The new Premier League season kicks off this week, and alongside the real thing, a second, parallel competition is springing to life on phones across the world. More than 11 million people will spend the season agonising over transfers, captaincy picks and wildcards, not for any club, but for their own Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team.
Fantasy football has quietly become one of the most popular games on the planet. This is the story of how it got so big, why it's so addictive, and, for the curious, a small investing footnote at the end about the one Premier League club you can actually buy a share of. It's an engaging look at a cultural phenomenon, not investment advice. And if you do get curious about markets, you can research eligible global or sports stocks from just $1 with zero commission on the Nemo.money app.
Football fans around the world are searching:
- "When does FPL start 2026/27?"
- "How many people play Fantasy Premier League?"
- "Best FPL team"
- "Can you invest in a football club?"
- "Manchester United stock"
What Is Fantasy Premier League, and Why Is Everyone Playing?
If you've somehow avoided it, the premise is simple and brilliant: you're given a virtual budget of £100 million to pick a squad of 15 real Premier League players. When those players score, assist or keep clean sheets in real matches, you earn points. You compete against friends, colleagues and millions of strangers, tweaking your team every week.
That simple loop has become a global obsession:
- 🌍 Over 11 million players. FPL is the biggest fantasy football game of any domestic league on earth, played in more than 200 countries.
- 📈 Explosive growth. From 76,000 players in its first season (2002/03), it passed one million in 2006/07 and topped 10 million for the first time in 2022/23. The player base has grown almost every single year.
- 🇮🇳 A huge international following. While England has the most players, FPL is enormous across Asia, the Middle East and India, where Premier League fandom and fantasy sports are both booming.
Where in the World Plays FPL?
Although it's an English game, FPL's biggest story is how global it has become, and the regional spread surprises a lot of people:
- 🌍 Africa is an FPL powerhouse. After England, some of the largest player bases are in Africa. In one widely-cited country breakdown, Egypt ranked second in the world (around 650,000 managers), with Nigeria (~340,000), Kenya (~190,000) and South Africa (~190,000) all in the global top 10. (These figures are from a recent snapshot and grow year on year.)
- 🌏 Asia is huge, too. Malaysia has long been one of the biggest FPL nations (around 290,000 managers in that same count), and India (~180,000+) sits inside the global top 10 and keeps climbing as Premier League fandom grows.
- 🇦🇪 The Gulf is football-mad. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait all feature prominently among the top FPL-playing nations, reflecting the region's deep love of the Premier League.
- 🏴 200+ countries in total. From England (by far the largest, with over 2 million managers) to tiny nations with a few hundred, FPL is played in more than 200 countries and territories.
And that's just the official game. Zoom out to fantasy sports overall and the numbers get staggering, especially in India, where the fantasy-sports user base (led by cricket, but with football growing fast) runs into the hundreds of millions. It's a vivid illustration of how the Premier League, and fantasy sport, has become a truly global passion, right across the Middle East, South Asia and Africa.
Why Is Fantasy Football So Addictive?
FPL's genius is that it turns passive viewers into invested "managers". A few reasons it's so sticky:
- ⚽ Every match matters. Even a dull mid-table game becomes gripping if your captain is playing. FPL gives you a stake in dozens of matches you'd otherwise ignore.
- 🧠 It rewards knowledge and strategy. Studying form, fixtures and stats to find a bargain "differential" scratches the same itch as any strategy game, part skill, part luck.
- 👥 It's deeply social. Mini-leagues among friends, family and workmates turn the season into a months-long group contest, complete with banter, rivalries and bragging rights.
- 📊 Constant feedback. Points update live as matches unfold, delivering little hits of reward (or agony) all weekend long.
The result is a game people genuinely obsess over, one 15-year-old even briefly topped the 11-million-player global table last season and made headlines for it.
Even the Famous Play
Part of FPL's charm is that it's a great leveller, your mini-league could, in theory, pit you against a comedian, a TV host or even a Premier League footballer. Plenty of well-known figures are documented FPL players:
- 🎙️ Comedians and TV personalities. There's a thriving "Comedians FPL" scene, with the likes of Josh Widdicombe, Jon Richardson and author-presenter Richard Osman among those known to play, and several dedicated comedy FPL podcasts built around it.
- ⚽ The pros play their own game. Premier League footballers are allowed to play too (subject to their club's own rules), and many do. England midfielder James Maddison has been reported finishing a season inside the top few per cent of all managers, and, amusingly, chose not to pick himself. Players like Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Aaron Ramsdale and Anthony Gordon have also been named as FPL players.
- 😅 It can even leak team news. In one famous 2021 episode, eagle-eyed fans noticed several Aston Villa players had transferred out teammate Jack Grealish before a match, correctly guessing he was injured, a quirky reminder of how seriously (and publicly) some take it.
It's a small but telling sign of how deeply FPL has woven itself into football culture: the people playing on the pitch are often playing the fantasy version too.
Fantasy Sports: A Global Phenomenon
FPL is part of a much bigger story, the worldwide rise of fantasy sports. What started with hobbyists and newspaper competitions in the 1990s has become a massive, technology-driven global pastime:
- 🏈 Across sports and continents. Fantasy games now span football (soccer), the NFL, cricket, basketball and more, each with devoted followings.
- 📱 Powered by smartphones and data. Instant stats, live scoring and slick apps have transformed fantasy sports from a niche hobby into a mainstream, always-on activity.
- 🇮🇳 India's fantasy boom. India has become one of the world's largest fantasy-sports markets, with the user base growing into the hundreds of millions across cricket and football, a sign of just how far the phenomenon has spread.
Fantasy sports have changed how a whole generation follows the game: more data-driven, more interactive, and more personal.
An Investing Footnote: The One Club You Can Actually "Buy Into"
Here's a question fantasy managers sometimes ask once they've spent months "buying" and "selling" players: can you actually own a piece of a real club?
Mostly, no. The vast majority of football clubs aren't publicly traded, they're privately owned by individuals, families or investment groups. But there's one famous exception in the Premier League: Manchester United (NYSE: MANU) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, so its shares can be bought and sold like any other US-listed stock.
It's a fascinating footnote, but it comes with a very important reality check, and this is where fantasy and real investing part ways:
- ⚠️ A club you love is not automatically a good investment. In fantasy football, you pick players on expected performance. In the stock market, you're buying a business, its revenues, costs, debt and management, not your emotional attachment to the badge.
- ⚠️ Manchester United's shares have been a bumpy ride. Despite being one of the most famous clubs on earth, the listed shares have had a rocky history, a reminder that a globally beloved brand doesn't guarantee a rewarding stock. (We explore this in depth in our piece on Manchester United and the Premier League's commercial power.)
- ⚠️ Most "football investing" is indirect. Since you can't buy most clubs, investors interested in the football economy more often look at the sponsors, broadcasters and brands that profit from the game, not the clubs themselves.
In other words: enjoy managing your fantasy team on skill and passion, but if you ever look at a football stock, judge it as coldly as a business, not as a fan. Those are two very different games.
A Note on the Fantasy Platforms Themselves
A quick, related question people often ask: can you invest in the fantasy games themselves? Mostly, no. The big fantasy platforms tend to be privately owned, Fantrax is private, India's Dream11 is privately held, and the official Fantasy Premier League is owned and operated by the Premier League (itself private). None of those can be bought on the stock market.
There's an important distinction to understand, though. The best-known listed companies that grew out of fantasy sports, such as DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and FanDuel's parent Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), are today primarily sports-betting and gambling companies, not free-to-play fantasy games. That's a very different, and much more heavily regulated, corner of the market, one that carries its own financial, regulatory and social risks, and gambling is restricted or prohibited in many places. We're noting this purely to explain the landscape, not as a suggestion to invest; nothing here is a recommendation, and any such stock would warrant particularly careful, eyes-open research.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When does Fantasy Premier League 2026/27 start?
The 2026/27 Premier League season kicks off on Friday 21 August 2026, a week later than usual to give players a rest after the summer's World Cup. Fantasy Premier League managers can create and edit their teams right up until the first-match deadline, and can keep making transfers throughout the season. This is general information about the game.
How many people play Fantasy Premier League?
Fantasy Premier League has over 11 million players worldwide, making it the largest fantasy football game of any domestic league. It has grown almost every year since launching in 2002/03 with just 76,000 players, passing one million in 2006/07 and 10 million in 2022/23. It's especially popular across England, Asia, the Middle East and India.
Why is fantasy football so popular?
Fantasy football turns passive viewers into invested "managers", giving fans a personal stake in matches they'd otherwise ignore. It blends skill (studying form, fixtures and stats) with luck, and it's intensely social thanks to mini-leagues among friends and colleagues. Live scoring delivers constant feedback throughout the weekend, which makes it genuinely addictive for millions of people.
Can you invest in a football club?
Most football clubs are privately owned and can't be bought on the stock market. There are a few exceptions: Manchester United (NYSE: MANU), for example, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, so its shares can be traded. However, a beloved club is not automatically a good investment, its shares depend on the underlying business (revenue, costs, debt, management), not fan loyalty, and football stocks can be volatile. Any company named here is an example to research, not a recommendation, and your capital is at risk.
How can I invest in stocks like Manchester United?
Most investors buy individual shares (Manchester United trades as MANU) or funds and ETFs, through a brokerage or investing app. Apps like the Nemo.money app let you research and invest in global and sports stocks and ETFs from just $1 with zero commission. A famous name doesn't guarantee a good investment, so research the business, not the brand. Companies named are examples to research, not recommendations, and your capital is at risk.
Final Thoughts: A Game of Skill, and a Lesson for Investors
The rise of Fantasy Premier League, from 76,000 players to over 11 million, is a wonderful example of how a simple idea can turn millions of us into obsessive armchair managers. As the new season kicks off, mini-leagues will spring up in offices, group chats and family WhatsApps all over the world, and the weekly agonising will begin again.
There's even a neat lesson in it for investors. In fantasy football, you're rewarded for cool-headed analysis over blind loyalty, backing players on form and fixtures, not just the club you support. Real investing is exactly the same: the best decisions come from judging the fundamentals, not falling for the famous name. So enjoy the season, pick your captain wisely, and if you ever venture into the markets, bring that same manager's mindset with you.
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This is not investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Your capital is at risk. See website for Risk Disclosure. Exinity ME Ltd (https://nemo.money) is regulated by ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
