What is FPL Draft 2023/2024?

FPL Draft: What you need to know

FPL Draft is run by the makers of the Official Fantasy Premier League game, with the same familiar scoring system. Draft FC is here to give you insights into your FPL Draft that can’t be found anywhere else.

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What is FPL Draft

It is a take on the world’s most popular Fantasy Football game run by the Official Premier League. It has almost everything in common with the original game, with one important twist – there are no player prices and no team budgets. Each manager in a league will pick a 15 player squad using a draft system, and each player can only be selected by one manager.

What is fantasy premier league?

You can pick different league ranking systems:

Classic Scoring

What it says on the tin. Your gameweek points are added up each week to make a leaderboard. The person with the most points accumulated will be top of your league, and vice versa

Head-to-Head Scoring

There is a fixture list between you and each of the managers in your league and each week you play one of those managers in a head-to-head. The manager with the most GW points will be awarded 3 points, and 1 point is awarded to both managers in the event of a draw.

This format provides an extra edge of rivalry between you and other managers in your league, as well as the added dimension that you only need to have more gameweek points than one other manager to get 3 points.

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How does draft work in FPL?

Before the draft process begins on your elected draft day, a random order is generated which will “snake” from round to round of picks until all squads in a league are completed. An example in a 4 person league is below:

Round 1: Team A, Team B, Team C, Team D
Round 2: Team D, Team C, Team B, Team A
Round 3: Team A, Team B, Team C, Team D
Round 4: Team D, Team C, Team B, Team A
Keep going to round 15.

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What is draft time in Fantasy Premier League?

The draft time is set by the league administrator. This refers to how long each manager has to select their pick in the draft.

For example, if the draft time is set to 90 seconds then you will have 90 seconds to select your player when it is your turn. If you don’t select a player within the time limit, the highest ranked available player on your watchlist will be automatically selected.

Is there a squad budget?

No.

At no point during the draft, or throughout the season is there a team budget, or player prices. The only restriction on selecting players is that a player cannot be owned by more than one manager. If another manager has already picked the player then he is unavailable to you.

The only way to get an already selected player is through waivers or trades.

When will my draft take place?

The time of your draft is determined by the league administrator. It is best to agree a start time with all the managers in your league to make sure everyone is available

The draft begins on the start time that your league admin selects. This is also when you find out the draft order for your league.

If your draft is set to start at 5:30pm, you will find out whether you have 1st, 2nd, 3rd (or any other) pick at 5:30pm. If you have the first pick, it is best to take a second to compose yourself then make your selection!

What if I cannot make the draft?

Some managers will not be able to make the draft time. OFPL Draft has a watchlist feature where you can rank as many players as you like in priority order ahead of the draft day.

During the draft day, your selection time will run down, then the highest ranked player in your watchlist will be selected.

What is a mock draft?

This is your chance to practice! You can join a mock draft with random players in the game.

Once you click ‘Join Mock Draft’ you can choose which league size you want to join – 4, 6 or 8 person league draft. The draft will start approximately 15 minutes after you join, and there will be a timer to notify you.

Draft FC recommends you join a few mock drafts to get a feel of the draft process.

How do I make transfers?

Before each gameweek begins you will have the opportunity to swap your players with any players available. These can be in two ways, through Waivers or as a Free Agent.

You can also trade players with other managers in-between gameweeks.

What is a free agent?

Free Agency mode is activated in the 24 hours before the gameweek starts, but after waivers are processed. During this period you can swap any of your existing players for any available player immediately and without limit.

New players added to the game, or players released by other managers, do not immediately become free agents.

What are waivers?

Similar to the draft process, the waiver process allows managers to pick up players that have been newly added to the game, or have been released by other managers.

The waiver deadline is 24 hours before the gameweek starts. In the time leading up to this managers can make waiver requests to swap an available player for one of their existing players. The manager must rank these waiver requests in priority order.

These requests are then processed 24 hours before the gameweek deadline.

How do waivers work?

A round of waivers runs once every gameweek, and is processed on the waiver deadline which is 24 hours before the gameweek starts.

In the waiver process, the lowest ranked manager will get their first waiver choice, followed by the second lowest ranked manager. This continues to the top ranked manager in your league, and then the waivers process snakes back down to the bottom ranked manager.

This process continues until all waivers are processed.

After waivers are processed, Free Agency mode will be activated until the Gameweek deadline.

FPL Draft Rules

How many teams can I have in my draft league?

Your league can have between 2 – 16 managers.

Once your draft has taken place, you cannot change the amount of teams in your league.

The recommended number of teams in your draft league is 8. 8 person leagues currently account for around 50% of all FPL Draft leagues.

Can I choose the time allowed for each pick in the draft?

Yes.

The administrator can set a time limit for each pick in the draft. The choice for pick times are:

30 seconds
60 seconds
90 seconds
120 seconds

The longer you select for each draft pick, the more time your draft will take. But you will have more time to consider your choices.

Can I change the time I had previously set for the draft?

Yes.

The league administrator can change all the details of the draft before the start date:

Draft Date
Draft Time
Pick Time Limit
Player Trades? (On, Off, With manager veto, With administrator veto)
Scoring Mode (Classic, Head to Head
League name

I have joined a draft league. How do I pick players for my squad?

Once you have joined your draft league, you can create a watchlist in the ‘Draft Room’ section. This is a useful tool to help you rank your preferred players ahead of your draft date.

Once your draft has started, make sure you are in the Draft Room. It will tell you where you are in the picking order, and will tell you when it is your turn to pick.

The Draft Room will show you what players are available, as other managers higher in the order will have picked players before you.

Who gets to pick first when the draft starts

The draft order is randomised by FPL when your draft starts. So the manager who gets the first pick will find out as the draft starts.

At the same time, every manager will find out what draft pick they have when the draft starts.

The manager that has the first pick in the first round, has the last pick in the second round as the draft will “snake” from round to round.

I can’t join a friend’s private league. What do I need to do?

Ask the friend to give you the code for the private league.

If you still can’t join, check if the maximum players allowed in that league has been met. If so, create a new league with your friend.

Also check if the draft has already started, if so, create a new league with your friend.

New player has joined the Premier League. How do I get them in my squad?

You can put in a waiver request to bring the player into your squad.

However, if the player is added to FPL less than 48 hours before the Gameweek deadline, they will be locked until the next Gameweek, where they will then be available to waiver.

How many leagues can I be in?

You can be in up to 10 private leagues and 3 public leagues.

You can be in all types of leagues too. So you can be in many Classic and Head-to-head leagues.

You can also join leagues after the FPL season has started.

Remember, unlike normal FPL you will have a totally separate team in each league.

How do I switch between teams?

There is a drop-down menu on your draft homepage on draft.premierleague.com where you can select your team.

Can I leave the league?

It is only possible to leave a league before the draft has taken place. Once the draft has been run, your team is locked in the league for the remainder of the season.

My player has left the Premier League. What do I do now?

The player will stay in your team and will get 0 points every gameweek.

If you want to remove the player from your squad, use the ‘Transactions’ tab to Waiver, Trade or Free Agent the player out of your squad.

A yellow/red card decision or goalscorer has been changed in an earlier match. Are you going to alter the points?

Once the points have been updated, they will not change the next day. There is a very small chance that the points will change within the day.

The best place to find points updates is the official FPL Twitter – @OfficialFPL

When is the game updated?

Player points are updated as the matches take place, whilst team points and league tables are usually updated 2 hours after the final whistle in the last match of the day.

Bonus points will be awarded one hour after the final whistle of the last match of any given day.

Automatic substitutions and captain changes are processed at the end of the Gameweek, when all matches have been played.

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How do you win the FPL draft?

There are two types of league scoring, Classic and Head-to-Head.

Classic Scoring

What it says on the tin. Your gameweek points are added up each week to make a leaderboard. The person with the most points accumulated will be top of your league, and vice versa

Head-to-Head Scoring

Point-scoring

The gameweek points scoring system is the same as the original FPL game, however there are no Captain or Bench Boost chips.

Points are awarded to players for goals, assists, saves and clean sheets.

Players can also earn additional bonus points if they are among the top performers in the Bonus Points System (BPS) in a match.

A team’s points for the Gameweek will be scored by their 11 starting players.

But if a starting player does not feature for their club, the points scored by the first player on your bench will automatically be counted instead.

The same process occurs if two or three starting players fail to appear for their teams.

Managers should therefore rank their substitutes in order of preference, to ensure that their first-choice reserve player is first in line.

Points are awarded by the following:

Action	Points
For playing up to 60 minutes	1
For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)	2
For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender	6
For each goal scored by a midfielder	5
For each goal scored by a forward	4
For each assist for a goal	3
For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender	4
For a clean sheet by a midficelder	1
For every 3 shots saved by a goalkeeper	1
For each penalty save	5
For each penalty miss	-2
Bonus points for the best players in a match	1 – 3
For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender	-1
For each yellow card	-1
For each red card	-3
For each own goal	-2

How do my team score points?

The gameweek points scoring system is the same as the original FPL game, however there are no Captain or Bench Boost chips.

Points are awarded to players for goals, assists, saves and clean sheets.

Players can also earn additional bonus points if they are among the top performers in the Bonus Points System (BPS) in a match.

A team’s points for the Gameweek will be scored by their 11 starting players.

But if a starting player does not feature for their club, the points scored by the first player on your bench will automatically be counted instead.

The same process occurs if two or three starting players fail to appear for their teams.

Managers should therefore rank their substitutes in order of preference, to ensure that their first-choice reserve player is first in line.

Points are awarded by the following:

Action	Points
For playing up to 60 minutes	1
For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)	2
For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender	6
For each goal scored by a midfielder	5
For each goal scored by a forward	4
For each assist for a goal	3
For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender	4
For a clean sheet by a midfielder	1
For every 3 shots saved by a goalkeeper	1
For each penalty save	5
For each penalty miss	-2
Bonus points for the best players in a match	01-Mar
For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender	-1
For each yellow card	-1
For each red card	-3
For each own goal	-2

Ready to get started? Register for FPL Draft Hub now

How does league scoring work?

There are two types of league scoring, Classic and Head-to-Head.

Classic Scoring

What it says on the tin. Your gameweek points are added up each week to make a leaderboard. The person with the most points accumulated will be top of your league, and vice versa

Head-to-Head Scoring

What size league works best in Draft?

It is recommended to be in an 8 person league, however any league size between 6 and 10 people provides plenty of opportunity to get premium players.

Larger league sizes give you different challenges, where you have to be more savvy with your Trades, Waivers and Free Agents.

Is there an advantage in picking first?

No. FPL Draft Hub analysis has shown that there is no direct correlation between draft rank and league performance.

If you get the first pick, you will have the last pick in the second round, meaning everyone in your league gets to choose their second player before you. This is because of the “snake” formation of draft.

How do I trade players with another manager?

Depending on how your league has been configured, you can trade players with other managers in your league. Your league will have one of the following settings:

No trades: No trading is allowed.
All trades: Trading is allowed, accepted trades will be instantly processed.
Administrator approval: Trading is allowed, accepted trades can be vetoed by the league administrator.
Manager approval: Trading is allowed, accepted trades can be vetoed by other managers in the league. If 50% of managers object to the trade then it won’t take place.

Use the Transactions tab in draft.premierleague.com to select a player that is owned by another manager. You will then be taken to a page where you can select what player you would like to offer in return for your selected player.

You can ask to receive more than one player in a trade, however you will also have to offer more than one player.

The trade must result in both teams meeting the squad requirements of:

2 Goalkeepers
5 Defenders
5 Midfielders
3 Forwards

Who gets the first pick in the FPL draft?

The draft order is randomised by FPL when your draft starts. So the manager who gets the first pick will find out as the draft starts.

At the same time, every manager will find out what draft pick they have when the draft starts.

The manager that has the first pick in the first round, has the last pick in the second round as the draft will “snake” from round to round.

fpl draft head-to-head

In Head-to-Head, managers face another team in the league each Gameweek.

Whichever manager has more points that Gameweek wins three points in the league table, while the loser gets none. In the event of a tie, both teams get one point.

Head-to-Heads can throw up different standings from the classic leagues, so managers low down a classic league can be near the top of a Head-to-Head.

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Bonus points

How are bonus points calculated?

Bonus points are a key ingredient of the scoring in Fantasy Premier League.

They are devised and allocated post-match according to a Bonus Points System (BPS).

The BPS utilises a range of statistics supplied by Opta that capture actions on the pitch, to create a performance score for every player.

The players with the top three BPS in a given match receive bonus points – three points to the highest-scoring player, two to the second best and one to the third.

Bonus point ties are resolved as follows:

If there is a tie for first place, Players 1 & 2 will receive 3 points each and Player 3 will receive 1 point.
If there is a tie for second place, Player 1 will receive 3 points and Players 2 and 3 will receive 2 points each.
If there is a tie for third place, Player 1 will receive 3 points, Player 2 will receive 2 points and Players 3 & 4 will receive 1 point each.

Players earn BPS points based on the following statistics (one point for each unless otherwise stated):

Action	BPS
Playing 1 to 60 minutes	3
Playing over 60 minutes	6
Goalkeepers and defenders scoring a goal	12
Midifielders scoring a goal	18
Forwards scoring a goal	24
Assists	9
Goalkeepers and defenders keeping a clean sheet	12
Saving a penalty	15
Save	2
Successful open play cross	1
Creating a big chance (a chance where the receiving player should score)	3
For every 2 clearances, blocks and interceptions (total)	1
For every 3 recoveries	1
Key pass	1
*Successful tackle (net)**	2
Successful dribble	1
Scoring the goal that wins a match	3
70 to 79% pass completion (at least 30 passes attempted)	2
80 to 89% pass completion (at least 30 passes attempted)	4
90%+ pass completion (at least 30 passes attempted)	6
Conceding a penalty	-3
Missing a penalty	-6
Yellow card	-3
Red card	-9
Own goal	-6
Missing a big chance	-3
Making an error which leads to a goal	-3
Making an error which leads to an attempt at goal	-1
Being tackled	-1
Conceding a foul	-1
Being caught offside	-1
Shot off target	-1

*Net successful tackles is the total of all successful tackles minus any unsuccessful tackles. Players will not be awarded negative BPS points for this statistic.

When are bonus points added?

Bonus points are calculated an hour after each game finishes and are added at the end of each day in the gameweek.

FPL Draft Rankings

To help you decide which players to draft, the Premier League has ranked all the players based on their projected points during the season.

Each player is ranked, with the player with the most projected points ranked first.

What is the Fixture Difficulty Rank (FDR)?

The Fixture Difficulty Rank (FDR) is based on a complex algorithm developed by Fantasy Premier League experts. A set of formulas process key Opta data variables, along with each team’s home and away form (past six matches), in order to generate a rank for the perceived difficulty of each Gameweek opponent. The FDR is designed to help FPL managers plan their transfer and team selection strategy and is reviewed on a weekly basis.

There are many other external sources of Fixture Difficulty rank, which a lot of managers find more accurate than the Fantasy Premier League’s version.

To find these, look at other FPL resources like:

Fantasyfootballscout.co.uk
Twitter – @BenCrellin

What is the ICT Index?

According to Fantasy Premier League – The ICT Index is a football statistical index developed specifically to assess a player as an FPL asset. It uses match event data to generate a single score for three key areas – Influence, Creativity and Threat. These figures then combine to create an individual’s ICT Index score. It condenses more than 40 match event statistics into four distinct scores. These offer a view on player performance for factors that are known to produce FPL points.

The truth is, research has shown there is little correlation between a players’ ICT index scores and their FPL performance.

Draft FC thinks ICT index is a poor measure of a players’ FPL performance and should not be used.

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Transfers explained

Before each gameweek begins you will have the opportunity to swap your players with any players available. These can be in two ways, through Waivers or as a Free Agent.

You can also trade players with other managers in-between gameweeks.

New players added to the game, or players released by other managers, do not immediately become free agents.

Similar to the draft process, the waiver process allows managers to pick up players that have been newly added to the game, or have been released by other managers.

These requests are then processed 24 hours before the gameweek deadline.

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FPL draft head-to-head

Head-to-head is a popular way of playing FPL Draft. Points awarded in your league are different to the classic scoring model you may be used to in normal FPL.

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Preparing for draft day

Draft day is one of the most important parts of your whole season. It is likely that you won’t trade your first pick as these will be really premium players.

In the days before your draft, create a list of just over 150 players and rank them in the order that you would pick them.

This way, when you are in making your draft picks you can refer to your list and pick your pre-prepared players, without being distracted by the stresses of draft day!

For a head start, sign up to Draft FC and use our Draft Picks Dashboard or see our expert’s picks.

What if I can’t make the draft time?

Some managers will not be able to make the draft time. OFPL Draft has a watchlist feature where you can rank as many players as you like in priority order ahead of the draft day.

During the draft day, your selection time will run down, then the highest ranked player in your watchlist will be selected.

Can I still make transfers?

There are 3 opportunities every week to make transfers. You can either trade with another manager, waiver in players or pick them up as a free agent.

A round of waivers runs once every gameweek, and is processed on the waiver deadline which is 24 hours before the gameweek starts.

This process continues until all waivers are processed.

After waivers are processed, Free Agency mode will be activated until the Gameweek deadline.

New players added to the game, or players released by other managers, do not immediately become free agents.

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Five essential Fantasy Premier League tips

Spent time on your watchlist

Draft day is one of the most important parts of your whole season. It is likely that you won’t trade your first pick as these will be really premium players.

In the days before your draft, create a list of just over 150 players and rank them in the order that you would pick them.

This way, when you are in making your draft picks you can refer to your list and pick your pre-prepared players, without being distracted by the stresses of draft day!

Plan according to fixtures

While there will be core players of your squad that you will be keen to keep throughout the season, there will be a group of players you are happy to waiver each week according to their fixtures.

When drafting your players, especially Goalkeepers – look for two players that you can rotate, so your starting player always has an ‘easy’ fixture.

Don’t be afraid to trade, or waiver

Outside of the premium players, football is a game based on form. A lot of your points scored will be from players who are on a hot streak, but these streaks don’t always last.

Be brave and try to bring in players that have a good run of fixtures, or look like they are picking up form, even if it means dropping a player you have some loyalty towards!

Use the Draft FC Personal Dashboard

The personal dashboard is the only place that gives you in-depth analytics into your squad and your league’s performance.

You can use this tool to find out how you are scoring your points, what your league trajectory looks like and find out where other managers are doing better or worse than you.

Use the Draft FC Global Dashboard

This amazing tool analyses every single FPL Draft team, and provides you with ownership statistics for all league sizes, as well as ownership statistics for the best managers in leagues just like yours.

Here you can see what players are making managers successful, and you can use this for inspiration during your FPL Draft season.

More FPL tips

For articles throughout the season, click here . We will provide updates on which players to waiver in and which players to drop.

For insights you can’t get anywhere else, sign up to the Draft FC.

You can also listen to our Podcast – here

Get more tips here!

Author: Taz

Taran is the founder of Draft FC. He has spent 3 years creating the platform, and has been a lifelong FPL player. You can find us on Twitter at @Draft_FC