It’s not even been two weeks since the end of the Premier League season, but fantasy football fans will no doubt already be suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
If you’re missing the familiar grind of checking injury updates, weighing up differential options and lording over your mates in your mini-leagues, then fear not as a new game is on the way.
Euro 2024 kicks off in a fortnight and UEFA have launched their own fantasy football game that will keep you occupied for the duration of the tournament. Here’s a look at how it all works.
What are the rules of Euro 2024 Fantasy Football?
Simply put, you have a €100million budget to splash on 15 players who will be competing at Euro 2024 this summer, with their performances on the pitch earning you points.
Squads must consist of two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards. In the group stage you can have a maximum of three players per team, but this increases with every round, up to the final, where you can have eight players per team. Your budget also jumps up to €105 million from the last-16.
The game works by matchdays, with seven in total, taking in the three rounds of group stages games, then the four knockout rounds.
Who are the most expensive players?
When it comes to the most expensive players in the game, the usual suspects are all there.
France and England captains Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane top the list at €11 million, ahead of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo at €10 million. Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne and Robert Lewandowski will set you back €9.5 million, with Phil Foden, Bruno Fernandes, Romelu Lukaku and Antoine Griezmann available for €9 million each.
The cheapest players cost €4.5 million.
How does scoring work?
There’s a lengthy list of point-scoring actions for this version of the game.
The following actions will get you one point regardless of a player’s position: An appearance, playing 60 minutes, a goal from outside the box and every three balls recovered. Winning a penalty is worth two points and you get three for an assist or man of the match award.
All players lose a point for a yellow card or conceding a penalty, while they lose two for an own goal or a penalty miss. A red card sees you docked three points.
Then there are the position-specific points.
Goalkeepers earn a point for every three saves they make and are awarded four points for a clean sheet. A penalty save is worth five points, while they lose a point for every two goals conceded. Should you keeper score a goal, that’s six points.
For defenders, it’s also four points for a clean sheet and minus-one point for every two conceded. They also earn six points for scoring a goal.
Midfielders get five points for a goal and one for a clean sheet, while forwards bag four points for a goal.
Captains earn double points.
What chips do you have?
As in the Premier League’s fantasy game, there are chips on offer. The wildcard is familiar to most fans and lets you make unlimited transfers for a matchday, while this one offers a ‘limitless’ chip that gives you unlimited transfers and budget for a matchday, but resets at the end of that matchday.
What are the prizes?
The grand prize for the overall winner is a trip for two to Qatar, with second place earning a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and a shirt from any team playing at Euro 2024.
Third place overall gets you a shirt, plus an official Euro 2024 match ball.
There are also individual matchday prizes which are a shirt for each winner, the ball for second place and a €50 voucher for the UEFA online store for third,
Full details of how to play the game are available on the UEFA website.
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The curse of the Euro 2024 stadiums: why only half of the venues are now home to Bundesliga clubs
Euro 2024 stadiums: Host cities, capacities, and everything you need to know
