ThePremier League is a professionalassociation football league inEngland and the highest level of theEnglish football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system ofpromotion and relegation with theEnglish Football League (EFL). Seasons usually run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches: two against each other team, one home and one away.[1] Most games are played on weekend afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures.[2]
The competition was founded as theFA Premier League on 20 February 1992, following the decision of clubs from theFirst Division (the top tier since 1888) to break away from theEnglish Football League. Teams are still promoted and relegated to and from theEFL Championship each season. The Premier League is a corporation managed by achief executive, with member clubs as shareholders.[3] The Premier League takes advantage of a £5 billion domestic television rights deal, with Sky andBT Group broadcasting 128 and 32 games, respectively.[4][5] This will rise to £6.7 billion from 2025 to 2029.[6] In the 2022–2025 cycle, the Premier League earned a record £5.6 billion from international rights.[7] As of 2023–24, Premier League clubs received central payments totalling £2.8 billion, with additionalsolidarity payments made to relegated EFL clubs.[8]
The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people.[9][10] As of the 2024–25 season, the Premier League has the highest average and aggregate match attendance of any association football league in the world, at 40,421 per game.[11][12] Most stadiums operate close to full capacity.[13] The Premier League is currently ranked first in theUEFA coefficient rankings based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons, ahead of Italy'sSerie A.[14] The English top-flight has produced thesecond-highest number ofEuropean Cup / UEFA Champions League titles, witha record six English clubs having won fifteen European cups in total.[15]
Despite major European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the mid-to-late 1980s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were ageing with poor facilities,hooliganism was rife, and all English clubs faced a 5-year ban fromEuropean competition following the events of the 1985Heysel Stadium disaster with Liverpool facing an extra year.[18] TheFootball League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was behind leagues such as Italy'sSerie A and Spain'sLa Liga in attendance and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad.[19]
By the turn of the 1990s, the downward trend was starting to reverse. At the1990 FIFA World Cup, England reached the semi-finals;UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United lifting theCup Winners' Cup in1991. TheTaylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to createall-seater stadiums in the aftermath of theHillsborough disaster (between the fans of Liverpool and the fans of Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Yorkshire on 15 April 1989) was published in January 1990.[20]
During the 1980s, major English clubs began transforming into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue.Martin Edwards ofManchester United,Irving Scholar ofTottenham Hotspur, andDavid Dein ofArsenal were among the key figures in this shift.[21] The drive for greater revenue and influence led First Division clubs to threaten a breakaway from the Football League. They also began demanding higher fees from broadcasters.[22] As a result, they secured increased voting power and a 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986.[21] Before 1986, clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights, and this rose to £600,000 by 1988.[23] The Football League had secured £6.3 million for a two-year deal in 1986, followed by a £44 million deal over four years in 1988 withITV, with top clubs taking 75% of the income.[24][25]
Negotiations took place in 1988 under the threat of ten clubs forming a "super league". They were persuaded to stay, but with leading clubs securing the bulk of the deal.[24][26][27] The talks also revealed that the bigger clubs would need the entire First Division to gain enough support for a future breakaway.[28] By the early 1990s, such a move was again being considered, especially as clubs faced the financial burden of stadium upgrades recommended by theTaylor Report.[29]
In 1990, the managing director ofLondon Weekend Television (LWT),Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the "Big Five" football clubs in England (Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur,Everton, and Arsenal) over a dinner.[30] The meeting was to pave the way for a breakaway fromthe Football League.[31] Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for LWT if only the larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money.[32] The five clubs agreed with the suggestion and decided to press ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the backing ofthe Football Association, and so David Dein of Arsenal held talks to see whether the FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not have an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it a way to weaken theFootball League's position.[33] The FA released a report in June 1991,Blueprint for the Future of Football, that supported the plan for the Premier League, with the FA as the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league.[28]
At the close of the 1990–91 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991, by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.[34]
The newly formed top division was to have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League licence to negotiate its ownbroadcast andsponsorship agreements. The argument given was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.[19] This restructuring marked the end of the 104-year-old Football League system that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would run as a single division, with the Football League continuing with three.[27]
Although Dyke played a significant role in the creation of the Premier League, he and ITV (of which LWT was part) lost out in the bidding for broadcast rights:BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years, with theBBC awarded the highlights package broadcast onMatch of the Day.[30][32]
Luton Town,Notts County, andWest Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old First Division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season. They were replaced byIpswich Town,Middlesbrough, andBlackburn Rovers, promoted from the old Second Division.[35] On 27 May 1992, the 22 First Division clubs resigned en masse from the Football League, and the FA Premier League was formed as alimited company, working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters inLancaster Gate.[19]
The league held its first season in1992–93. The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were:[36]
Manchester United won the inaugural edition of the new league, ending a twenty-six year wait to be crowned champions of England. Bolstered by this breakthrough, United quickly became the dominant force in the Premier League, winning seven of the first nine titles and securing two League and FA Cup doubles. They were initially led by experienced players such asBryan Robson,Steve Bruce,Paul Ince,Mark Hughes andEric Cantona, before evolving into a younger, more dynamic side featuringRoy Keane and theClass of 92, a group of homegrown talents includingDavid Beckham andPaul Scholes.
At the end of the 1994–95 season, four rather than three clubs were relegated, while only two were promoted from the Football League First Division. This allowed the Premier League to reduce its size from 22 to 20 clubs for the start of the1995–96 season, reducing the number of matches per team from 42 to 38.
Between 1993 and 1997,Blackburn Rovers andNewcastle United came closest to challenging United's early dominance. Blackburn, led by the prolificAlan Shearer, won the1994–95 FA Premier League. Newcastle topped the table for much of the1995–96 season, and signed Shearer in the summer of 1996 for a then world-record fee of £15 million. He would go on to become theall-time top scorer, a record he still holds.Arsenal emerged as serious contenders by winning the League and FA Cup double in1997–98, and from that point they and Manchester United would go on to dominate the league for the next several years.
In the 1998–99 season, Manchester United completed a historictreble by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. In so doing, they became the first English club to win the European Cup sinceLiverpool in the 1983–84 season, securing the trophy with a dramatic comeback victory overBayern Munich in the final.
League champions Champions League group stage Champions League third qualifying / play-off round Champions League first qualifying round UEFA Cup / Europa League
The 2000s saw Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United dominate the Premier League, forming the so-called "Big Four".[38]Manchester United won five league titles (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08),Arsenal claimed two (2001–02, 2003–04), whileChelsea rose to prominence with three underJosé Mourinho (2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10). Arsenal's unbeaten2003–04 season earned them the nickname "The Invincibles," the only team to achieve this in the Premier League era.[39] Only three other clubs secured a top-four finish during the decade:Newcastle United (2001–02, 2002–03),Everton (2004–05), andTottenham Hotspur (2009–10). However, the Big Four consistently dominated the top spots, with three of them finishing in the top four every season from 1999–2000 to 2009–10.
Premier League clubs were also highly competitive in Europe. Between 2005 and 2012, an English side reached seven of eightChampions League finals, withLiverpool (2005), Manchester United (2008), and Chelsea (2012) winning. Arsenal (2006), Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008), and Manchester United (2009, 2011) finished as runners-up.[40]Leeds United were the only non-Big Four side to reach the semi-finals, doing so in2000–01. Three English clubs made the semi-finals in 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09—a feat only matched twice by other leagues.
In theUEFA Cup/Europa League, four Premier League teams reached the final between 2000 and 2010, with only Liverpool lifting the trophy in2001. Arsenal (2000),Middlesbrough (2006), andFulham (2010) all fell short.[41]
The decade saw record-breaking points tallies, including Chelsea's 95-point haul in 2004–05 and Manchester United's three consecutive title wins (2006–07 to 2008–09). The rise of billionaire owners, includingRoman Abramovich at Chelsea andSheikh Mansour at Manchester City (2008), began reshaping the league's financial landscape, setting the stage for a more competitive 2010s.
Despite growing competition, criticism remains over the financial gap between elite clubs and the rest of the league.[44]Manchester City's2011–12 title win was the first by a club outside the "Big Four" sinceBlackburn Rovers in1994–95. That season also sawChelsea andLiverpool finish outside the top four for the first time since 1994–95.[42]
With only fourUEFA Champions League spots available, competition among the "Big Six" intensified. In the five seasons after 2011–12,Manchester United andLiverpool missed the top four three times, and Chelsea finished 10th in2015–16. Arsenal's2016–17 fifth-place finish ended their 20-year top-four streak.[45]
In2015–16,Leicester City defied 5000/1 odds to win the league, becoming the first non-"Big Six" champion since Blackburn in 1994–95.[46]
Financially, the "Big Six" hold outsized influence, arguing for a greater revenue share due to their global status and style of play.[47] Critics argue that the league's egalitarian revenue model ensures long-term competitiveness.[48] The2016–17Deloitte Football Money League highlighted the revenue gap. The "Big Six" each earned over €350 million, withManchester United leading at €676.3 million.Leicester City was closest, with €271.1 million, boosted byChampions League participation.West Ham, eighth in revenue (€213.3 million), earned less than half of fifth-placeLiverpool (€424.2 million).[49]
TV broadcast deals accounted for a large portion of club revenues, with the top clubs earning between £150 million and nearly £200 million in 2016–17.[50] By 2019, all "Big Six" clubs ranked in the world's top ten richest.[51]
League champions Champions League Europa League Conference League
From the2019–20 season,video assistant referees were introduced in the league.[52] That same season, Liverpool claimed their first Premier League title, finishing comfortably ahead of Manchester City and ending a 30-year wait for a top-flight trophy.[53]
On 26 April 2021, play paused during a Leicester City v Crystal Palace match to allow Muslim playersWesley Fofana andCheikhou Kouyaté to break theirRamadan fast. It was believed to be the first time a Premier League game was halted for this reason.[56]
The2022–23 season paused for six weeks between November and December to accommodate thefirst winter World Cup,[57] returning for the traditionalBoxing Day fixtures.[58] That season, players chose to take the knee at select "significant moments", reaffirming their commitment to ending racial prejudice.[59] The campaign also sawNewcastle United andBrighton break into the top six, finishing fourth and sixth respectively, whileTottenham and Chelsea ended up eighth and twelfth.[60][61] Former champions Leicester City were relegated, becoming only the second Premier League-winning club to go down sinceBlackburn Rovers in2011–12.[62]
Manchester City won the Premier League for the sixth time in seven years in the2023–24 season, becoming the first top-flight side in English football history to win four consecutive league titles.[63]
City's run was finally ended in the2024–25 season, as Liverpool secured their second Premier League title. The same season saw a record six English clubs qualify for the UEFA Champions League — made possible by Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League and the Premier League's strong UEFA coefficient earning an extra spot. The 2020s has seen clubs such as Newcastle United and Aston Villa challenging at the top end of the table.
Number of top 6 finishes during 2020s
Club
Top 6 finishes
Liverpool
6
Manchester City
6
Chelsea
5
Arsenal
4
Manchester United
4
Tottenham Hotspur
3
Aston Villa
2
Leicester City
2
Newcastle United
2
Brighton & Hove Albion
1
West Ham United
1
Corporate structure
The Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL)[64][65][66] is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is ashareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs select a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.[67] 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.[68]
The current chief executive isRichard Masters, who was appointed in December 2019.[69] The chair is currentlyAlison Brittain, who took over the role in early 2023.[70]
The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA'sEuropean Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according toUEFA coefficients. For the2023–24 season, the Premier League has 13 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa,Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[71] The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as theChampions League andUEFA Europa League.[72]
Following the Premier League's blocking of theattempted takeover of Newcastle United by a PIF-backed consortium through the league'sOwners' and Directors' test, many MPs,Newcastle United fans and related parties to the deal denounced the Premier League for its perceived lack of transparency and accountability throughout the process.[73][74][75] On 6 July 2021, consortium memberAmanda Staveley of PCP Capital Partners said that "fans surely deserve absolute transparency from the regulators across all their processes – to best ensure that they act responsibly. They (the Premier League) are performing a function like that of a government regulator – but without the same systems for accountability."[75]
On 22 July 2021,Tracey Crouch MP – chair of the fan-led review into the UK's football governance – announced in the review's interim findings that the Premier League had "lost the trust and confidence" of fans. The review also recommended that a new independent regulator be created to oversee matters such as club takeovers.[76][77]
Premier League chief executiveRichard Masters had earlier spoken out against the implementation of an independent regulator, saying in May 2021, "I don't think that the independent regulator is the answer to the question. I would defend the Premier League's role as regulator of its clubs over the past 30 years."[78]
Competition format
[The Premier League] is very tough and is different. If you compare this league to another league, it's like playing another sport.
There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a doubleround-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for 38 games. Teams receivethree points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams areranked by total points, thengoal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, the head-to-head record between the tied teams is taken into consideration (points scored in the matches between the teams, followed by away goals in those matches.) If two teams are still tied, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.[81]
Promotion and relegation
A system ofpromotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and theEFL Championship. The three lowest placed teams in the Premier League are relegated to the Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship promoted to the Premier League,[82] with an additional team promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs.[83] The number of clubs was reduced from 22 to 20 in1995, when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted.[84][85] The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the1991–92 season – the year prior to the formation of the Premier League.[85]
On 8 June 2006,FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy'sSerie A and Spain'sLa Liga, be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction.[86] Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams.[87]
Video Assistant Referee
Video assistant referee (VAR), was introduced to the Premier League at the beginning of the2019–20 season. It uses technology and officials to assist thereferee in making decisions on the pitch.[88] However, its use has been met with mixed receptions from fans and pundits, with some praising its accuracy whilst others criticise its impact on the flow of the game and consistency of decision-making.
The on-field referee still makes the final decision, but VAR can assist the referee in the decision-making process. VAR can only be used for four types of decisions: goals,penalty decisions, directred card incidents, and cases of mistaken identity. VAR officials review the video footage and communicate with the on-field referee via a headset. The VAR officials are located in a central control room, which is equipped with multiple camera angles and the ability to replay footage at various speeds.
A study evaluating fan reception of VAR in the Premier League was made by Otto Kolbinger and Melanie Knopp and was done by analysingTwitter data.[89] The researchers used sentiment analysis to measure the overall positive or negative attitudes towards VAR, as well as topic modelling to identify specific issues that fans are discussing related to VAR. The study found that the reception of VAR on Twitter is largely negative, with fans expressing frustration and criticism of the technology's impact on the flow of the game and the inconsistency of decisions. The researchers also identified specific issues, such as handball and offside decisions, that fans are particularly critical of. The study concludes that VAR has not been well received by fans in the Premier League, and that efforts to improve the technology and increase transparency in decision-making are needed to address these concerns.
Only two clubs have remained in the Premier League since their first promotion:Brentford andBrighton & Hove Albion, who have been in 5 and 9 season(s) (out of 34), respectively.
In 2011, afterSwansea City gained promotion, a Welsh club participated in the Premier League for the first time.[91][92] The first Premier League match to be played outside England was Swansea City's home match atLiberty Stadium againstWigan Athletic on 20 August 2011.[93] The number of Welsh clubs in the Premier League increased to two in 2013–14, asCardiff City gained promotion,[94] but they were relegated after their maiden season.[95] Cardiff were promoted again in2017–18 but the number of Welsh clubs remained the same for the2018–19 Premier League season, as Swansea City had been relegated from the Premier League in 2017–18.[96] Following Cardiff City's relegation after the 2018–19 season, there are currently no Welsh clubs participating in the Premier League.[97]
Because they are members of theFootball Association of Wales (FAW), the question of whether clubs likeSwansea should represent England or Wales in European competitions has causedlong-running discussions inUEFA. Swansea took one of England's three available places in theEuropa League in 2013–14 by winning theLeague Cup in 2012–13.[98] The right of Welsh clubs to take up such English places was in doubt until UEFA clarified the matter in March 2012, allowing them to participate.[99]
Participation in the Premier League by some Scottish or Irish clubs has sometimes been discussed, but without result. The idea came closest to reality in 1998, whenWimbledon received Premier League approval torelocate to Dublin, Ireland, but the move was blocked by theFootball Association of Ireland.[100][101][102][103] Additionally, the English media occasionally discusses the idea that Scotland's two biggest teams,Celtic andRangers, should or will take part in the Premier League, but nothing has come of these discussions.[104]
Seasons in English top flight
There are 65 teams that have taken part in 127 English top flight championships (both theFootball League First Division and the Premier League) that were played from the1888–89 season until the2025–26 season. The teams in bold compete in the Premier League currently, while the teams in italics have never competed in the Premier League. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level. No team has played top flight football in every season; the closest beingEverton, who have played in 123 of the 127 seasons.
There are 51 teams that have taken part in 34 Premier League championships that were played from the1992–93 season until the2025–26 season. The teams in bold compete in the Premier League currently. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level. Six teams have competed in every Premier League season, those beingArsenal,Chelsea,Everton,Liverpool,Manchester United, andTottenham Hotspur.
The top four teams in the Premier League qualify automatically for the subsequent season'sUEFA Champions League league phase. The champions of the Champions League andUEFA Europa League may earn an additional qualification for the subsequent season's Champions League league phase if did not finish in the top four. There are additional berths for the two best associations in the previous season's rankings, which may result in a maximum of seven teams from one association in the Champions League.[105]
The fifth-placed team in the Premier League, as well as the winners of theFA Cup, qualify for the subsequent season's Europa League league phase, but if the winner of the FA Cup also finishes in the top five places in the Premier League or has won one of UEFA's major tournaments, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth. The winner of theEFL Cup qualifies for the subsequent season'sUEFA Conference League, but if the winner had already qualified for a UEFA competition via their performance in another competition, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth in the Premier League, or seventh if the FA Cup result had already caused the sixth-placed team to qualify.[106]
The number of places allocated to English clubs in UEFA competitions is dependent upon the position the country holds in the UEFA coefficient rankings, which are calculated based on the performance of teams in UEFA competitions over the previous five years. Currently, England is ranked first, ahead of Spain.
^European Performance Spots: The two associations with the highest one-year coefficient in the most recent season are awarded an additional berth in the Champions League league phase.
^The champion of theleague cup of England is given a place in theUEFA Conference League by special permission from UEFA (replacing the lowest-ranked league team which would have qualified).
Previous seasons
An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, afterLiverpool won theChampions League the season before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in thePremier League. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.[109] The governing body subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that if the Champions League winners finished outside the top four in its domestic league, it would qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team. At that time, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League.[110] This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea – who hadwon the Champions League that summer, but finished sixth in the league – qualified for the2012–13 Champions League in place ofTottenham Hotspur, who went into theEuropa League.[111]
From2015–16, the Europa League champions qualify for the Champions League, increasing the maximum number of participants per country to five.[112] This took effect in England in2016–17, when Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and won theEuropa League, giving England five Champions League entrants for2017–18.[113] In these instances, any Europa League berth vacated is not handed down to the next-best Premier League finisher outside of a qualifying place. If both Champions League and Europa League winners are of the same association and both finish outside the top four, then the fourth-placed team is transferred to the Europa League.
With 50UEFA club competition trophies won, English clubs are thejoint second-most successful in European football, tied with Italy and behind only Spain (67). In the top-tierUEFA Champions League,a record six English clubs have wona total of 15 titles and lost a further 11 finals, behind Spanish clubs with 20 and 11, respectively.[114] In the second-tierUEFA Europa League, English clubs arejoint-second, with ten victories and nine losses in thefinals.[115] In the former second-tierUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, English teams won arecord eight titles and had a further five finalists.[116] In the non-UEFA organisedInter-Cities Fairs Cup, English clubs provided four winners and four runners-up, the second-most behind Spain with six and three, respectively.[117] In the newly created third-tierUEFA Conference League, English clubs have a recordtwo titles so far.[118] In the former fourth-tierUEFA Intertoto Cup, England won four titles and had a further final appearance, placing it fifth in therankings, although English clubs were notorious for treating the tournament with disdain, either sending "B" squads or withdrawing from it altogether.[119][120][121] In the one-offUEFA Super Cup, England has ten winners and ten runners-up, thesecond-most behind Spain with 17 and 15, respectively.[122] Similarly to the Intertoto Cup, English teams did not take the formerIntercontinental Cup seriously enough, despite its international status of theClub World Championship. They a made a total of six appearances in the one-off competition, winning only one of them, and withdrew a further three times.[123] English clubs have won theFIFA-organisedClub World Cupfive times, thesecond-most behind only Spain, with eight.[124][121]
After an inaugural season with no sponsorship, the Premier League was sponsored byCarling from 1993 until 2001, during which time it was known as the FA Carling Premiership. In 2001, a new sponsorship deal withBarclaycard saw the league rebranded the FA Barclaycard Premiership, which was changed to the FA Barclays Premiership in time for the 2004–05 season.
For the 2007–08 season, the league was rebranded the Barclays Premier League.[125][126]
Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season. The organisation announced on 4 June 2015 that it would not pursue any further title sponsorship deals for the Premier League, arguing that they wanted to build a "clean" brand for the competition more in line with those ofmajor U.S. sports leagues.[128]
As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers.[129] The official ball supplier for the league isPuma who have had the contract since the 2025–26 season when they took over fromNike.[130]
Topps held the licence to produce collectables for the Premier League between 1994 and 2019 including stickers (for theirsticker album) andtrading cards.[131] Launched in the 2007–08 season, Topps' Match Attax, the official Premier League trading card game, is the best selling boys collectable in the UK, and is also the biggest selling sports trading card game in the world.[131][132] In October 2018,Panini were awarded the licence to produce collectables from the 2019–20 season.[133] The chocolate companyCadbury has been the official snack partner of the Premier League since 2017, and sponsored theGolden Boot,Golden Glove andPlaymaker of the Season awards from the 2017–18 season to 2019–20 season.[134][135]The Coca-Cola Company (under itsCoca-Cola Zero Sugar product line) sponsored these awards during the 2020–21 season withCastrol being the current sponsor as of the 2021–22 season.[136]
The Premier League has the highest revenue of any association football league in the world, with total club revenues of €2.48 billion in 2009–10.[137][138] In 2013–14, due to improved television revenues and cost controls, the Premier League clubs collectively made a net profit in excess of £78 million, exceeding all other football leagues.[139] In 2010 the Premier League was awarded theQueen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category for its outstanding contribution to international trade and the value it brings to English football and the United Kingdom's broadcasting industry.[140]
The Premier League includes some of the richest football clubs in the world. Deloitte's "Football Money League" listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season,[141] and all 20 clubs were in the top 40 globally by the end of the 2013–14 season, largely as a result of increased broadcasting revenue.[142] In 2019, the league generated around £3.1 billion per year in domestic and international television rights.[4]
Premier League clubs agreed in principle in December 2012, to radical new cost controls. The two proposals consist of a break-even rule and a cap on the amount clubs can increase their wage bill by each season. With the new television deals on the horizon, momentum has been growing to find ways of preventing the majority of the cash going straight to players and agents.[143]
Central payments for the 2016–17 season amounted to £2,398,515,773 across the 20 clubs, with each team receiving a flat participation fee of £35,301,989 and additional payments for TV broadcasts (£1,016,690 for general UK rights to match highlights, £1,136,083 for each live UK broadcast of their games and £39,090,596 for all overseas rights), commercial rights (a flat fee of £4,759,404) and a notional measure of "merit" which was based upon final league position.[144] The merit component was a nominal sum of £1,941,609 multiplied by each finishing place, counted from the foot of the table (e.g.,Burnley finished 16th in May 2017, five places counting upwards, and received 5 × £1,941,609 = £9,708,045 merit payment).[144]
Since its split with theFootball League, established clubs in the Premier League have a funding disparity from counterparts in lower leagues. Revenue from television rights between the leagues has played a part in this.[145]
Promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first Premier League season. One Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League every season, save the2001–02, 2011–12, 2017–18 & 2022–23 seasons. In the1997–98,2023–24 and2024–25 seasons, all three promoted clubs were relegated by the season's end.[146]
The Premier League distributes a portion of its television revenue as "parachute payments" to relegated clubs for adjustment to television revenue loss. The average Premier League team receives £41 million[147] whilst the averageChampionship club receives £2 million.[148] Starting with the2013–14 season, these payments are in excess of £60 million over four seasons.[149] Critics maintain that the payments widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not,[150] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation.
Clubs which have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League have seen financial problems, in some casesadministration or liquidation. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have occurred for multiple clubs unable to cope with the gap.[151][152]
Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights toSky in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time, paid television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.[25]
The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs.[154] The money is divided into three parts:[155] half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.[156]
Not all Premier League matches are televised in the United Kingdom, as the league upholds thelong-standing prohibition on telecasts of any association football match (domestic or otherwise) that kicks off between 2:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on Saturday matchdays.[157][158][159]
The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seasons.[160] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons.[160] The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 to 2004. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004 to 2007. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis.[161] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 whenSetanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by theEuropean Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish viewers. TheBBC retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (onMatch of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63 per cent increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three-year period.[162] Sky andBT Group (via its new channelBT Sport, now TNT Sports) agreed to jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 p.m. on matchday.[163] Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract.[164] The total raised from those deals was more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average media income from league games of around £40 million-a-year from 2007 to 2010.[165]
The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases arose as a result.[166] An investigation by theOffice of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position.[167] In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, which concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest.[168]
The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, ran until 2016.[169] Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 were purchased for £1.782 billion.[170] On 22 June 2009, due to troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League,ESPN was awarded two packages of UK rights containing 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010 to 2013.[171] On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced thatBT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year. The remaining 116 games were retained by Sky, which paid £760 million-a-year. The total domestic rights raised £3.018 billion, an increase of 70.2% over the 2010–11 to 2012–13 rights.[172] The value of the licensing deal rose by another 70.2% in 2015, when Sky and BT paid £5.136 billion to renew their contracts with the Premier League for another three years up to the 2018–19 season.[173]
A new rights cycle began in the 2019–20 season, with the domestic package increasing to 200 matches overall; in February 2018, BT were awarded the package of 32 lunchtime fixtures on Saturdays, whilst Sky was awarded four of the seven packages, covering the majority of weekend fixtures (including eight new prime time fixtures on Saturdays), as well as Monday and Friday matches. Two remaining packages of 20 fixtures each were to be sold at a later date, including three rounds of mid-week fixtures and a bank holiday round. As Sky already owned the maximum number of matches it could hold without breaching a 148-match cap, it was speculated that at least one of the new packages could go to a new entrant, such as a streaming service. The five packages sold to BT and Sky were valued at £4.464 billion.[174] In June 2018, it was announced thatAmazon Prime Video and BT had acquired the remaining two packages; Amazon acquired rights to 20 matches per-season, covering a mid-week round in December, and allBoxing Day fixtures.[175] The Amazon telecasts are produced in association withSunset + Vine and BT Sport.[176]
With the resumption of play in the2019–20 Premier League due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Premier League announced that all remaining matches would be carried on British television, split primarily across Sky, BT, and Amazon. A large number of these matches were also scheduled for free-to-air broadcasts, with Sky airing 25 onPick, Amazon streaming its four matches onTwitch, and the BBC – for the first time in league history – carrying four live matches.[177][178][179][180]
As matches would continue to be played without spectators upon the start of the2020–21 Premier League, its clubs voted on 8 September to continue broadcasting all matches through at least September (with the BBC and Amazon each holding one additional match), and "appropriate arrangements" being made for October.[181][182] It was later announced that matches not selected for broadcast would be carried onpay-per-view viaBT Sport Box Office andSky Box Office at a cost of £14.95 per-match. The PPV scheme was poorly received; theFootball Supporters' Federation felt that the price was too high, and there were concerns that it could encourage piracy. There were calls from supporters to boycott the pay-per-views, and make donations to support charitable causes instead (with Newcastle's "Charity Not PPV" campaign raising £20,000 for a local food bank, and Arsenal fans raising £34,000 for Islington Giving). On 13 November, amid the reintroduction of measures across the UK, the Premier League officially announced that the non-televised matches would be assigned to its main broadcast partners, and again including additional matches for the BBC andAmazon Prime.[183][184][185][186]
The next cycle of rights between 2022–23 and 2024–25 season was renewed without tender due to compelling and exceptional circumstances in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, rights remained as they were since the 2019–20 season.[187]
The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people.[9] The Premier League's production arm,Premier League Productions, is operated byIMG Productions and produces content for its international television partners.[189] On 22 November 2024, the Premier League announced plans to end its agreement with IMG and take Premier League Productions in-house beginning in 2026–27.[190]
The Premier League is the most widely distributed sports programme in Asia.[191] In theIndian subcontinent, the matches are broadcast live onSTAR Sports.[192] InMENA region,BeIN Sports holds exclusive rights to the Premier League.[193] In China, the broadcast rights were awarded to iQiyi, Migu and CCTV that began in the 2021–22 season.[194][195][196]SCTV broadcast the matches for Indonesia, andAstro for Malaysia. In Australia,Optus telecommunications holds exclusive rights to the Premier League, providing live broadcasts and online access (Fox Sports formerly held rights).[197] As of the 2022–23 season, Canadian media rights to the Premier League are owned byFuboTV,[198] after having been jointly owned bySportsnet andTSN, and most recentlyDAZN.[199]
The Premier League isbroadcast in the United States byNBC Sports, a division of Sky parentComcast.[200] Acquiring the rights to the Premier League in 2013 (replacingFox Soccer andESPN), NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage.[201][202][203] NBC Sports reached a six-year extension with the Premier League in 2015 to broadcast the league until the end of the 2021–22 season in a deal valued at $1 billion (£640 million).[204][205] In November 2021, NBC reached another six-year extension through 2028 in a deal valued at $2.76 billion (£2 billion).[206][207]
As of the 2023–24 season, Premier League football has been played in 61 stadiums since the formation of the division.[223] TheHillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequentTaylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished. As a result, all stadiums in the Premier League areall-seater.[224][225] Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, with some clubs moving to new-build stadiums.[226] Eleven stadiums that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadiums for the 2023–24 season show a large disparity in capacity. For example,Old Trafford, the home ofManchester United, has a capacity of 74,031 whilstDean Court, the home ofBournemouth, has a capacity of 11,307. The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2023–24 season is 787,002 with an average capacity of 39,350.
Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs.[227] For the 2022–23 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 40,235 for Premier League matches with an aggregate attendance of 15,289,340.[228] This represents an increase of 19,109 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the Premier League's first season (1992–93).[229] However, during the 1992–93 season, the capacities of most stadiums were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline forall-seater stadiums.[230][231] The 2022–23 season also set a competition record for total attendance with more than 15 million spectators, with average attendance also reaching record levels, surpassing the previous record of 39,989 set in the2021–22 season, which in turn broke an over 70-year-old record set in the1948–49 season.[232]
In October 2024 it was reported that the government is planning to grant the independent regulator authority to stop Premier League clubs from selling their stadiums to affiliated or third-party companies.[233]
Managers
I have never known this level before. Of course, there are managers in Germany, Italy, and Spain, but in the Premier League, these are the best managers, the elite managers. The quality, the preparation. The level is so high.
Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans.[235] Managers are required to have aUEFA Pro Licence which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of theUEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences.[236] The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis (i.e., more than 12 weeks, the amount of time an unqualifiedcaretaker manager is allowed to take control).[237] Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker, includingPaul Hart atPortsmouth,David Pleat atTottenham Hotspur andOle Gunnar Solskjær atManchester United.
Arsène Wenger is the longest-serving manager, having been in charge ofArsenal in the Premier League from 1996 to his departure at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, and holds the record for most matches managed in the Premier League with 828, all with Arsenal. He broke the record set byAlex Ferguson, who had managed 810 matches with Manchester United from the Premier League's inception to his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season. Ferguson was in charge of Manchester United from November 1986 until his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season, meaning he was manager for the last five years of the old Football League First Division and all of the first 21 seasons of the Premier League.[238]
Notably, since its creation the Premier League has never been won by an English manager.
There have been several studies into the reasoning behind, and effects of, managerial sackings. Most famously, Sue Bridgewater of theUniversity of Liverpool and Bas ter Weel of theUniversity of Amsterdam, performed two separate studies which helped to explain the statistics behind managerial sackings. Bridgewater's study found clubs generally sack their managers upon dropping below an average of one point per match.[239]
Former Arsenal managerArsène Wenger is the longest-serving manager in Premier League history.
Player transfers may only take place withintransfer windows set by the Football Association. The two transfer windows run from the last day of the season to 31 August and from 31 December to 31 January. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific licence from the FA, usually on an emergency basis.[241] As of the2010–11 season, the Premier League introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 25-man squad of players aged over 21, with the squad list only allowed to be changed in transfer windows or in exceptional circumstances.[242][243] This was to enable the "home grown" rule to be enacted, whereby the Premier League would also from 2010 require at least eight members of the named 25-man squad to be "home-grown players".[242]
At the inception of the Premier League in1992–93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland.[244] By2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36% of the total. In the2004–05 season, the figure had increased to 45%. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up,[245] and on 14 February 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.[246] By 2009, under 40% of the players in the Premier League were English.[247] By February 2020, 117 different nationalities had played in the Premier League, and 101 nationalities had scored in the competition.[248]
In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, theHome Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of theEuropean Union.[249] A non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal.[250]
Following the implementation ofBrexit in January 2021, new regulations were introduced which require all foreign players to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) in order to play football in the United Kingdom, regardless of EU status.[251]
ThePremier League Golden Boot is awarded each season to the top scorer in the division. Former Blackburn Rovers andNewcastle United strikerAlan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260.[253]Thirty-three players have reached the 100-goal mark.[254] Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 23 players from 11 clubs have won or shared the top scorer title.[255]Thierry Henry won his fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season.Erling Haaland holds the record for most goals in a Premier League season (38 matches) with 36 goals as of 15 May 2023.[256]Ryan Giggs of Manchester United holds the record for scoring goals in consecutive seasons, having scored in the first 21 seasons of the league.[257] Giggs also holds the record for themost Premier League assists, with 162.[258]
Wages
There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League, when the average player wage was £75,000 per year.[259] In the 2018–19 season the average annual salary stood at £2.99 million.
The total salary bill for the 20 Premier League clubs in the 2018–19 season was £1.62 billion; this compares to £1.05 billion inLa Liga, £0.83 billion inSerie A, £0.72 billion inBundesliga, and £0.54 billion inLigue 1. The club with the highest average wage isManchester United at £6.5 million. This is smaller than the club with the highest wage bill in Spain (Barcelona £10.5 million) and Italy (Juventus £6.7 million), but higher than in Germany (Bayern Munich £6.4 million) and France (Paris Saint-Germain £6.1 million). For the 2018–19 season, the ratio of the wages of the highest-paid team to lowest-paid in the Premier League is 6.82 to 1. This is much lower than in La Liga (19.1 to 1), Serie A (16 to 1), Bundesliga (20.5 to 1), and Ligue 1 (26.6 to 1). Because of the lower differential between team wage bills in the Premier League, it is often regarded as being more competitive than other top European leagues.[260]
Therecord transfer fee for a Premier League player has risen steadily over the lifetime of the competition. Before the start of the first Premier League season,Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.[261] The record has increased steadily andAlexander Isak is now the most expensive transfer fee paid by a Premier League club at £125 million, as well as the biggest transfer involving a Premier League club.
^Initial £105 million plus reported £37 million bonuses
^Initial £100 million plus a reported £15 million in bonuses
^Initial £100 million plus a reported £5 million in bonuses
^Initial £89 million plus a reported £60 million in bonuses
Awards
Trophy
The Premier League trophyThe gold Premier League trophy awarded toArsenal for winning the2003–04 title without defeat
The Premier League maintains two trophies – the genuine trophy (held by the reigning champions) and a spare replica. Two trophies are held for the purpose of making the award within minutes of the title being secured, in the event that on the final day of the season two clubs are still within reach of winning the League.[285] In the rare event that more than two clubs are vying for the title on the final day of the season, a replica won by a previous club is used.[286]
The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Garrard & Co/Asprey of London and was designed in house at Garrard & Co by Trevor Brown and Paul Marsden. It consists of a trophy with a golden crown and amalachite plinth base. The plinth weighs 33 pounds (15 kg) and the trophy weighs 22 pounds (10.0 kg).[287] The trophy and plinth are 76 cm (30 in) tall, 43 cm (17 in) wide and 25 cm (9.8 in) deep.[288]
Its main body is solidsterling silver and silvergilt, whilst its plinth is made of malachite, asemi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. The green of the malachite represents the green field of play.[288] The design of the trophy is based on theheraldry ofThree 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.[289] The ribbons that drape the handles are presented in the team colours of the league champions that year. In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Arsenal winning the titlewithout a single defeat.[290]
Player and manager awards
In addition to the winner's trophy and the individualwinner's medals awarded to players who win the title, the Premier League also issues other awards throughout the season.
A man-of-the-match award is awarded to the player who has the greatest impact in an individual match.
TheGolden Boot award is given to the top goalscorer of every season, thePlaymaker of the Season award is given to the player who makes the most assists of every season,[135] and theGolden Glove award is given to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets at the end of the season.[295]
Starting with the2021–22 season, four new awards are given. TheSave of the Season is awarded to the goalkeeper deemed to have made the most impressive save.[296] TheGame Changer of the Season is earned by the player with the single most game-changing performance over the course of the campaign.[297] TheMost Powerful Goal is given to the player whose goal-scoring shot had the highest average velocity from the time it was struck to the time it crossed the goal line, and the Most Improbable Comeback award is meant for the team that, based on calculations performed byOracle Corporation, goes behind and overcomes a deficit to win their respective match.[298]
From the2017–18 season, players receive a milestone award for 100 appearances and every century there after and also players who score 50 goals and multiples thereof. Each player to reach these milestones is to receive a presentation box from the Premier League containing a special medallion and a plaque commemorating their achievement.[299]
Public Vote: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams,Nemanja Vidić, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo,Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer
^Between 2011 and 2019, at various intervals, the league featured two clubs from Wales,Cardiff City andSwansea City, who both play in the English football league system.
^"Premier League Rule C.17 p.107".Premier League Handbook Season 2021/22(PDF). The Football Association Premier League Limited.Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved17 May 2022.
^"UEFA Super Cup History".UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. July 2021.Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved10 November 2022.
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