UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football rules 2024/25

Fantasy Football works by matchdays. There are seventeen matchdays in total, corresponding to the eight rounds of games in the league phase, plus two legs of the knockout round play-offs, the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the final.

Every matchday except the final is split over more than one day – usually Tuesday and Wednesday within the same week.

Each matchday, once the first day's games have finished, you can make subs or switch your captain.

That means that if any of your starting players doesn't score as many points as you wanted, you can sub them off for a player on your bench who might score you more points later in the matchday.

By making changes within a matchday, you have the chance to score more points for that matchday. See 'Picking a captain' and 'Subs' for more information.

This season, the Champions League has a new format.

Every team will play eight matches in the league phase.

The top eight teams in the league phase go straight to the round of 16.

The teams in places 9 to 24 go into a two-legged knockout round play-off to decide the remaining eight places in the round of 16.

Ahead of the knockout round play-offs, you'll get unlimited free transfers, so you don't need to worry about planning ahead for that stage.

Ahead of the round of 16, you'll get unlimited free transfers again, so you can refresh your squad for the remaining knockout rounds.

To read more about the new format, check out our explainer.

Picking a team name
When you create your team, you’ll have to pick a team name. You can edit your team's name at any point until the next matchday.

Selecting your players
To get started, you’ll need to pick a squad of 15 players:

• 2 goalkeepers
• 5 defenders
• 5 midfielders
• 3 forwards

Budget
In Fantasy Football, each player in the Champions League is assigned a virtual price. You'll get an initial €100 million to spend on your squad, which rises to €105 million from the round of 16 onwards.

Number of players per club
There's a limit on how many players you can select from one club depending on the stage of the competition.

If any of your players is transferred to another Champions League club during the season, they'll stay in your squad. However, if that player takes you over the player limit for a given club, you'll have to transfer them out the next time you make transfers.

If any of your players are knocked out of the Champions League, they'll stay in your squad – and you can keep them there for the rest of the season if you want. However, once they're out of the competition, they won't score you any more points.

Starting late
You can create a team at any point during the competition.

If you create a team between matchdays, you'll start scoring points from the following matchday.

If you create a team once a matchday has started, you'll start scoring points from the next day within that matchday. So if you create a team on the Tuesday once matches have kicked off, you'll start scoring points on the Wednesday.

For each matchday throughout the competition, you'll need to select 11 starting players from your 15-player squad.

All your matchday points will be scored by the players in your XI – not the 11 players who start the matchday in your team, but those that finish the matchday in your team.

For most matchdays, you'll be able to sub players in and out depending on their performances – with the aim of ending the matchday with the highest-scoring 11 players from your squad in your XI. The exceptions to this are Matchday 8 (when all matches kick off at the same time), and Matchday 17 (the final).

You can read more about this in the Subs section.

You'll need to save your team before each matchday deadline, which is the kick-off time of the first game within the matchday.

To make sure you don't miss a deadline, turn on notifications on the UEFA Gaming app.

If any of your starting players don't play that matchday, they'll be automatically replaced by your substitutes (as long as formation rules aren’t broken). Have a look at the Substitutions section for more information.

Formations
Your team can line up in any formation, as long as you’ve picked 1 goalkeeper, at least 3 defenders, at least 2 midfielders and at least 1 forward.

Selecting a captain
Every time you save your team, you'll need to pick a captain from your starting XI. That player's points will be doubled for that matchday.

If your captain plays on the first day within a matchday and doesn't score as highly as you'd like, you'll have the option to switch to another player whose club are playing on a later day within that matchday.

This gives you the chance to double the score of a different player you think will do better.

However, bear in mind that if you aren't happy with your new captain's score, you won't be able to change back. And you can't ever select a captain who’s already played in that matchday.

If your captain doesn't play on a particular matchday, and you haven't made any manual changes during that matchday, your captain will be automatically subbed out. However, his replacement won't get the captain's double-points bonus.

If your captain doesn't play in a matchday where you've made other subs, your captain won't be subbed out – and none of your players will score double for that matchday.

TIP: Select a captain from a team that's playing on the first day of a matchday. That way, if he doesn't score as many points as you would have liked, you can switch captain to one of your players who is playing later in the matchday.

Between matchdays, you can make as many subs within your squad as you like.

After all matches on a single day have finished and before the next matches within that matchday kick off, you can:

• Sub out a maximum of 4 players (unless they have been sent off), and replace them with any of your substitutes whose teams are yet to play within the matchday. Any players that you sub out will score 0 points for that matchday.
• Change your captain to another player from your squad whose team is yet to play. Your original captain’s double-points bonus will be lost, and your new captain’s score for that matchday will be doubled.

Bear in mind that:

• You can't sub players into your starting XI, or change to a captain, who have already played in that matchday.
• Once you confirm your subs or change of captain, those changes can’t be reversed.
• Once the matches on the final day of the matchday have kicked off, you can’t make changes to your team. Any changes you make will only be applied to the next matchday.
• You'll need to save your changes before the matchday kicks off for them to take effect. If you start adjusting your squad just before the deadline, but you save your changes after it's already passed, your changes won't apply to that day's matches.

TIP: Because you can make subs mid-matchday, try picking a squad with a balance of players in action over the two (or more) days. That way, if your initial players don't perform, you can sub them out for players you think will have a better chance of getting you more points.

Automatic subs
If you don't make any subs or change your captain within a matchday, some of your players might be automatically subbed out.

You can order your subs by priority in case any of your starting XI doesn't play that matchday.

• If your goalkeeper doesn't play in a matchday, your replacement goalkeeper will be subbed in, as long as he has played (and as long as you haven't made any other manual changes to your squad during that matchday).
• If any of your starting outfield players don’t play in a matchday, they’ll be automatically subbed out. The player subbed in will be the highest-priority sub who has played in the matchday, and whose substitution doesn’t break formation rules.
Remember that your XI always has to have 1 goalkeeper, at least 3 defenders, at least 2 midfielders and at least 1 forward. So for example, if your starting XI has 3 defenders and one of those defenders doesn't play in a matchday, he'll be subbed out for the highest-priority defender on your bench.
• If you switch the priority order of your subs once a matchday has started, that will count as a manual change and no automatic subs will kick in for the remainder of that matchday.

Bear in mind that automatic subs can only happen when you don't make any manual changes to your team during the matchday. That includes changing captain, making any manual subs and switching the priority order of your benched players. Once you save any of these changes – even if you then switch back to what you had before – your auto subs will be disabled for that matchday.

If you create your team partway through a matchday, you won't be able to make automatic subs for that first matchday.

Transferring players in and out of your squad helps you get more points throughout the season.

Before the UEFA Champions League kicks off, you can make as many transfers as you like as long as you stay within the budget. There are two more windows where you can also make as many transfers as you like: between the league phase and play-offs, and again between the play-offs and the round of 16.

Throughout the competition, you get free transfers each matchday, where no points will be deducted from your score. The number of free transfers you can make depends on the stage of the competition. Bear in mind that if any of your players get injured or become unavailable for any other reason, you won't get any extra free transfers to compensate.

For every transfer you make beyond your quota of free transfers, you'll have 4 points deducted from your total. Because of the way points are calculated, this will be deducted from your overall score rather than your matchday score.

During the league phase, if you don't use your free transfers between matchdays, you'll only be able to carry one forward to the next matchday – meaning you can't stockpile free transfers over several rounds.

If you use your Wildcard or Limitless chip, then no free transfers get carried forward.

And once the knockout stage starts, you can't carry any free transfers forward between matchdays.

Player prices
Player prices will stay the same until the Matchday 2 deadline. For Matchday 3 onwards, some players’ prices will be adjusted based on their performances in the previous games. Prices will keep changing throughout the season depending on how many points they score.

Every matchday, teams will lock as soon as the first match kicks off.

You'll need to save your changes before the matchday kicks off for them to take effect. If you don't save until the matches have already started, your changes won't apply to that set of matches.

To make sure you don't miss a deadline, turn on notifications on the UEFA Gaming app.

TIP: Wait until official line-ups are announced for the first set of matches – that way, you at least know some of the players who will definitely start for their teams (and get you points).

Chips give you the opportunity to change your squad and score more points. You get 2 chips, which you can play once each throughout the competition.

Chips can be played on any matchday except 1, 9 (knockout round play-offs first leg) and 11 (round of 16 first leg), when everyone automatically gets unlimited free transfers.

Wildcard

The Wildcard gives you the chance to change your squad for upcoming matchdays.

Playing it allows you to make free unlimited transfers, and any players you transfer in will stay in your squad once that matchday has finished.

The normal rules for automatic subs, manual subs and captain changes still apply when your Wildcard is active, as well as formation constraints and the number of players you can pick from one team.

If you've already made transfers ahead of a matchday and you then play your Wildcard, the transfers you've made previously will be cancelled, along with any points deductions.

To play your Wildcard, select 'Activate wildcard' and then confirm the transfers you'd like to make. Once you save your transfers, your changes will come into effect.

This chip can be used only once and can be played at any time except Matchday 1, Matchday 9 (knockout round play-offs first leg) and Matchday 11 (round of 16 first leg), when everyone gets unlimited transfers. Once you've played it, it can't be cancelled.

Limitless

Limitless gives you the chance to pick your dream squad for one matchday only. Playing it allows you to make unlimited free transfers for that matchday with no budget restrictions. Once the matchday has finished, your squad will go back to how it was before you played your Limitless chip.

The normal rules for automatic subs, manual subs and captain changes still apply when playing Limitless, as well as formation constraints and the number of players you can pick from one team.

If you've already made transfers ahead of a matchday and you then play Limitless, the transfers you've made previously will be cancelled, along with any points deductions.

To play your Limitless, select 'Activate Limitless' and then confirm the transfers you'd like to make. Once you save your transfers, your changes will come into effect.

This chip can be used only once and can be played at any time except Matchday 1, Matchday 9 (knockout round play-offs first leg) and Matchday 11 (round of 16 first leg). Once you've played it, it can't be cancelled.

Throughout the season, your players will score points based on their real-life performances. Some actions are rewarded the same amount of points regardless of the player’s position, others vary depending on where each player plays.

All data will be taken from the official match reports.

*When a penalty is awarded for handball, no points are awarded

Points are usually calculated within 3 hours of the final whistle of the last match of the day – and some stats may be adjusted during this time based on information from referees or data providers.

In the case of balls recovered, we'll calculate this stat when we calculate your points at the end of the day. There may be some discrepancy between the data in Fantasy Football and other sources – but once we calculate this number as part of the daily points calculation, it won't be adjusted afterwards.

Bear in mind that once your points have been calculated, they can't be adjusted.

Minutes played
Every player who plays in any given match scores one point. Players score an extra point when they play 60 minutes, excluding injury time.

Minutes played will be confirmed when your points are calculated at the end of each day.

Assists
A player gets points for an assist whenever he plays the final pass, cross, header or shot which leads to a goal. This also applies to set plays (corners, free-kicks and throw-ins).

Players also get points for an assist if a goal is scored on the rebound after a shot against the post or bar – or if the rebound comes off an opposing player.

When it comes to passes, it must be deemed an intentional pass to count as an assist. Miscontrolled touches or other unintentional passes that go straight to a team-mate are not counted.

An assist can be made with any legal part of the body as long as it's deemed intentional.

If the attacking player's pass takes a small deflection which doesn't significantly change the direction of the pass, it will still be given as an assist.

They also get points for an assist when their pass, shot or cross leads to an own goal.

Players that win a penalty don't get points for an assist – instead, they get 2 points for winning the penalty (except when the penalty is awarded for handball).

When a goal is scored from a solo run or dribble, no player is credited with the assist.

Only one player can get points for an assist for any one goal.

Clean sheets
Players get points for a clean sheet when they play at least 60 minutes excluding added time and their team doesn’t concede a goal while they are on the pitch.

If a player has already been subbed off when their team concedes a goal, that player’s clean sheet bonus won't be affected.

Player of the Match award
At the end of every Champions League match, one player is given the Player of the Match award. This award is decided by UEFA's technical observer panel.

When a player wins this award, he’ll score an extra 3 points for that matchday.

Red cards
If a player gets a red card, they’ll continue to be penalised for goals conceded by their team after they’ve been sent off.

If a player gets a yellow card and then a red card, they’ll only be penalised for the red card.

If your captain gets a red card, you can transfer the captaincy to one of your other starting XI, as long as your new captain hasn’t already played yet within the matchday.

You can't sub off players who get a red card.

Extra time and penalties
Players will keep scoring points throughout extra time. However, players who play 120 minutes can't get double appearance or clean sheet points (2 x 60 minutes).

If a match goes to penalties, no points will be scored during the shoot-out.

Private leagues
Private leagues give you the chance to enjoy competing against your friends, family and colleagues.

To create a league, go to 'Leagues' and select 'Create league'. Then invite others to join by sharing the league code.

Public leagues
Your team will be automatically included in the following leagues:

• The overall leaderboard with all other players around the world
• A league with other players from your country
• A league with other players who support the same Champions League team as you

If you haven't picked the team you support before Matchday 1 kicks off, you'll be automatically included in a league with other players who haven't selected a favourite team.

If you update your country of residence in your account settings, you'll move into a league with other people from that country once the next points calculation has finished.

If you have any other questions about UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football, feel free to get in touch at fantasy@support.uefa.com. Remember to include your username and team name so we can answer your questions quicker.

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