings, injuries, transfers and chip strategy over nine months.
Competition Summary
- Entry fee: £20
- Guaranteed minimum prize pool: £65,000
- Season-long competition (38 Gameweeks)
- Top 15% of teams win prizes
- Maximum 25 entries per manager
For experienced fantasy managers, the ability to enter multiple teams also opens up interesting strategic possibilities, allowing different squad structures and captaincy approaches.
Squad Rules
Managers receive a £100 million budget to build an 15-man squad including 4 substitutes.
Key squad rules include:
- Maximum three players from each Premier League club.
- Captain scores double points.
- Vice-captain scores double points if the captain doesn’t play.
- Three outfield substitutes.
- One substitute goalkeeper.
The captaincy rule remains one of the biggest weekly decisions and can often determine whether a Gameweek is merely good or truly exceptional.
Transfer Strategy Is More Flexible Than FPL
Apart from the prize fund, one of FanTeam’s differences from the official FPL game is its transfer system.
Managers receive:
- One free transfer every Gameweek.
- Unused transfers can be saved.
- Up to 37 free transfers can be banked during the season.
- Additional transfers cost four points each.
Being able to accumulate transfers creates opportunities to completely reshape squads around fixture swings without spending points. Transfers also usefully remain provisional until the Gameweek deadline, allowing managers to react to late injury news and expected starting line-ups.
Two Wildcards
Managers receive two Wildcards.
Wildcard 1:
- Available after the GW1 deadline.
- Must be used before the GW19 deadline.
Wildcard 2:
- Available after the GW19 deadline.
- Must be used before the GW38 deadline.
Activating a Wildcard resets all previously saved free transfers back to zero, making timing even more important.
Premium Players by Club
Below are the highest-priced player from each Premier League club based on the opening FanTeam player list.
| Club | Player | Position | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Bukayo Saka | Midfielder | £10.0m |
| Aston Villa | Morgan Rogers | Midfielder | £9.0m |
| Brighton | Yankuba Minteh | Midfielder | £6.5m |
| Bournemouth | Eli Kroupi | Forward | £7.0m |
| Brentford | Igor Thiago | Forward | £8.0m |
| Chelsea | João Pedro | Forward | £9.0m |
| Coventry City | Brandon Thomas-Asante | Midfielder | £6.0m |
| Crystal Palace | Ismaïla Sarr | Midfielder | £6.5m |
| Everton | Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | Midfielder | £7.0m |
| Fulham | Alex Iwobi | Midfielder | £6.0m |
| Hull City | Oliver McBurnie | Forward | £5.5m |
| Ipswich Town | Jaden Philogene | Midfielder | £5.5m |
| Leeds United | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Forward | £7.0m |
| Liverpool | Alexander Isak | Forward | £9.0m |
| Manchester City | Erling Haaland | Forward | £12.5m |
| Manchester United | Bruno Fernandes | Midfielder | £10.5m |
| Newcastle United | Bruno Guimarães | Midfielder | £7.0m |
| Nottingham Forest | Morgan Gibbs-White | Midfielder | £8.0m |
| Sunderland | Enzo Le Fée | Midfielder | £6.0m |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Richarlison | Forward | £7.5m |
Prices taken from the opening FanTeam 2026/27 player list.
Planning for the Long Haul
Because the competition lasts the full season, managers need to think differently than they would in a weekly or monthly contest.
Important factors include:
- Targeting fixture swings rather than individual Gameweeks.
- Making the most of saved free transfers.
- Timing both Wildcards around major fixture changes.
- Planning captaincy several weeks ahead.
- Balancing premium stars with value-for-money enablers.
- Consider 2 or 3 defenders (incl goalie) from one or two clubs i.e. block defences.
- Beware of players with World Cup fatigue and injuries
As we’ve seen from analysing the 2025/26 season, the highest-ranked teams are rarely built solely around the most expensive players. The best managers usually combine elite premiums such as Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes and Bukayo Saka with outstanding value picks from the lower price brackets, enabling them to spend as close as possible to the full £100m budget while maximising total points.
Final Thoughts
FanTeam continues to offer one of the most compelling alternatives to the official FPL game. The ability to save transfers, enter multiple teams and compete for a guaranteed £65,000 prize pool creates a different strategic challenge that many experienced fantasy managers enjoy.
Whether you’re entering a single carefully planned team or using multiple entries to explore different strategies, success will almost certainly come down to long-term planning, identifying value before everyone else, and making the most of those crucial transfer windows over the 38-Gameweek season.
For more discussion visit FISO’s FanTeam forum.