FPL Rules 2026/27: Squad Budget, Transfers, Chips and Scoring, Confirmed
The confirmed 2026/27 FPL ruleset straight from the live game: £100m budget, free transfer banking, chip windows and the defensive contribution rule that still catches managers out.
This post may be outdated. Last updated 7 August 2026. Check FPL Pilot for the latest.
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Data current as of: 1 August 2026, read directly from the live FPL game settings for 2026/27. Coverage: Squad, transfer, chip and scoring rules as configured in the game right now.
Every FPL rule below is pulled from the game’s own settings for 2026/27, not carried over from memory of a past season. If a number here surprises you, it is worth double-checking your squad against it.
Squad and budget
You build a 15-player squad from a £100.0m budget: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards. Your starting XI each gameweek is 11 of those 15, with a minimum of 3 defenders, 2 midfielders and 1 forward, and always exactly 1 goalkeeper.
Squad limit per club
3
You can own at most 3 players from any single Premier League team, including your bench.
That club limit is easy to forget once a fixture run looks tempting. Check it before you stack a favourable run with a fourth player from the same team, the game will not let you save the transfer.
Transfers and the free transfer bank
You get 1 free transfer per gameweek. Unused free transfers bank, up to a cap of 5 in total, so skipping transfers for a few weeks before a wildcard or a fixture swing is a legitimate way to bank flexibility rather than a wasted week.
Per gameweek is the part that catches managers out, because it is not per week. A long international break spanning three calendar weeks is still one gameweek transition and still pays exactly one free transfer, which is what makes the 22-day gap between Gameweek 5 and Gameweek 6 a planning problem rather than a windfall.
Every transfer beyond your free ones costs 4 points, deducted from that gameweek’s score. Selling a player only returns half of any profit above your purchase price, rounded down to the nearest £0.1m, so the price you see on a player’s page is not what you will bank if you sell.
Chips: one of each, twice a season
The game gives you one Wildcard, one Free Hit, one Bench Boost and one Triple Captain for the first half of the season, then a fresh set of all four for the second half.
- First half: Bench Boost and Triple Captain are usable from GW1. Wildcard and Free Hit unlock from GW2, once you have made at least one transfer. This set closes after GW19 (deadline 2 January 2027).
- Second half: All four chips reset and become available from GW20 (deadline 6 January 2027) through to GW38.
You cannot carry an unused first-half chip into the second half. If you have not played your Bench Boost or Triple Captain by the GW19 deadline, it is gone.
Scoring: the numbers behind your points
| Action | GKP | DEF | MID | FWD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playing 60+ minutes | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Playing any minutes (under 60) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Goal scored | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Assist | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Clean sheet | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Defensive contribution | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Defensive contribution is the line most managers still misread. A defender who reaches 10 combined tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions in a match scores 2 extra points. A midfielder or forward needs 12 combined defensive actions and recoveries to hit the same threshold. It is a genuine points source for the defensively active players in this season’s budget enablers, not just the ones who score and assist.
Bonus points, yellow cards (-1), red cards (-3), own goals (-2) and penalty misses (-2) work as you would expect and are unchanged from the standard scoring you already know.
Quick answers
What is the FPL budget for 2026/27? £100.0m for a 15-player squad: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards, with a maximum of 3 players from any one club.
How many free transfers do you get? 1 per gameweek, banking up to a cap of 5. Every transfer beyond your free ones costs 4 points.
How many chips do you get? One Wildcard, one Free Hit, one Bench Boost and one Triple Captain for the first half of the season through the GW19 deadline, then a fresh set of all four for GW20 to GW38. Unused first-half chips do not carry over.
What is the defensive contribution rule? Defenders score 2 points for 10+ combined tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions in a match. Midfielders and forwards need 12 combined defensive actions and recoveries for the same 2 points.
How many players can you own from one club? A maximum of 3, including your bench.
What this means for your squad
None of this is exciting on its own, but it sets the boundaries every other decision sits inside. A club-limit mistake or a misjudged hit costs more than a bad fixture pick, and both are avoidable the moment you know the exact numbers rather than a rough memory of them.
Build your squad against the real £100.0m budget and club limits in the GW1 squad builder, then check your bench and captain against your actual fifteen once it is set.