What is FPL Draft?
Everything you need to know about Fantasy Premier League Draft mode — the snake draft, scoring rules, waivers, trades, and how it differs from Classic FPL.
What is FPL Draft?
FPL Draft is an alternative game mode within Fantasy Premier League where each player in the Premier League can only be owned by one manager in your league. Unlike Classic FPL — where every manager can pick the same players — Draft forces you to build a unique squad through a live snake draft before the season starts.
There is no budget or salary cap. The only constraint is availability: once a player is drafted or claimed off waivers by another manager, they are unavailable to the rest of the league. This makes FPL Draft significantly more strategic than Classic mode, as waiver wire management, trades, and lineup decisions become critical week-to-week skills.
FPL Draft leagues support between 2 and 16 managers. Public entry leagues are available in sizes of 4, 6, or 8 players for those who want to play without organising a private league.
How Does the FPL Draft Work?
Before the Premier League season begins, every manager in the league joins a live snake draft. The draft consists of 15 rounds — one for each squad slot. Managers take turns picking one player at a time from the entire pool of Premier League players.
The "snake" format means the pick order reverses each round. If you have the 1st pick in round 1, you will have the last pick in round 2, then the 1st pick again in round 3, and so on. This ensures fairness by giving every manager a mix of early and late selections.
The league creator sets the draft time, and all managers must be online to make their picks. Each pick has a time limit (typically 30 to 120 seconds). If a manager fails to pick in time, the system will auto-pick the highest-ranked available player. Drafts can be held at any time before Gameweek 1.
FPL Draft Scoring Rules (2025/26)
FPL Draft uses the same scoring system as Classic FPL. Points are awarded for goals, assists, clean sheets, saves, and bonus points — and deducted for yellow cards, red cards, own goals, and penalties missed. The key difference is that there are no captains in Draft mode, so every player earns single points only.
| Action | GKP | DEF | MID | FWD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes played < 60 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Minutes played 60+ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Goal scored | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Assist | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Clean sheet | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Goals conceded (per 2) | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Saves (per 3) | 1 | — | — | — |
| Penalty saved | 5 | — | — | — |
| Penalty missed | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Yellow card | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Red card | -3 | -3 | -3 | -3 |
| Own goal | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Bonus points | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Defensive Contribution* New 2025/26 | — | +2 / 10 | +2 / 12 | +2 / 12 |
*Defensive Contribution is new for 2025/26. Defenders earn 2 points for every 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles (CBIT). Midfielders and forwards earn 2 points per 12 CBIT plus ball recoveries (CBIRT). Capped at 2 points per player per match.
Squad Rules
Each FPL Draft squad consists of 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders, and 3 forwards. You must field a starting XI of 11 players each gameweek using a valid formation.
Valid formations include 3-4-3, 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 5-3-2, 5-4-1, and any other combination that uses exactly 1 goalkeeper and 10 outfield players with at least 3 defenders and 1 forward. The remaining 4 players sit on the bench.
Unlike Classic FPL, there are no captains or vice-captains in Draft mode. Every player in your starting XI earns single points. Auto-substitutions still apply — if a starting player does not feature in a match, the first eligible bench player is automatically subbed in.
League Types
FPL Draft offers two league scoring formats: Head-to-Head (H2H) and Classic.
In Head-to-Head leagues, you are paired against a different opponent each gameweek. The manager who scores more points wins 3 league points, a draw earns 1 point each, and the loser gets 0. Standings are ranked by league points, making every weekly matchup a contest of its own.
In Classic leagues, your total points across the entire season determine your ranking. There are no weekly matchups — every point counts equally regardless of when it is scored.
Leagues can be private (invite only, 2-16 managers) or public entry (4, 6, or 8 managers). Most competitive FPL Draft leagues use the H2H format.
How Do Waivers Work?
Waivers are the primary mechanism for improving your squad during the season. Each gameweek, you can submit waiver requests to drop a player from your roster and pick up an unowned free agent. You can submit multiple waiver requests and rank them in priority order.
Waivers are processed in priority order — the team lowest in the league standings gets first priority. Before Gameweek 1, waiver order is the reverse of the draft order. If two managers request the same player, the manager with higher waiver priority wins the claim. Once a waiver request is successful, that manager moves to the back of the queue for the rest of that gameweek.
The waiver deadline is typically 24 hours before the gameweek deadline. After waivers are processed, any remaining unowned players become free agents and can be signed immediately on a first-come, first-served basis until the gameweek deadline.
How Do Trades Work?
Trades let you swap players directly with another manager in your league. A trade must be like-for-like — you must offer the same number of players you receive. The other manager must accept the trade for it to proceed, and trade offers can be made each gameweek up until the waiver deadline.
The league administrator chooses one of four trade settings when creating the league: All trades (accepted trades process instantly), Administrator approval (the league admin can veto accepted trades), Manager approval (other managers can veto — if 50% or more object, the trade is blocked), or No trades (trading is disabled entirely). Trade settings can only be changed before the draft starts.
In leagues with an approval setting, the trade deadline is 24 hours before the waiver deadline. If no objections are raised by the deadline, the trade is assumed to have been approved and goes through. Once a trade is accepted, any other pending trades involving the same players are automatically invalidated.
When is the FPL Draft?
The FPL Draft can be held at any time before Gameweek 1 of the Premier League season. The league creator sets the draft date and time when creating the league. Most leagues draft in the days leading up to the season opener, once pre-season fixtures and transfer windows have given managers a clearer picture of squad composition.
FPL Draft typically opens in late July or early August each year, shortly after the Classic FPL game goes live. The exact opening date varies by season — check the official Fantasy Premier League website or app for the latest dates.
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