WARNING: ANY SUBS YOU DO YOU LOOSE THE PLAYERS POINTS,
Introduction
Fantasy football is a game based around picking a squad of football players competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Finals. When your selected players play in a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ match, you will score points depending on their performance. In addition to playing against FIFA.com members from across the world for some fantastic prizes, you can set up private leagues against your friends, family and colleagues.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ consists of a group stage where 32 teams are split into 8 groups, with each team playing three matches. The top two from each group then go through to the knockout stage of which there are 4 rounds – a round of 16 through to the final. For more information on the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Finals click here.
The McDonald's FIFA World Cup Fantasy game is made up of seven rounds of matches. Just like the actual World Cup winners, your fantasy team will have to perform well over seven rounds of action to triumph!
Round First match Last match Matches
1 - Group stage - First round 11/06/10 16:00 16/06/10 16:00 16
2 - Group Stage - Second round 16/06/10 20:30 21/06/10 20:30 16
3 - Group stage - Third round 22/06/10 16:00 25/06/10 20:30 16
4 - Round of 16 26/06/10 16:00 29/06/10 20:30 8
5 - Quarter-finals 02/07/10 16:00 03/07/10 20:30 4
6 - Semi-finals 06/07/10 20:30 07/07/10 20:30 2
7 - Final and 3/4 playoff 10/07/10 20:30 11/07/10 20:30 2
* All times quoted are South African time.
To succeed in the McDonald's FIFA World Cup Fantasy you'll need to actively manage your team. Here's our guide of how to play the game and what you should be looking to do at the various stages of the tournament.
Before the tournament
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ squads are to be announced on 4th June 2010 – One week before the start of the tournament. Once they have been announced, you will be able to start selecting the players to form your fantasy squad. Prior to this date you will be able to choose your team name, and start setting up leagues.
Squad selection
You may enter one McDonald's FIFA World Cup Fantasy squad, multiple squads will be deleted. Your squad of 23 players must consist of:
* 3 Goalkeepers
* 7 Defenders
* 8 Midfielders
* 5 Forwards
The number of players you can select from a single team depends on the stage of the competition:
Stage Players from a single team
Group stage games 2
Round of 16 4
Quarter-finals 6
Semi-finals 8
Final and 3/4 playoff 8
Each player will be given a value between 1 and 10. These player values will reflect, in the opinion of the game developers, each player's fantasy points scoring potential.
The total value of your initial squad must not exceed 140 units. This can change as the tournament progresses and player values fluctuate.
Invariably at the end of the group stages, some of the lower value players will be eliminated from the competition. To account for this in the knockout stages your team budget will be increased by 5 units before the Round of 16, with a further 5 units before the Semi-finals.
You will be able to make unlimited free transfers before the tournament so you can keep up-to-date with any last minute changes due to injuries etc.
Leagues
Once you have created your team you are automatically entered in a number of leagues. These are:
* The overall league involving all registered players
* A league for fellow players from your country
* A league for players starting the same round as you
* Private leagues with your friends and colleagues (optional)
You can be in up to 10 private leagues.
Private leagues use either a classic or head-to-head scoring system.
Classic scoring
Teams are ranked based on their total points in the game. In the event of a tie between teams, the team who has made the least transfers will be positioned higher.
Head-to-head
Each round you will play a match against another team in the league, with a match result based on game scores. 3 points will be awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw. In the event of a tie, the team with the most game points will be positioned higher.
Any points deducted for making transfers leading up to the round will be deducted from your head-to-head score.
To create a head-to-head league you will need a minimum of 2 players. Thereafter, you can add as many players as you like.
It should be noted that the optimum number of teams in a head-to-head league is eight. This way each team will play each other once throughout the tournament. If your league has an odd number of teams then an average player will be added to ensure everyone has a match each round. The average player will score the average game points each round. If you have more than eight teams, then you will not play everyone in your league. The fixtures are generated by the computer.
The administrator when creating the league will also have the option to add knockout rounds at the end. The number of knockout rounds can be chosen (up to 3), but ultimately will be limited by the number of teams that have joined the league by the time of the first deadline.
World Cup Mode
Private classic and overall leagues will also show a World Cup Mode being played out. Once the knockout phase of the tournament starts, depending on the number of teams in your league, the top teams will go into a knockout playoff. For example, if you have between 8 and 15 teams in your league, at the point of the Quarter-finals, the top 8 teams will then go into a knockout phase, with any remaining teams being eliminated from the World Cup Mode view.
If you have 16 or more teams, the knockout stage will commence at the Round of 16.
Any points deducted for making transfers leading up to the round will be deducted from your World Cup Mode match score.
If a World Cup Mode match is drawn, then the following tie-breaks will be applied until a winner is found:
1. Most goals scored in the round
2. Fewest goals conceded in the round
3. Virtual coin toss
Phases
All non head-to-head leagues are run on a phase and overall basis. The phases are as follows:
Phase First round Last round
Overall Tournament Round 1 Final and 3/4 playoff
Group phase Round 1 Round 3
Knock-out phase Round of 16 Final and 3/4 playoff
You can sign up at any time during the tournament, but to be in with a chance of winning the overall tournament you will most likely need to pick your squad prior to the tournament starting.
Prior to each round
Prior to each round deadline, you should:
1. Finalise your squad using the Transfers page.
2. Finalise your team using the My Team page.
Transfers, initial team selection and substitution priorities must be made by the round deadline (15 minutes prior to the first match of the round) to take effect for that set of matches. You can start preparing for the next round as soon as the deadline has passed.
Transfers
Use the Transfers page to change your squad for the next round. The number of free transfers which can be made are as follows:
Next round Deadline Free transfers Players/Team
Round 1 11/06/10 15:45 Unlimited 2
Round 2 16/06/10 20:15 1 2
Round 3 22/06/10 15:45 1 2
Round of 16 26/06/10 15:45 Unlimited 4
Quarter-finals 02/07/10 15:45 4 6
Semi-finals 06/07/10 20:15 4 8
Final and 3/4 playoff 10/07/10 20:15 4 8
* All times quoted are South African time.
Additional transfers will deduct 3 points per transfer. In overall and classic leagues, these points are deducted from your total. In head-to-head and World Cup Mode matches these points are deducted from your match score in the next round.
If you do not use all your free transfers, the remaining free transfers roll over to the next round. These are cumulative throughout the tournament, and will span over the unlimited free transfer period between the group and knockout stages.
Invariably at the end of the group stages, some of the lower value players will be eliminated from the competition. To account for this in the knockout stages your team budget will be increased by 5 units before the Round of 16, with a further 5 units before the Semi-finals.
Player values
After the start of McDonald's FIFA World Cup Fantasy, player values can rise or fall based on how many times a player is being bought or sold in the transfer market. Factors determining price changes include:
* How many managers have the player in their team
* Is (or has) the player been injured or suspended
* How much the player's value has already changed this round
Player values will change at 00:00 South African Time, and any change will be 0.1 units. Player values will continue to change throughout the McDonald's FIFA World Cup Fantasy, however players who have been eliminated will not change in value.
There is no sell-on fee or budget cap. Selling players at a greater price than you paid is a valid strategy for increasing your available budget.
Formations
To change the team formation, simply select your chosen eleven players on the My Team page. The computer will automatically choose your formation based on the players you have selected. Valid formations are:
* 3-5-2
* 3-4-3
* 4-4-2
* 4-3-3
* 4-5-1
* 5-3-2
* 5-4-1
Players can only play in their designated position. For example, you can't play a defender as an attacker.
The remaining players from your squad that are not in the starting eleven become your substitutes. These players will appear on the bench grouped by their position. To see how substitutes can be used during each round, please see the section on substitutions.
Captains
Each round you must nominate a member of your team to be captain. This player will score double the number of points he would usually have been awarded that round.
You can change your captain on the My Team page. To see how captains can be changed during a round, please see the section on substitutions.
If your captain does not play then the bonus will be lost. Another player will not take over the captaincy in their place.
During each round
Scoring
During the tournament the fantasy football players will be allocated a point score after each game, based on their performances in the matches. Actions occurring in extra time count but penalty shoot-outs do not.
Points are awarded as detailed in the table below:
Action Points
Playing 1-30 minutes 1
Playing 31-60 minutes 2
Playing 61+ minutes 3
Goal 5
For each goal assist 3
Goalkeeper clean sheet * 6
Defender clean sheet * 4
Midfielder clean sheet * 1
For every 2 saves - Goalkeeper 1
For every save - Outfield player 1
For every penalty save 5
For every penalty miss -2
Foul causing a penalty -1
For every 2 goals conceded by your goalkeeper or defenders -1
Own goal -2
Yellow card -1
Red card (includes any yellow card points) ** -3
*A clean sheet is defined as conceding 0 goals and playing 61+ minutes.
**If a player receives a red card, he will continue to be penalised for goals conceded by their team.
Additionally there are attacking and defending bonuses.
Attacking bonus
Action Points
For every 2 balls delivered into the penalty area * 1
* Ball entry into attacking penalty area whilst maintaining possession: Player making run, Player passing, Player receiving, Cross.
Defending bonus
Action Points
For recovering a ball * 1
* The sum of gaining possession tackles and clearances completed
Please note that scores may be updated as and when FIFA official match reports are processed and/or corrected. No further updates will be made to the data after midnight South African time.
Player points are updated as the games take place. These can be viewed on the My Team page. League tables are updated at the end of each day.
Points will be calculated using data provided to us on behalf of FIFA. Neither we nor FIFA will enter into any correspondence relating to the allocation of points to players. We accept no responsibility for the accuracy of this data.
Assists
An assist is awarded when the goal scorer receives the ball directly from a team mate and scores. If the assist pass takes a small deflection which doesn't change the direction of the pass, it will still be given.
No assists are awarded for own goals or penalties.
Substitutions
Once the round commences, you have a choice: You can either take a 'hands off' approach and wait for automatic substitutions to happen at the end of the round, or you can get more involved and make some substitutions as the round progresses.
At the start of each day (00:00 South African time) during the round, a substitution window opens. In this window you can:
* Replace any player that wasn't sent off with one from your bench who is yet to play.
* Change your captain, providing he wasn’t sent off, with someone whose team is yet to play.
On a matchday, the substitution window will close 15 minutes before the first kick-off.
The player chosen to bring in must adhere to the formation rules. E.g. if you only have 3 defenders in your starting 11, you may not replace a defender for another midfielder as there is no legal formation with only two defenders.
An unlimited number of substitutions can be made but only eleven players with one captain can score points each round.
Here are some reasons you may choose to make substitutions:
* One of your players goes off injured after a few minutes
* Your captain wasn't selected to play in the round.
* You are a gambler and decide that one of your substitutes will score more points than someone who already played in the round
Things to note about substitutions
* If you remove a player who has scored points for your team, these points will be lost. The player cannot be brought back into your team until the next round.
* It is not possible to make substitutions after matches on the last day of the round.
* If a substitution or captain change is made then no automatic substitutions will take place on your team that round.
Automatic substitutions
Once the data for all the matches in the round has been determined as final, automatic substitutions will be made providing no substitutions or captain changes have been made.
If any of your players play no part in the round, the computer will try to substitute the inactive player with the highest priority replacement from the same position who did play. If your captain does not play then the bonus will be lost, another player will not take over the captaincy in their place.
Posted 7:20 AM 6/7/2010 
