Some readers will know, from playing in the World Cup beta game, that I built a Fantasy Football site using AI models. I did it as a little project really, to see what was possible. Quite a lot as it turns out.

Anyhoo, the game has two 'modes' - public and private. Private leagues are for those groups of mates who conduct their own fantasy league auction but maybe could use some help with the scoring... but that's not what this post is about.

No, we're here for the public leagues. These are open to everyone, automatically scored, and with various metrics, tables, commentaries and the like as the season plays out.

I think it's pretty cool, and I hope you'll join me and play. Full details are below in a post copied from the FLM (FanLeagueManager) site. (It's free to play, of course).

 

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Welcome to FLM, where public and private leagues live happily side by side for your entertainment, and your league administrator's easier life!

For the 2026/27 Premier League season, we've added two public leagues. Which one you play will depend on how much time you have to dedicate to such things... or you could just play both!

To get started go to the Public Leagues page, where you can browse the rules for each league before deciding which to enter.

 

 

As the names suggest, 'Bare XI' is a simple version where you choose eleven players and they play (or don't play) every week. You may make one transfer per gameweek. Meanwhile, 'Squad' involves picking 15 players and selecting your starting XI each gameweek. Subs will be rotated into your team based on their priority order if members of your first eleven don't play.

The scoring rules for the squad version are more comprehensive/elaborate, with the simple game revolving around goals, clean sheets and assists.

Once you've decided which game to play (reminder: you can play both), select 'Join this Public League'. You'll land on a page like this:

 

 

If you've played one of our games before, click the login link at the bottom to reuse your existing account. If you're new around here, you can very quickly create a manager account, and then click the 'Join Public League' button.

And now the fun begins!

Once your account is activated / signed in, you'll be able to choose a team name and then a squad for the chosen game. The 'Pick Squad' page looks like this:

 

 

To add players to your team, use the Player, Club and Position searches in the 'Available Players' section (and hit 'Apply'). You can then sort entries in the table below by any of the column headers. For example, you could search for MIDfielders and sort by Price.

Build your team/squad out by locating players you want and clicking 'Add'. The page will validate your formation and budget to stop you choosing the wrong team or spending too much pretend money! Once you've filled out your squad, you'll see something like this:

 

 

NOTE: Player pricing is elastic, based on the budget and squad size. So, players in a league with 15 player squads will cost less than those in a league with 11 player squads.

 

Clicking 'Go to My Squad' will show your team:

 

 

 

And that's it! You're good to go. As fixtures are played, points are automatically updated each day. Transfers can be made weekly where leagues allow them, including free edits until the season starts:

 

 

Once the league is underway, you'll be able to view tables and scoring charts of your - and your league's - performance. Some screenshots are below.

 

 

 

 

So what are you waiting for?

Head over to the public leagues page, choose one (or both), signup or login, and pick your team. Here's the link to the leagues page.

Good luck!

Matt

p.s. if you run, or are involved in a private league, you (or your league administrator) might like to add your league on FLM. By doing so, you can upload your scoring spreadsheet, define your rules, and allow FLM to score for you - or your league admin. There's even an option for weekly 'banter' from our friendly (usually, but not always!) AI - though I think the round ups are probably best delivered from one of your gang... up to you. All the details are here.