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Adewale (TheFPLManual) covers a "how to play" guide and overview for the UEFA Champions League fantasy game. Expert advice on rules, scoring, chips, and tips for winning your mini-league.
The UEFA Champions League is back! All 36 teams are set to brawl for another season. To this end, our beloved Champions League fantasy returns, and this article is a beginner's course on what to expect for those who have never played the game.
The 2025-26 Champions League season is expected to be a thrilling one, with the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, serving as the final venue. Create a fantasy team with your favorite fantasy assets, and compete against other managers in your mini-leagues.
The Gameweek 1 deadline for the 2025-26 Champions League fantasy season is Tuesday, September 16, at 12:45 p.m. ET, when PSV Eindhoven hosts Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Arsenal travels to Spain to face Athletic Bilbao. Check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every EPL and UCL slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
Brief Recap: 2024-25 UCL Season and Previous UCL Fantasy Champion
Last season, Paris Saint-Germain stood out among the rest and won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history. Key players like Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and the amazing wingback duo of Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi were solid assets in 2024-25.
It's time to do it all again, but this time with newcomers like FK Bodø/Glimt, Pafos FC, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, and FC Kairat Almaty making their debut season in the Champions League.
.@micahrichards is ready for UCL Fantasy 👊
Think you can take him on in the Big Meeks League?
Join the game and enter his league with the code MICAH2 👇https://t.co/RhbTOk10Pv#UCL #FantasyForChampions pic.twitter.com/4c2ThrTyMQ— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 1, 2025
The 2024-25 UCL fantasy champion, Joaquín Roth on X (Twitter), won the game with a total of 1,463 points and is set for a trip to this year's UCL final in Budapest. He also walked away with a PlayStation 5 of his own.
A wise ex-football player, Eric Cantona, once said, "I always wanted to play against the best." Thus, if you want to beat last year's UCL fantasy champion, you will need to hit at least 1,460 points this season to win the overall crowned prize.
Historia. @ChampionsLeague Fantasy Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/y08EjTdrDl
— Joaquín Roth (@joaquin_roth) June 1, 2025
Looking ahead, we'll share an all-around overview of the basic rules to note for the 2025-26 season. Let's classify each segment into the following categories:
- How to Play Champions League Fantasy: Squad Building, Substitutions, Captaincy, and Transfers
- Scoring System: Assist and Penalty Rules, Red Card, and Player of the Match
- UCL Fantasy Chips, Tips, and Prizes
How to Play Champions League Fantasy?
Register and Create an Account
Sign up on the UEFA Fantasy platform via this link here, or via the UEFA Gaming app on the Google Play Store or App Store. If you already have an existing account, go ahead and log in to create your super team.
Select Your Squad and Set Your Lineup
Select your fantasy team within an allocated budget of €100 million, creating a balanced team of goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. After the league phase, the budget increases to €105 million.
🤔 Who do you think will score the most fantasy points this season out of these four?
Create your team 👇#FantasyForChampions
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 30, 2025
For formations, your squad can play in any shape as long as you have at least one goalkeeper, three defenders, two midfielders, and a forward.
Note: You have a maximum of three players from a team during the league phase. The maximum player threshold will increase during the playoffs knockout stage (four) until the Champions League final (eight).
Substitutions
In Champions League fantasy, there are two types of substitutions: automatic and manual subs.
If a manager does not make any subs or change your captain within a matchday, your bench enters an automatic sub mode, and players who did not feature will be subbed out. Bear in mind that automatic subs can only work when you don't make any manual changes to your team.
Managers are also allowed to do manual substitutions to their team where necessary. Between matchdays, you can make as many subs within your squad as you like.
You can sub out a maximum of four players, and replace them with any of your substitutes who are yet to play within that matchday.
Note: If a player in your team is sent off, you are not allowed to substitute that player.
Captaincy Rules
Every manager's captain pick gets double points for a given matchday. In Champions League fantasy, you have the option to swap or switch to another player on a later day within that week.
However, note that if your captain doesn't play after you make a manual sub, you won't qualify for automatic substitution.
Transfers and Matchday Deadlines
Each manager receives free transfers every matchday, where no points will be deducted from their score. However, the number of free transfers varies as the UCL campaign progresses.
The table below reflects how the transfer threshold increases at each stage of the season.
| Matchday |
Number of free transfers
|
| Before the league phase | Unlimited |
| During the league phase |
Two
|
| Before the knockout phase playoffs | Unlimited |
| Before the knockout phase playoffs, the second leg | Two |
| Before the round of 16 | Unlimited |
| Before the round of 16 second leg | 3 |
| Before quarterfinals | 5 |
| Before the quarterfinals' second leg | 3 |
| Before semifinals | 5 |
| Before the semifinals' second leg | 3 |
| Before final | 5 |
For every transfer you make after exhausting your available free transfers, a four-point hit is deducted from your overall total.
Managers are only allowed to carry forward one transfer to the next matchday during the league phase. Once the knockout stage begins, you will not be allowed to stockpile transfers anymore.
Note: When you use any of your fantasy chips, no free transfer will be carried forward.
Deadlines
Be aware of the deadlines for making captaincy changes and manual substitutions, as swaps can only be made before the start of the following day within a specific matchday.
Managers are advised to wait until the official lineups for the first set of matches are announced to get a sense of which players are available to start.
| Matchday | Deadline |
| Matchay 1 |
September 16, 18:45 CET (12:45 p.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 2 |
September 30, 18:45 CET (12:45 p.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 3 |
October 21, 18:45 CET (12:45 p.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 4 |
November 4, 18:45 CET (12:45 p.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 5 |
November 25, 18:45 CET (12:45 p.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 6 |
December 9, 16:30 CET (10:30 a.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 7 |
January 20, 2026, 16:30 CET (10:30 a.m. ET)
|
| Matchday 8 |
January 28, 2026, 21:00 CET (3:00 p.m. ET)
|
Note: The table above only includes the 2025-26 league phase deadlines, referenced to Central European Standard Time.
Scoring System
| 2025-26 UCL Fantasy Scoring | |
| Action | Points |
| All players | |
| Appearance | 1 |
| 60 mins on pitch | 1 |
| Goals from outside the box | 1 |
| Assist | 3 |
| Every 3 balls recovered | 1 |
| Player of the Match award | 3 |
| Winning penalty | 2 |
| Conceding penalty | -1 |
| Missing penalty | -2 |
| Yellow card | -1 |
| Red card | -3 |
| Own goal | -2 |
| Goalkeepers | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Saving a penalty | 5 |
| Clean sheet | 4 |
| Every 3 saves | 1 |
| Every 2 goals conceded | -1 |
| Defenders | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Clean sheet | 4 |
| Every 2 goals conceded | -1 |
| Midfielders | |
| Scoring a goal | 5 |
| Clean sheet | 1 |
| Forwards | |
| Scoring a goal | 4 |
Additional rules to note:
Assist Rules
- A player receives points for an assist whenever he makes the final pass, cross, header, or shot that results in a goal. This also goes for set pieces (corners, free kicks, and throw-ins)
- If the attacking player's pass deflects slightly but does not alter direction much, it is still considered an assist
- When a goal is scored on a solo run or dribble, no one is credited with the assist
- An assist is awarded when a pass, shot, or cross results in an own goal
Penalty
- If a player wins a penalty, they do not receive points for an assist, but rather two points for winning the penalty
- When a penalty is awarded for handball, no points are awarded
Red Card
- You cannot substitute players who receive a red card
- If a player receives a red card, they will continue to be penalized for any goal conceded by their team after being sent off
- If a player receives both a yellow card and a red card, they will only be penalized for the red card
- If your captain receives a red card, you cannot transfer the captaincy to another player
Player of The Match
- At the end of every Champions League game, a player is named the "Player of the Match" by the UEFA technical observer panel. If a player wins this award, he earns an additional three points added to their original score that week
UCL Fantasy Chips and Prizes
The UEFA Champions League fantasy game has only two chips: Wildcard and Limitless.
Wildcard
The Wildcard chip is a valuable tool that managers use to adjust their fantasy teams in preparation for future weeks. Think of it as a reset button, and once it's activated, you can make unlimited transfers until the next matchday deadline.
Limitless
The Limitless chip is very similar to the Wildcard chip. It allows for unlimited transfers; however, this time it also gives you access to an unlimited budget. The only caveat here is that you can only use the chip on a given gameweek. Once the matchday is done, your previous team reverts the next week.
Note: Both chips can only be used once during the season, and once you have triggered the chip, it can't be canceled.
Prizes To Be Won
Matchday Prize - A PlayStation 5 for the manager with the highest score in a given Matchday.
League Phase Prize - If you finish first in the League Phase, you win a trip for two to Budapest for the 2026 UEFA Champions League final.
Knockout Phase Prize - A PlayStation 5 is up for grabs if you get the highest score for the knockout phase.
The Overall Prize winner who finishes first at the end of the contest will get an exclusive all-expense paid trip to the 2027 UEFA Champions League final, a PlayStation 5, a team jersey of their choice, and an official match ball. See more on the 2025-26 UCL Fantasy prizes here.
Four UCL Fantasy Tips To Note as A Beginner
Choose a Well-Rounded Team
Take time to select a team of 15 players who are regular starters on their respective teams. This will come in handy when you want to make manual subs during a matchday.
Have a Broad Selection of Captain Picks
Make sure you have at least two captaincy options across a given matchday. This window will help you to make captaincy swaps, in case your original captain underperformed.
Create a Chip Strategy Plan
Sometimes your team does well against a lower-tier team, while other times it will be difficult to score 100 points. It is recommended to study the Champions League fixtures and create a strategy around the easier fixtures, making the most of the available chips.
Stay Informed
There is a popular phrase that says "Information is Power," and this applies heavily to UCL fantasy. We have 36 teams participating across multiple leagues in Europe. Therefore, your most valuable resource is staying up-to-date with the latest team news and injury updates every week.
At RotoBaller, we have your best interests at heart, and we'll keep you abreast with the right tools to win your UCL fantasy mini-league. Be ready for more preseason analysis to come your way this international break!
Stick around for more 2025-26 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
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