Alongside the regular points you get for players scoring and assisting goals, spending time on the pitch and keeping clean sheets, you may have noticed some people pick up bonus points. But what do these bonus points mean, and how are they calculated?
While the bonus point system in Fantasy WSL is similar to that used in Fantasy Premier League, we’ve mixed things up to better reflect the style of play in the women’s game.
On a basic level, there are three ‘tiers’ of bonus points awarded per game – three for the top-ranking player, two for the second and one for the third. If two players get the same rank, they’re both awarded the corresponding number of bonus points.
It’s at this point where things get a little bit more complex. The players’ final rankings are based on another scoring system we’ve set up behind the scenes, which awards points for everything from pass completion to headed goals. Every time a player does one of the things on the points list, they’re awarded or deducted a set number of points. Their total at the end of the game is what is used to determine their rankings, and who receives the bonus points.
To reflect the skills required to be successful in women’s football, we placed more emphasis on things such as aerial duels and successful dribbles.
Successful passing is also more highly rated – especially progressive passing – as passes in the women’s game tend to be riskier and move the team forward further, according to analysis by the Swedish sports company Spiideoo carried out after the women’s Euros.
Players still lose points for the normal stuff like red and yellow cards and conceding goals – so a player who does loads of good passing but fails defensively will still drop in the rankings. But we wanted to ensure players were rewarded for showing off the skills which make the women’s game so great, which is why we devised this unique system.
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