Fantasy Football: Last season’s winner Q&A

The Insurance Times Fantasy Football League may not officially get started until the 2025/26 season begins on 15 August, but nearly 400 of the insurance industry’s keenest football aficionados and aficionadas have already joined the league in preparation. 

To join them in the most dramatic competition in the sector while competing for the very highest honours, either scan the QR code to the right or click here to be added directly.

Insurance Times will be producing weekly content, monitoring the league table and speaking to some of the industry’s top performers about their team tinkering and footballing hopes.

Updated league standings will also be posted weekly after the conclusion of each game week. 

As we ramp up to the beginning of the new season, Insurance Times has already ranked this year’s funniest names and, for this week, thought we’d speak to last season’s winner – Hiscox Europe’s head of data, Bernardo Gomes.

Gomes spent almost the entire 2024/25 season in the Top 10 of the Insurance Times league, making good use of his data acumen to select the best performing players and beat the competition. 

The league’s inaugural winner ended up on 2,639 points – 14 points ahead of Marsh’s Alex Vasey in second, who himself led Milliman’s Ian Penfold by 35 points. 

1. Congrats on winning the league last year – how do you rate your chances of making it two in a row for the upcoming season? 

I like to play Fantasy Football because I like watching the Premier League. I play mainly for fun, but always like to win mini-leagues – especially against my mates. I will give winning the Insurance Times league a go again.

2. What tips and tricks would you give other players that are currently planning their squads and strategies? 

The most important thing to focus on is starting the season with a team based on proven players, while also avoiding too many new players.

It can be tempting to include new signgings, but it is not worth the risk of deviating from the most picked players to start with.

3. What do you think will be the most interesting of the changes made to the game this year? 

I like the fact that defensive contributions will award points this season. That will make non-attacking defenders and defensive midfielders more appealing – usually these players are not very expensive, so there could be some bargains among cheaper, underappreciated players.

4. What message do you want to send to the rest of the industry as the season starts? 

Play fantasy football with your colleagues this season. At Hiscox, it’s a nice way of engaging with colleagues and always sets the tone for a nice conversation over a coffee.