With £100m to spend and 15 players to choose from, the success of your fantasy football team depends on how you use that money. But how to ensure you’re spending wisely? First and foremost, you need to understand how everything works from a practical point of view. From there, it’s about deciding where your money can make the biggest difference.
Well, guess what? You’ve already taken the first steps towards making your money go further because you’re in the right place. We’ve got everything you need to start balancing your books and building your squad.
Getting Started With Your £100m
The way it works is simple. If you haven’t already, download the WSL Football App from the App Store or Google Play Store. Open it up, head over to the “Fantasy” tab, sign up using your email and password, and give your team its own name.
You’ll then have £100m at the ready and you can start picking your 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 attackers, with a maximum of 3 selections from any one side. You must set your starting XI before kick-off and any additional picks will stay on your bench.
The season is split across six legs. Think of it as playing two games at once: one covering the current leg, with its own league table, and another across the entire competition in the overall standings.
Points are earned from minutes played, goals, assists, clean sheets and saves, while cards, own goals, missed penalties and goals conceded can cost you points. Captains earn double, substitutions can be made between matches, and free transfers are available every week.
Once you’ve got your head around the basics, all that’s left to do is decide how best to spend your money and make your picks.
Option 1: Focus on Expensive, High Performers
So, how do you get the most bang for your buck? When it comes to your overall strategy, there are two key approaches to consider, each with its own appeal.
For many, the focus will be on the stars first. In other words, the majority of their funds will go towards the squad members they really think are going to rake in those points, even if they’re expensive.
For instance, Khadija Shaw is the highest-priced player at £12.5m, but considering she earned an eye-watering 199 points last year, a repeat showing this season would more than justify the price. On the other hand, Chelsea left-back Sandy Baltimore brought in a less impressive 75 points and is currently on offer for a substantial £7m. If her campaign follows a similar pattern this time around, you might be better off putting that money elsewhere.
Bottom line: whether or not this works out depends on how well those picks perform. If they deliver, it could prove to be money well spent. But if they don’t, you could find yourself scrambling for points, with few others capable of making up the shortfall. It’s possible to shore up the difference if your cheaper picks happen to go above and beyond what’s expected of them, but it’s a tall order.
Option 2: Go For A More Well-Rounded Team
Alternatively, you can try and spread your spending power more widely across your squad, providing plenty of flexibility if those key picks don’t deliver.
Now, this doesn’t mean dividing your £100m evenly across 15 spots. For starters, some players, particularly your captain and key attacking options, are more likely to bring home points than those likely to sit on the bench.
As an example, you could go with Megan Collett in defence, Sophie Whitehouse in goal, Beth Hepple in midfield and Vivianne Miedema up front, leaving you with £73.5m to play with. Together, they earned 470 points last season, averaging close to 18 points per £1m spent. If they can produce similar numbers this year, that would represent excellent value for money.
In other words, it's well worth looking beyond the most expensive picks and using the stats to uncover a few bargain options you can slot together to build a high-performing squad across all 15 selections.
Advice for Any Budgeting Strategy
Whether you use your money to back the stars you think will shine brightly enough to carry the whole team to glory or carefully select a squad where everyone can contribute to an almighty collective haul, there are some things that are always worth taking into account before you start spending.
Study the Stats
If you want the best chance of racking up the points, it’s time to put the heart to one side and let the head take over. You win or lose points based on strict criteria, so looking at how a player delivered last season is one of the simplest and most effective ways of making sure you invest your money wisely.
And the good news is, it’s never been easier. We’ve listened to your feedback and have included last season’s stats for every available player, including not just the total season points but also average points per appearance, number of appearances, goals, assists and clean sheets. So, if you want better-informed picks, it’s all there for you to check out in the app.
Factor in Team Changes
One of the things that makes the BWSL and BWSL2 so exciting is that every campaign is different. The transfer window can make all the difference to a player’s performance and, in turn, the points they can bring to your team.
For instance, Alyssa Thompson’s form hit new heights after moving to Chelsea in 2025, scoring in 35% of her appearances, compared with 24% during her time at Angel City.
Such changes can also have a huge impact on the effectiveness of a team’s defence. Just look at Brighton goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who moved from Paris FC to become Brighton’s No 1, where she proved vital to their success. Nnadozie played 19 matches, saving 62 of 83 shots on target, preventing a league-best 5.8 goals and keeping six clean sheets.
And, of course, it’s not just transfers which have an impact. If last season’s star goalscorer is out injured, it could be a smart move to back who you think the manager will turn to fill the gap, so long as the price is right.
Speaking of management, pay close attention to changes there too. A new head honcho can bring a fresh tactical approach, which could completely change the results you see and the points you can expect.
Take Manchester City: they won their first Women’s Super League title in a decade last season, with new manager Andrée Jeglertz playing no small part in that monumental achievement.
In a nutshell, every squad member's performance is hugely influenced by their environment and the opportunities available to them. So, we’d advise beginning with the facts and stats, before factoring in any variables that are likely to have an impact.
Give Your Captain Extra Weight
Your captain earns double points, making them potentially twice as valuable as any other pick. That makes choosing your captain arguably the most important budgeting decision you’ll make. Of course, you should always think about your squad as a whole, but this is one area well worth giving some extra weight to.
Consider the Downsides
Remember, you don’t just win points in fantasy football, you can lose them too, whether that’s through a lack of results or deductions for things like bookings or missed penalties. So, to get the most out of your cash, you’ll want to weigh up the pros and cons.
Madison Haley is a case in point: she is a fantastic forward, but her four cards last year have to be weighed against her goalscoring potential. Similarly, if there are fitness doubts, like London City Lionesses’ Daniëlle van de Donk, whose 2025/26 campaign was severely hampered by an ACL injury, you also have to factor in possible missed games.
They may still be worth the money, but looking at the full picture can help you decide whether there’s better value elsewhere.
Focus on Points per £1m
Figuring out whether a player’s potential points justifies their price can be tricky, so try this: work out how many points you expect each pick to earn, then break that down into points per £1m spent.
Take Cathinka Tandberg as an example. She scored 77 points last season and is priced at £6.5m. If you expect a similar result this year, that works out at around 11.8 points per £1m spent. You can use this figure to compare her with other players in that position.
Of course, you’ll want to take into account how expectations have changed this year, but this is a great way to get to grips with who offers the best value.
Stay on Top of the News
Things never stay the same for long in football. There are always questions around injuries, line-up changes, managerial tinkering and the like. To get the best results, you’ll need to stay informed and flexible, adjusting your starting line-up and making the most of your transfers as things evolve to get the most out of every fixture.
The good news is the WSL Football App makes this easy with injury updates every 5, 2 and 1 day out from each matchweek. Keep an eye on the latest results, stats and news too, and you’ll have everything you need to adjust your squad when it matters most.
Which Budgeting Strategy Is Right for You?
Whether you decide to invest heavily in star players or carefully divvy up your funds across the whole squad, the bottom line is if your picks bring in the big numbers, then whatever you choose is the right call.
The fact is, before the final whistle blows, it’s impossible to say for certain which strategy will pay off. But you can put yourself in the strongest possible position by paying attention to all the important details, from team changes to the latest news, while focusing on the possible returns from each player per million spent. However you choose to prioritise your budget, that’s a strong foundation for success.
