Fantasy Football and FPL have gained immense popularity over the years with nine million managers registered during the 2021/22 season, such has been the craze and popularity of the game amongst fans. But, whenever anyone mentions the word “Fantasy Football” or “FPL” its often related to something that is new, and relatively popular amongst the younger generation.
Truth be told that’s not the case, fantasy football dates back to the 1960s. Yes, you’re reading it right, the first fantasy football game was idealized and played in 1963, that’s 57 years back. Let’s see how Fantasy football developed over the years and also find the answer to the million-dollar question when actually did the official FPL began?
Link to all our FPL history blogs covering the highest-scoring players each season, highest-scoring midfielders, defenders, forwards, goalkeepers, the origin of FPL, and more. Give them all a read if you want to know what happened back in the day.
Fantasy Football History:
Alright, hop in for some history about fantasy football as we dig deep to find the origin of FPL!
Fantasy Football in the 1960’s – 1980’s:
Image Credits: ESPN
Back in 1963 Will Winkenbach, part-owner of the American football team Oakland Raiders, Bill Tunnell Raiders’ PR man and Scotty Stirling, sports reporter for the Oakland Tribune founded the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League (GOPPPL). This is how the first fantasy football game started.
However, this game was exclusive for Raiders affiliated members. It was in 1969 when one of GOPPPL member Andy Mousalimas decided to take the game public and decided to launch the game to all the visitors of his bar, Andy is credited to be the man who first brought Fantasy football to the masses. But then this decision came at a price as he was removed from GOPPPL for taking the game public.
The first fantasy game had most of the current rules and format, Head to head matchups, substitutions and Friday afternoon deadlines.
Mousalimas attracted so many people that, by 1974, there were around 200 players involved. By the 1980’s, an all-female division existed. Throughout the ’80s the game’s popularity increased primarily through Word of mouth. Towards the end of the 80’s fantasy football digest was published which was a magazine that covered fantasy football and it gained insane popularity, this is when the game reached 1 million players.
Moreover, fantasy football was easier to play than ever, as computer programs offering players the ability to track their league finally went on sale. This is when the game slowly began to make the transition from the offline version to the current online game.
Fantasy Football in the 1990s:
Europe: Italy and England in Early 1990’s
As the game was becoming popular in the US, fantasy football finally arrived in Europe, Riccardo Albini, developed the Fantacalcio in 1990 (Italian fantasy football). The game was officially introduced in England by Andrew Wainstein in 1991, who was fascinated by the popularity of the US version of fantasy football and started Fantasy League Ltd.
Image: Financial Times
Back in 1994 Fantasy Football really burst onto the scene in the UK when a program called ‘Fantasy Football League’ hosted by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner began to become popular and gained a cult following.
Telegraph launched their game along with Andrew Wainstein before the 93-94 season, there was a huge interest in the game despite the fact that entries had to be done via the use of premium rate telephone lines or by post in those pre-internet days before the mid-Friday lunchtime deadline.
Stunning Fact: The 1994/95 Telegraph Fantasy League was won by 12-year-old Johnathan Rodgers from Blackburn who defeated 3,41,866 other managers, to the prize of two week holiday anywhere in the world to watch a football match of his choice. As mentioned in Encylopedia of British football
Fantasy Football (Daily Mirror July 1996)
Here’s how Telegraph fantasy was advertised back in the days!
Images credit to u/DadofJackJack(From the FPL subreddit)
Fantasy Football going online
Back in the USA, The first online version of fantasy football was launched in the US in 1997 by CBS sports. Yahoo launched its free online fantasy game back in 1999.
Long time Fantasy Football and FPL fan, Yeow Jinzhou, who has played Yahoo Fantasy and every single season of FPL. Zhou vividly recollects Yahoo Fantasy offering points for Shots taken and Corners as well.
Yeow Jinzhou as quoted to AllaboutFPL, April 2020
In England, fantasy league.com launched the online game in 2000-01 and a lot of other online websites began to offer the fantasy football game online. One of the UK’s First Fantasy Sports Communities and the most famous fantasy football forum, FISO (Fantasy & Interactive Sports Online) was formed in March 2000. Meanwhile, a website premierwin.com offered 1 million in cash prize to the Fantasy League winner back in 2001 only to be shut down due to lack of funds.
When did official FPL start?
Now comes the answer to the million-dollar question, Official FPL began at the start of the 2002-03 season when under 76,000 teams took part(Number of People Who Played FPL Each Season | How Many Play FPL?)
The first FPL Tweet:
First FPL post on the popular FPL subreddit 10 Years ago
The list of FPL winners since 2002/03:
Here’s the coveted list of the 20 FPL champions who have the Fantasy Premier League so far.
- 2021/22 Jamie Pigott, Futbol is Life(2844 points)
- 2020/21 Michael Coone, Teddy Bears Utd(2680 points)
- 2019/20 Joshua Bull, #TheBullDozzers(2557 points)
- 2018/19 Adam Levy, #TheyAreUs (2,659 points)
- 2017/18 Yusuf Sheikh, Yusuf’s Team (2,512 points)
- 2016/17 Ben Crabtree, FC Crab Dogg (2,564 points)
- 2015/16 Dimitri Nicolaou, Dimitris gavles (2,458 points)
- 2014/15 Simon March, Atletico Marchid** (2,470 points)
- 2013/14 Tom Fenley, Captain Suarez! (2,634 points)
- 2012/13 Matt Martyniak, Divine Mercy (2,472 points)
- 2011/12 Sam Pater, SamCity (2,414 points)
- 2010/11 Chris McGurn, Morons FC (2,372 points)
- 2009/10 Jon Reeson, Westfield Irons (2,668 points)
- 2008/09 Sir Moult, MOULTANIC (2,264 points)
- 2007/08 John Frisina, FRISK UTD (2,466 points)
- 2006/07 Mike Dolan, Divers & Cheats XI (2,268 points)
- 2005/06 Tommy Wilson, Blue Bridge Brigade (2,326 points)
- 2004/05 Andy Tomlins, Palace Excile (2,253 points)
- 2003/04 Muir O Connor, The lonely 11 (2,151 points)
- 2002/03 Graeme Haddow, Wee Wullie Winkie FC (1,940 points)
Gameweek history of the FPL winner from the first FPL Season(2002/03)
Also read: FPL History- Highest scoring players each year since the beginning of FPL
How has FPL transitioned over the years?
The game has transitioned a lot over the years and here is a chance for you to take a trip down the memory lane.
Over the years Fantasy Football and FPL have grown leaps and bounds with FPL alone having 11 million teams in 2023. This has led to a sprawling international cottage industry of websites, forums, YouTube channels, and social media accounts covering Fantasy Football and FPL. A game that was developed for leisure and fun has now transformed into a global phenomenon which is now more than just a game.
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History Of Fantasy Football And Origin Of FPL
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