Season Nine – Here… we… go!

The new season is finally here. Kick off!

Who’s excited? I certainly am.
We have a whole host of goodies to look forward to this season.

Firstly, welcome to our new managers. We’re very glad you could join us and take part in the next chapter
– SEASON NINE! Woo!

We’re doing some exciting new things this season. We have a new league format, we have Pro-Rel playoffs, a Champion of Champions tournament, some end-of-season quallies and a wooden spoon game too because we’re always celebrating the winners, we should highlight a loser too, right? We won’t rub it in too much. Plus all the regular thrills of the Champions League, the IntraMural League and the almighty BFFA Cup.

And let’s not forget the Best-ish competition – the most under-rated title in fantasy football – where all forty teams are not only fighting nine others for player contracts and league superiority, but also against thirty more managers for the honour of being the highest-scoring team of the season. It’s the original, centuries-old points-hoarding glory-hunt made more challenging with Draft game restrictions and trading benefits. Truly, only the best come out on top. And I absolutely have to mention here that last season, after 38 weeks (plus double gameweeks), the title was won by just one matchpoint! It doesn’t get any better than that.

Below is the new-look BFFA format. It’s very simple – we end the regular season after Gameweek 36, where we decide the promotions, and everyone will be entered into a mini-tourney while the play-offs play out. The top three in each league automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League, as will this season’s CL Winners and the BFFA Cup Winners. If there’s any overlap, then the fourth-placed teams will auto-qualify and the highest-scoring team (not already in) then earn themselves a shot in a CL Qualifier. Ignore the small print in the picture below for now. If the CL/Cup Winners finish the League outside of the top three, then there will be a small reshuffle in the Post Season tournaments.
The Best-ish competition continues through right to the end of Gameweek 38.

There will also be a whole heap of things to watch out for, including but not nearly limited to:

Reigning Premier League Champions Route 57 FC have won back-to-back league titles over the last two years. They won the big one last season three weeks before the final final whistle and will be going into a prospectively tougher Premier League tournament this year from the ninth pick in the Draft.

Housewives Favourite have enjoyed a LONG reign at the top of Leagues One and Two, and the National League before that. They enter this season on a streak of no less than 70 gameweeks in the number one spot – that’s from GW7 in 20/21 plus the entirety of 21/22! Obviously, Week One will be the hardest one for them to reclaim top spot, and then keep hold of it. But could it happen again?!

Speaking of streaks, the artists formerly known as Drafty – now We have Kompany – finished the season top of the Best-ish leaderboard, were Premier League Runners-Up (just 2 points shy of the title), the World #1 and were also IML winners too. They closed out last season fiercely strong, winning all six of their final games. Also watch out for Webuiltthis City, Hung Like a Bony and ROK FC who finished on 5-game win streaks, and for Peltier who have lost just one of their last thirteen matches!

There will be derby games – friends, lovers and kin – no quarter will be spared on the fantasy field. Most teams are connected to at least one other either by blood and/or friendship. While we don’t encourage rifts and falling-outs, we do like to know when a relationship is put on the line. If you see one coming up this season, let us know!

Please keep an eye on the World Rankings this season too. Last year Atletico Topo Chico were ranked 65th in the world (the global equivalent of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) at the start of the season and finished thirty-one places higher ranked 34th (more like Costa Rica) after they took League Two by storm. Another side who really earned their promotion – Chicken and Bane San – rose 36 places from 76th (on par with Guinea) to a far more respectable 40th (a la Egypt). Both teams will be much tougher to face this season.

All new teams begin their campaign on 1000.00 points and gain or lose points in the same way that the nations of the world do in the FIFA rankings. Mighty Fine Feeling held on to the World #1 spot for over half the season, but finally had to give it up to We have Kompany who powered their way past MFF and the previous tabletoppers Smash & Grab. Closely behind the lead three – Route 57, Vanishing Spray and TMT will all enter the Premier League this season with that World #1 spot also within their grasp.

And, of course, watch out for our newcomers. They might act green and make questionable decisions, they might seem like they don’t know what they’re doing at times, but League Two is a melting pot from which gold is forged. Follow them from wherever you are, and be prepared for some upsets when Cup season comes around.

And with that…

Let the season begin!

The deadline to set your teams is 18:30 BST, Friday 5th August.
Good luck!

Week One Fixtures