How to play.

What is the game, exactly?

You are not playing football — you are choosing. You build a squad from Egyptian Premier League players, and each gameweek those players go out and play their real matches. Score a goal and you gain points; pick up a card and you lose some.

Points build up gameweek after gameweek, and you compete with them against your friends in a private league and against everyone else in the overall standings.

Build your squad

You have 100 million to sign 15 players:

• 2 goalkeepers
• 5 defenders
• 5 midfielders
• 3 forwards

Players are priced by how good they are, and the budget is what forces the choice — you cannot simply buy the 15 most expensive players in the game, so you have to balance.

One more rule: no more than 3 players from any single club. However well Al Ahly or Zamalek are playing, you cannot fill your squad with them.

Your XI and your bench

Out of the 15, you start 11 and leave 4 on the bench. Only the players who start score for you.

If one of your starters does not play at all, a bench player comes on automatically — in the order you set. So order your bench deliberately; do not leave it to chance.

You must start one goalkeeper, and at least 3 defenders and 1 forward.

The captain

Every gameweek you name a captain, and their points are doubled. An 8-point return becomes 16. It is the single biggest decision you make each week.

You also name a vice-captain: if your captain does not play at all, the vice takes over. Pick a vice who starts too, not a bench player.

The deadline

Your squad locks one hour before the gameweek kicks off. Anything you change after that counts towards the next gameweek, not this one.

And gameweeks do not fall on a fixed day — one may start on a Friday, the next on a Wednesday or a Monday. Check the deadline each week rather than assuming it matches the last one.

How points work

In short: a goal is worth 4 to 6 points depending on position, an assist is 3, and a clean sheet is 4 for goalkeepers and defenders. A yellow card costs 1 and a red costs 3. Outfield players take 2 more for a busy defensive shift.

The full table — every position, every case, with a worked example — is on the points system page.

Transfers

You get one free transfer each gameweek. If you do not use it, it rolls over and can build up to 5 saved transfers.

Any transfer beyond what you have saved costs 4 points. Not the end of the world if the move is worth it, but the deduction stands even when the new player delivers.

The four chips

You have four chips that can swing a gameweek, and you can only play one per gameweek:

• Wildcard — unlimited transfers with no deduction, and the changes stay.
• Free Hit — unlimited transfers for one gameweek only; afterwards your squad reverts.
• Bench Boost — your four bench players score as well.
• Triple Captain — your captain scores triple instead of double.

A fresh set of all four arrives at gameweek 20, so there is no need to hoard them.

Leagues

You can create a private league and send the code — six characters — to your friends so they can join. This is the best part of the game: competing against people you actually know.

A league is either classic, ranked on the points scored from the gameweek it started, or head-to-head, where each gameweek pits you against one other manager in the league.

Tips for your first gameweek

• Do not spend everything on 3 expensive players and leave the rest of the squad thin — 11 players score for you, not 3.
• Look at the fixtures: a player with an easy match this week can beat a pricier one facing a top side.
• Captain someone certain to start, not a hunch.
• Order your bench properly — that order is what runs when someone does not play.