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The Premier League is usually called as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs. It is sponsored by Barclays Bank, and is therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's main football competition. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each.
The championship was formed on 20 February 1992. Since that time it is called FA Premier League replaced the Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. The Premier League has since become the world's most watched sporting league. It is also ranked first in the UEFA rankings of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five-years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.
A total of 42 clubs have competed in the Premier League, but only four have won the title: Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, and Chelsea. The current champions are Manchester United, who won their tenth Premier League title in the 2007-08 season, the most of any Premier League team.
History
Premier League Champions
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1992-93 | Manchester United |
| 1993-94 | Manchester United |
| 1994-95 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 1995-96 | Manchester United |
| 1996-97 | Manchester United |
| 1997-98 | Arsenal |
| 1998-99 | Manchester United |
| 1999-2000 | Manchester United |
| 2000-01 | Manchester United |
| 2001-02 | Arsenal |
| 2002-03 | Manchester United |
| 2003-04 | Arsenal |
| 2004-05 | Chelsea |
| 2005-06 | Chelsea |
| 2006-07 | Manchester United |
| 2007-08 | Manchester United |
Foundation
On 17 July 1991 the Founder Members Agreement was signed and established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. This was considered necessary so that English clubs could once again compete with and beat the best of Europe, while attracting the best talent in the world, something which in 1991 seemed practically unthinkable.
The first 22 of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Coventry City, Everton, Ipswich Town, Liverpool, Leeds United,Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
Establishment
The league held its first season in 1992-93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. As of the end of the 2007-08 season, there had been 16 completed seasons of the Premier League. Due to insistence by FIFA, the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2-1 win against Manchester United. In the 2007-08 season 20 teams competed. In 2007 the league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League.
Corporate structure
The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.
The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Forum, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. The European Club Forum is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
Competition format and sponsorship
Competition
There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season, which lasts 10 months, each club plays the others twice, home and away game, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner.
Qualification for European competitions
The top four teams – UEFA Champions League.
The top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase.
From 2008-09 season the top three teams enter the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League at the group stage, and the fourth-placed team enters the third qualifying round for non-champions.The fifth placed team automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, and the sixth and seventh placed teams can also qualify, depending on what happens in the two domestic cup competitions.
If the FA Cup winners qualify for the Champions League, the runner-up is awarded the UEFA Cup place; if the runner-up has also qualified for the Champions League, the spot goes to the next-highest placed league finisher not already qualified for Europe. If the League Cup is won by a team that has already qualified for Europe, the League Cup's UEFA Cup spot also goes to the next highest placed team in the League. Prior to 2008-09, the highest placed team that had not qualified for the UEFA Cup was allowed the opportunity to compete in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, provided they had applied to enter the Intertoto Cup in the next season. The Intertoto Cup was discontinued after 2008.
Sponsorship
- 1993-2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)
- 2001-2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)
- 2004-2007: Barclays (Barclays Premiership)
- 2007-2010: Barclays Premier League
Worldwide
Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries, generally on networks owned and/or controlled by NewsCorp, which owns a large portion of BSkyB and thus the primary UK and Ireland TV rights. The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme.
Trophy
The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London. It weighs 4 st (25 kg), and is 76 cm tall, 43 cm wide and 25 cm deep. Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt, while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. Malachite's green colour is also representative of the green field of play. The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above the handles on either side of the trophy-the third is symbolised by the captain of the title winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his head at the end of the season. The trophy has borne several names on its face since it was first created, when it read "The F.A. Premier League". The one Manchester United lifted in 2006-07 read "The Barclays Premiership", while the 2007-08 trophy simply read "Premier League". From the 2008-09 season onwards, the trophy will read "Barclays Premier League".
Premier League clubs
A total of 42 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 and the end of the 2008-09 season. Two other clubs (Luton Town and Notts County) were signatories to the original agreement that created the Premier League, but were relegated prior to the inaugural Premier League season and have not subsequently returned to the top flight.
Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its beginning. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Premier League members for 2008-09
| Club | Position in 2007-08 |
First season in top division |
Number of seasons in top division |
Top division titles |
Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 3rd | 1904-05 | 92 | 13 | 2003-04 |
| Aston Villa | 6th | 1888-89 | 98 | 7 | 1980-81 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 7th | 1888-89 | 69 | 3 | 1994-95 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 16th | 1888-89 | 70 | 0 | n/a |
| Chelsea | 2nd | 1907-08 | 74 | 3 | 2005-06 |
| Everton | 5th | 1888-89 | 106 | 9 | 1986-87 |
| Fulham | 17th | 1949-50 | 20 | 0 | n/a |
| Hull City | 3rd; Championship | 2008-09 | 1 | 0 | n/a |
| Liverpool | 4th | 1894-95 | 94 | 18 | 1989-90 |
| Manchester City | 9th | 1899-1900 | 80 | 2 | 1967-68 |
| Manchester United | 1st | 1892-93 | 84 | 17 | 2007-08 |
| Middlesbrough | 13th | 1902-03 | 60 | 0 | n/a |
| Newcastle United | 12th | 1898-99 | 79 | 4 | 1926-27 |
| Portsmouth | 8th | 1927-28 | 32 | 2 | 1949-50 |
| Stoke City | 2nd; Championship | 1888-89 | 53 | 0 | n/a |
| Sunderland | 15th | 1890-91 | 78 | 6 | 1935-36 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 11th | 1909-10 | 74 | 2 | 1960-61 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1st; Championship | 1888-89 | 72 | 1 | 1919-20 |
| West Ham United | 10th | 1923-24 | 52 | 0 | n/a |
| Wigan Athletic | 14th | 2005-06 | 4 | 0 | n/a |