Fantasy Premier League is just around the corner and the updates have been coming thick and fast, with several major changes already announced ahead of the upcoming season.
Every new campaign sees some new tweaks or features added to the game, but this summer the head honchos at FPL are making a concerted effort to improve the experience for every manager.
We’ve taken a look at all the changes made so far, but we’re sure there’s more to come before the 2025/26 term kicks off.
Fantasy Premier League: Every major change announced so far
Double the chips
FPL has made the wise decision to ditch the unpopular Assistant Manager chip that was introduced last season. In its place they will be giving players two of every chip.
This means you will have a Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain and Bench Boost chip to use in each half of the campaign. Make sure you use your first set of chips before the Gameweek 19 deadline or you will lose them.
Assists simplified
The definition of fantasy assists has been changed, making them less subjective and easier to come by from next season onwards.
Assists are being simplified for 2025/26 🅰️
This means we’ll see more assists awarded and more points for your side 💪
#FPL
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The first, most significant change relates to the ball’s intended destination. Previously, if a pass or cross was deflected by an opponent away from the intended target or destination, an assist would not be awarded.
However, the intended target is no longer taken into account if the goalscorer receives the ball in the box and there is only one defensive touch before the ball reaches the goalscorer. If the ball is received outside of the box, then it won’t count as an assist.
Secondly, if a goal was scored thanks to an unforced defensive error, no fantasy assist was awarded, until now. This season, though, the only defensive error that will disqualify an assist is if the defending player is attempting a pass.
Lastly, players can earn a fantasy assist if they win a penalty or free-kick by making the last attacking action or touch prior to a handball being awarded.
Extra transfers for AFCON
You will no longer have to worry about players who are headed to the African Cup of Nations, as FPL will top up your total number of transfers to the maximum of five in Gameweek 16.
The 2026 AFCON will cover Gameweeks 17-22, but as some players leave early for the tournament, the extra free transfers will be handed out a week prior.
Defensive contributions
We have already gone into detail on this change in a standalone article, which can read at the link below, but here is what you need to know about the introduction of defensive contributions:
- Any defender who successfully completes a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT) in a single match will score two points in FPL.
- Any midfielder or forward who successfully completes a combined total of 12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, ball recoveries and tackles (CBIRT) in a single match will score two points.
Bonus points
There have been quite a few alterations to the bonus points system (BPS), which sees three players earn three, two and one extra points in a game. Here are the changes to the BPS:
- Goalies will now earn three BPS points for saving a shot from inside the box and two if it is outside the box, as opposed to two points for every save regardless of shot location.
- A penalty save will now result in eight BPS points instead of nine. Given spot kicks take place inside the box, a goalie will earn 11 BPS for a penalty save.
- These are now worth nine BPS points, as opposed to three.
- A player will now earn 12 BPS points for scoring a penalty, regardless of position. Previously, forwards earned 24 points, midfielders earned 18 and defenders earned 12 for scoring a penalty.
- This has been simplified. Prior to this season, players were awarded two BPS points for each “Successful Tackles (net)” statistic, i.e. the total of “Tackles Won” minus “Tackles Lost”. Now two BPS points are awarded for each “Tackle Won” in a match.
New leagues
Two new leagues are being introduced in 2025/26 for managers who finished in the top one per cent and in the top ten per cent of FPL last season. Managers will be automatically enrolled into the new leagues.
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