1. Scope

These rules apply to every participant in the private Portuguese Premier League Fantasy Draft 2026/27 league, referred to below as PPLFD. They define the rules and procedures that registered managers must follow.

2. Description

PPLFD is based on each manager building a squad of 15 players selected from the clubs competing in the current Premier League season.

Unlike the traditional Fantasy Premier League game, Draft mode gives each player to only one squad. The official draft system manages this exclusivity: after a player is selected, no other manager can recruit that player. Managers must join at the agreed time, and the system generates the selection order randomly.

2.1League structure

The league uses the Classic scoring format in Draft mode. Each team's position is determined by the total points scored by its players across the Premier League gameweeks.

The 2026/27 edition has a First Division, Second Division and Third Division. The Second and Third Divisions each contain Groups A and B. A division may contain up to 14 teams. Each group in the lowest division must contain at least 13 participants. Every division and group holds its own independent draft.

Three competitions will take place:

• Championship
• League Cup
• Champions League

The Championship is played within each division and group. For the Second and Third Division, the Champion of the Division will be the team with most points out of the two groups, and the Runner-up the other first place team.

The League Cup includes the entire league. The Champions League is contested by teams that qualified through the previous edition.

3. Draft

The date and time of each division's draft - the initial process in which managers select their squads - will be agreed after registration closes. Drafts must take place between 18th and 20th August.

The official system randomly generates the first-round selection order. The order reverses in each following round, commonly called a snake draft. Each manager has 90 seconds to make a pick, meaning one player selection. If no player is selected in time, the system assigns the highest-ranked available player according to the official Fantasy Premier League Draft Rank.

Each squad contains 15 players:

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

Further information is available in the official FPL Draft help (opens in a new tab).

4. Squad

The starting eleven for each gameweek must be selected before its deadline. No changes are permitted after that point. Draft mode does not use captains.

The manager sets a priority order for substitutes. If one or more starting players do not play, or play for less than one minute, the system makes automatic substitutions at the end of the gameweek while respecting the minimum and maximum limits for each position.

Further information is available in the official FPL Draft help (opens in a new tab).

5. Transfers

After the draft, a manager may replace a squad member with an unselected player, known as a free agent, or propose a direct trade with another manager. Every replacement or trade must involve players in the same position.

Waivers are the system's ordered process for resolving claims for available players. Waivers are processed 24 hours before each gameweek deadline, which is typically one hour before the first match begins. The number of transfers in each window is unlimited. Priority applies from the second transfer onward.

When several managers request the same free agent with the same claim priority, the system awards the player to the lowest-placed manager. If managers are tied on points, the system determines their table order randomly and the lower team receives priority. Between the end of the draft and the start of Gameweek 1, priority follows the reverse draft order.

5.1Transfer modes between teams

FPL Draft provides the following transfer settings:

• Trades disabled
• Unrestricted trades
• Trades subject to administrator veto
• Trades subject to manager vote, where 30% or more of teams may veto

PPLFD uses unrestricted trades with the additional controls below.

5.2Review of questionable trades

An unrestricted trade is completed when the receiving manager accepts it. The receiving manager must announce the accepted trade in their division group and attach a screenshot of the proposal.

Any participant may refer a trade to the Managers Council when one side appears to receive an unjustified advantage. The Managers Council consists of all league managers, including the managers involved in the trade.

After hearing the involved managers' explanations, the Council votes either to uphold or reverse the trade. Voting remains open for 24 hours. A decision is binding when it receives at least 70% of valid votes cast. Abstentions and non-responses do not count. If reversal reaches 70%, the managers must return the players; failure to do so results in disqualification. If neither outcome reaches 70%, the Decision Committee decides the case.

5.3Players newly arriving in the Premier League

Players transferred into the Premier League close to or after the draft become available only if the official system adds them at least 24 hours before the gameweek begins.

Before the winter transfer window opens, a newly added player ranked in the top 150 of the official FPL Draft Rank cannot be selected. These players are referred to as Restricted Players. Draft Rank is measured using the official ranking visible when eligibility is evaluated.

5.4Players leaving the Premier League after the draft

If a manager holds a top-30 Draft Rank player who was selected in the draft, either by that manager or by another manager before a direct trade, and the player leaves the Premier League before the summer transfer window closes, the manager may replace that player through the normal waiver process with any player, including a Restricted Player. The same right applies each time this situation occurs.

If the departing player is outside the top 30 but inside the top 100 under the same ownership conditions, the manager may use the normal waiver process to select a replacement outside the top 30, including a Restricted Player.

Draft Rank is measured using the official ranking visible when eligibility is evaluated.

5.5Rules after the winter transfer window opens

After the winter transfer window opens, every manager may sign a Restricted Player who is outside the top 30 but inside the top 100 of the official Draft Rank.

5.6Exception for top-30 players after the winter window opens

If a manager holds a top-30 player who was drafted by that manager or passed into their squad through a direct trade, and that player leaves the Premier League, the manager may sign any replacement regardless of Draft Rank.

5.7Additional winter transfer window pick

If a manager holds a top-50 player who was drafted by that manager or passed into their squad through a direct trade, and that player leaves the Premier League during the summer transfer window, the manager may save the additional pick described in section 5.4 for unrestricted use in the winter transfer window.

This saved pick grants one priority waiver claim for a replacement of any Draft Rank in the same position. The manager must release one player, and the squad remains limited to 15 players.

A manager with this right has priority over other managers in the same situation. Priority is determined by the date on which the destination club signed the departing player. Managers in this situation must announce their selections before waivers open. If they do not, a dispute over the same player is resolved in favour of the manager who announced first. The pick order is unrestricted, so the manager may choose any waiver round in which to use it.

Further information is available in the official FPL Draft help (opens in a new tab).

6. Scoring

The player scoring system is described in the official FPL Draft help (opens in a new tab).

7. League Cup

The League Cup runs alongside the Championship and is administered outside the official FPL system.

The competition uses Head-to-Head, meaning that each manager faces a direct opponent in a selected gameweek. The manager with the higher gameweek score wins the match. Group-stage wins, draws and losses produce a table in the same way as a football league.

The competition has:

1. A single round-robin group stage
2. Two-leg knockout rounds involving 32 teams

Teams from all three divisions compete together. Ten groups, A to J, will be drawn live during the first half of October on a date to be confirmed. Managers may follow the draw by video conference.

The Championship gameweeks that also count for each League Cup round will be announced by the draw date. The planned schedule is:

The two losing semi-finalists play a separate third-place tie for the third-place prize. Its gameweeks will be announced by the administration.

If a Premier League match is postponed during a gameweek selected for the League Cup, either manager in the tie may request that the tie move to the next Premier League gameweek when at least one player in their squad is affected. The affected manager must submit the request before the fantasy deadline.

8. Champions League

The 2026/27 Champions League contains 32 teams. Qualification is based on the 2025/26 season, when the Second and Third Divisions each had one table:

• Every team that competed in the First Division
• The top nine teams in the Second Division
• The top nine teams in the Third Division

Qualification for the 2027/28 edition will be determined by the final 2026/27 Championship standings and will also include 32 teams:

• All 14 teams from the First Division
• The top five teams from each Second Division group (10 teams)
• The top four teams from each Third Division group (8 teams)

The competition uses Head-to-Head scoring. The manager with the higher score in the selected gameweek wins the match. Group-stage wins, draws and losses produce a table in the same way as a football league.

The competition has:

1. A single round-robin preliminary group stage
2. Three-leg knockout rounds involving 16 teams

The top eight teams from the previous season's First Division qualify automatically for the knockout stage and do not play in the preliminary stage. The remaining 24 teams contest the other eight places.

The preliminary stage has four groups, A to D. The live draw will take place during the first half of September on a date to be confirmed, and managers may follow it by video conference.

The Championship gameweeks that also count for the Champions League are:

If a Premier League match is postponed during a gameweek selected for the Champions League, either manager in the tie may request that the tie move to the next Premier League gameweek when at least one player in their squad is affected. The affected manager must submit the request before the fantasy deadline.

9. Promotions and relegations

The following promotion and relegation system applies:

• The bottom six teams in the overall First Division Championship table are relegated.
• The top three teams in each Second Division group are promoted.
• The bottom five teams in each Second Division group are relegated.
• The top five teams in each Third Division group are promoted.

10. Penalties and compensation

From the draft until the Premier League winter transfer window opens, any player newly joining a Premier League club who is ranked in the top 150 of the official Draft Rank is unavailable for recruitment. After the winter window opens, this restriction is reduced to the top 30. Draft Rank is measured when eligibility is evaluated.

These restrictions are administered internally to avoid significant competitive imbalances. Restricted Players remain visible in the official FPL system and its weekly transfer and waiver windows, but they cannot be recruited in PPLFD during the periods described above.

The following penalties apply when section 5 is breached:

• Five points are deducted for each Restricted Player signed.
• Five points are deducted for each player signed outside the correct priority.

In either case, the manager has 24 hours, corresponding to the waiver period, to release the player. If the player remains in the squad for the following gameweek, the five-point penalty is applied again in every gameweek until release. If the player starts and scores points, those points are also deducted from the team's score.

When another manager had a valid right to sign the player but was prevented from doing so by the improper recruitment, that manager receives:

1. Priority to sign the player in the next transfer window
2. Virtual possession of the player for that gameweek and until actual possession is obtained

The compensated manager may choose to count the affected player's points. To do so, the manager must nominate another player in the same position as a ghost player whose points will not count; that ghost player must play. If the manager does not make a clear declaration before the gameweek begins, the affected player's points do not count.

Championship adjustments are made at the end of the season. Adjustments for the League Cup and Champions League are made gameweek by gameweek.

11. Tie-breakers

When a tie must be resolved, the following criteria apply in order.

Championship

1. Highest-scoring gameweek, excluding incomplete gameweeks in which teams did not play
2. Draft order, with priority given to the manager who had the lower pick number

League Cup and Champions League

1. Head-to-Head result
2. Total points
3. Highest-scoring gameweek
4. Draft order, with priority given to the manager who had the lower pick number
5. Highest-scoring player in the Head-to-Head tie

12. Administration

The following participants have responsibilities for the league and its competitions:

• General PPLFD administrator and First Division: André Mourato
• Second Division: Rafael Mendes and Francisco Bettencourt
• Third Division: Miguel Cabral and Daniel Leite
• Backups: Pedro Barroso and Bernardo Silva

Division administrators mediate internal questions, inform managers about rules and deadlines, and monitor the competition's operation.

The separate Decision Committee consists of André Mourato, Rafael Mendes, Francisco Bettencourt, Bernardo Silva, Daniel Leite and Pedro Barroso.

13. Entry fees and prizes

Entry fees are:

• €125 for First Division participants
• €75 for participants in every other division

Payment must be made by the time a participant confirms its entry.

The overall prizepool is allocated as follows:

Fixed shares of the secondary-division prizepools are allocated to the higher divisions:

Each division distributes its Championship prizepool as follows:

The League Cup prizepool is distributed as follows:

The Champions League prizepool is distributed as follows:

Full-capacity prize example

When all 70 seats are filled—14 in the First Division and 28 in each of the Second and Third Divisions—entry fees total €5,950.00.

After the transfers between divisional prizepools, the Championship prizes are:

The cup prizes are:

The competitions distribute €5,474.00 in prizes. The remaining €476.00 is assigned to the League Operations and Administration Fund.

Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent. Any rounding difference within a competition is applied to the lowest finishing prize.

14. Notice

These rules explain the terms of participation in the private PPLFD league. Full conditions and procedures of the official FPL system must be consulted on the official FPL Draft website (opens in a new tab). This rulebook summarises only the most important parts of the FPL system.

Relevant points that are open to interpretation, whether mentioned here or not, will be discussed internally. Ambiguous or inconclusive matters, or matters requiring action, are referred to the Decision Committee.

The Decision Committee may amend a rule during the season. A change becomes effective only after the revised wording and its effective date are published in a written announcement to managers.

The administration is responsible for paying the prizes in accordance with the amounts due.

20/07/2026