Premier League
Country	England
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	20 February 1992
Number of teams	20
Relegation to	The Championship
Level on pyramid	Level 1
Domestic cup(s)	FA Cup Carling Cup
UEFA cup(s)	Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup
Current champions	Manchester United (2007–08)
Website	Premier League home page

The Premier League, colloquially known as The Premiership or internationally the EPL, is an English professional league for football clubs. Most European countries have two principal Association football competitions a more prestigious league which is typically a double Round-robin tournament restricted The Union of European Football Associations (Union des associations européennes de football is the administrative and controlling body for European football. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) In many Sports leagues around the world (with North American and Australian professional leagues being the most notable exceptions promotion and relegation The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons A league system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport that usually teams can be promoted or relegated between depending on finishing positions or playoffs The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club The UEFA Cup is a football competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA. The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in England (although The Premier League is currently contested by 20 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. In many Sports leagues around the world (with North American and Australian professional leagues being the most notable exceptions promotion and relegation The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank, and known as the Barclays Premier League. Corporate sponsorship of major English football competitions dates back to the early 1980s although minor competitions such as the Watney Cup and Texaco Cup Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider operating in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 and the first games were played on 15 August that year, following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal; The Football League had served as England and Wales' primary football competition since 1888. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs Since then, the Premier League has become the world's most watched sporting league^[1] and the most lucrative football league, with combined club revenues of around £1. 4 billion in 2005–06, which is expected to rise to around £1. 8 billion for 2007–08, primarily due to rising media revenues. ^[2] The league is a corporation with the 20 clubs acting as shareholders. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an Individual or company (including a Corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of

A total of 40 clubs have competed in the Premier League, but only four have won the title: Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, and Chelsea. The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Premier League at any time since its formation in 1992 to the current season Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Foundation 1.3 Establishment 2 Corporate structure 3 Competition format and sponsorship 3.1 Competition 3.1.1 Qualification for European competitions 3.2 Sponsorship 4 Finances 5 Media coverage 5.1 United Kingdom and Ireland 5.2 Worldwide 6 Criticisms 6.1 Widening gap between lower leagues 6.2 "Big Four" dominance 7 Trophy 8 Premier League clubs 8.1 Premier League members for 2008–09 9 Players 9.1 Top scorers 10 Women's Premier League 11 References 12 External links

History

Origins

The 1980s had marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition following the events at Heysel in 1985. Football hooliganism such as brawls vandalism and intimidation carried out by Association football club supporters and fans The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred owing to Football hooliganism in which a retaining wall of the Heysel Stadium in Brussels collapsed on May 29 ^[3] The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. Serie A (officially known as the Lega Calcio Serie A TIM for Sponsorship reasons is a professional league competition for football clubs located The Primera División of the es Liga de Fútbol Profesional ( Professional Football League) commonly known as La Liga or ^[4] However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990 and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums, was published in January of that year. The Union of European Football Associations (Union des associations européennes de football is the administrative and controlling body for European football. The Taylor Report is a document whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in ^[5]

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
Further information: English football champions

Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received £6. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The 2001-02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition The FA Premier League 2002-03 season (often referred to as the 2002-03 Barclaycard Premiership, due to sponsorship rights was the eleventh season of the History Following the legalisation of professional football by The Football Association in 1885 the English Football League was established in 1888 3million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44m over four years. ^[6] The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay. ^[7] As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport.

Foundation

In the 1991 close season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled 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. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. ^[8] 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. For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit 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. ^[9]

In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) A private company limited by shares is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of west central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens ^[4] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions.

The 22 inaugural members of the new Premiership were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip is an association football club based in Coventry, Crystal Palace FC is an English football club based in South Norwood, London. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. PLEASE NOTE This section is the introduction Please do not add too much detail here Leeds United Association Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Leeds United or informally Leeds, are an English professional football Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. TalkManchester City FC before changing verbs to singular --> Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club Middlesbrough Football Club, also known as The Boro are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Premier League. PLEASE NOTE This section is the introduction Please do not add too much detail here Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham Oldham Athletic Football Club (2004 Ltd, more commonly Oldham Athletic Football Club or informally Oldham Athletic, is an English football club Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football club, based in Shepherds Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Southampton Football Club is a professional English football team, nicknamed The Saints and based in the city of Southampton. Tottenham Hotspur, ˈtɒʔnəm is an English professional football club which currently plays in the Premier League. This article refers to the original club from London which existed until 2004

Establishment

See also: List of Premier League seasons

As of the end of the 2007–08 season, there had been 16 completed seasons of the Premier League. This is a list of every Premier League season from the league's foundation in 1992&ndash93 to the end of the most recent completed season This is a list of every Premier League season from the league's foundation in 1992&ndash93 to the end of the most recent completed season The league held its first season in 1992–93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premiership goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Brian Christopher Deane (born February 7, 1968 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England) is a former English footballer Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. 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 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (French for International Federation of Association Football) On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. ^[10] Ultimately the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. ^[11] That same season saw the discussion over Game 39, a showpiece match played overseas. "Game 39" or the international round is a proposed extra round of matches in the Premier League to be played at neutral venues outside England ^[12]

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. A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator ^[13] 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. ^[14]

The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Forum, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. See also UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup In European football, the 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. See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club The UEFA Cup is a football competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA. ^[15]

Competition format and sponsorship

Competition

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, 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. In Sports such as Ice hockey and football (soccer, goal difference (that is goals scored minus goals conceded is often the first Tiebreaker 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. 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, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. ^[16] The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of Playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table ^[17]

Qualification for European competitions

The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group phase. See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club The fourth placed team enters the competition at the third qualifying round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. 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. The UEFA Cup is a football competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA. 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. The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after 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 (unlike the FA Cup spot, it is never transferred to the losing finalist). The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition ^[18] 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 UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for The Intertoto Cup was discontinued after 2008.

An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, when Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification position in that season's Premier League. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. ^[19] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions of the trophy qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those associations with four participants in the Champions League, this means that if the Champions League winner falls outside of its domestic league's top four, it will qualify at the expense of the fourth-ranked team in the league.

The Premier League was recently promoted to the top of the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period. This broke the eight-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga. The Primera División of the es Liga de Fútbol Profesional ( Professional Football League) commonly known as La Liga or ^[20] The top three leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter four teams into the Champions League. The UEFA president Michel Platini, had proposed taking one place from the Premier League's quota, and allocating this place to the FA Cup winners. Michel François Platini (born June 21, 1955) is a French former football player manager and current president of the UEFA. This proposal though, was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting. ^[21]

In the same meeting that Platini's suggestion that FA Cup winners should qualify for the Champion's League rather than the UEFA Cup was rejected, it was however agreed upon that the third-placed team in the Premier League would receive automatic qualification for the group stages, rather than entry into the Third Qualifying Round as at present, while the fourth-placed team would enter a redesigned two tiered qualification round against a team from a higher ranked nation than they had previously been under the old rules. This was part of Platini's plan to increase the amount of teams qualifying directly into the Group Stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the competition proper. ^[22]

Sponsorship

Since 1993, the Premier League has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

• 1993–2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)
• 2001–2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)
• 2004–2010: Barclays (Barclays Premiership (2004–2007) then Barclays Premier League (2007–2010))^[23]

Finances

See also: List of Premier League football club owners

The Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with total club revenues of over £1. Carling is the name of a brand of Lager in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Barclaycard is a global credit provider ( Credit cards and Loans ' owned by Barclays plc in the UK. Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider operating in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia This is a list of the current owners of all Premier League football clubs, and their estimated net worth and source of their wealth 4 billion in 2005–06 season according to Deloitte, making it 40% above its nearest competitor: Italy's Serie A. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (also branded as Deloitte) is one of the largest Professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along Serie A (officially known as the Lega Calcio Serie A TIM for Sponsorship reasons is a professional league competition for football clubs located ^[24] Revenues have increased to approximately £1. 8 billion in the 2007–08 season,^[25] when new media rights deals started. Based on November 2007 exchange rates, £1. In Finance, the exchange rates (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how 8 billion converts to a gross annual league revenue of about US$3. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 7 billion. For the past few seasons, the Premier League's gross revenue (£1. 4bn) has been the fourth highest for any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America

In terms of world football, the Premier League clubs are some of the richest in the world. Deloitte, who annually release figures on club revenues through its "Football Money League", listed eight Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2005–06 season. The Deloitte Football Money League is a ranking of football clubs by income ^[26] No other league has more than four clubs in this table, and while La Liga rivals Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona take up two of the top 3 places, no other Spanish clubs are listed in the top 20. The Primera División of the es Liga de Fútbol Profesional ( Professional Football League) commonly known as La Liga or Fútbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish ˈfutβol ˌkluβ baɾθeˈlona known familiarly as Barça (Spanish ˈbaɾsa Catalan Premier League teams have dominated the list for many years, and even topped the list for almost a decade until the 2004–05 season. After the Premier League's new TV deal went into effect, the league-wide increase in revenues is expected to increase the Premier League clubs' standing in the list, and there is a possibility that a Premier League club will be top of the list. ^[26][27]

Another significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs remains their revenue from stadium attendances, which, with the 2005–06 average attendance of 34,364 for league matches, is the fourth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world, ahead of Serie A and La Liga, but behind the German Bundesliga. The table below lists domestic professional Sports leagues from around the world by total attendances for the last completed season for which data is available This represents an increase of over 60% from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992–93). ^[28] 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 for all-seater stadiums. The Taylor Report is a document whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in All-seater stadium is the terminology applied to those sports stadia in which every spectator has a seat ^[29][30] The 2005–06 figure, however, is lower than the Premier League's record average attendance of 35,464, set during the 2002–03 season. ^[31]

Media coverage

United Kingdom and Ireland

See also: English football on television

Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. English Football (soccer has been screened on Television since 1937 and since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992 it has become a very lucrative Tottenham Hotspur, ˈtɒʔnəm is an English professional football club which currently plays in the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB — Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the At the time pay 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. ^[6]

The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some European Leagues, including Serie A and 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. The money is divided into three parts:^[32] 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.

The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £191 million over five seasons. ^[33] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons. ^[33] The third contract was a £1. 024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2004–05 to 2006–07. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004–05 to 2006–07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis. ^[34] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. Setanta Sports (sɛˈtantə is a sports broadcaster based in Ireland, operating 12 channels in 24 countries This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £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. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171. Match of the Day (sometimes abbreviated as MOTD) is the BBC 's main football Television programme 6 million, a 63% increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three year period. ^[35] Radio Telefís Éireann broadcast the highlights in Ireland. Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay £84. BT Group plc (formerly British Telecommunications plc) which trades as BT (ˌbiːˈtiː bee tee) (previously known as British Telecom and still 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 pm on matchday. ^[36] Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract. ^[37] The total raised from these deals is more than £2. 7 billion, giving Premiership clubs an average media income from league games of £45 million a year from 2007 to 2010. They also receive smaller amounts from media rights for the domestic cups and in some cases substantial amounts from media rights for European matches.

The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result. An investigation by the Office 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. The Office of Fair Trading ( OFT) is a Non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, ^[38] In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest. ^[39]

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,^[40] 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. News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation In the United States coverage is shared between Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports North America; NewsCorp sometimes buys pitch-side advertising boards with the Fox Soccer Channel logo replacing that of Sky. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Fox Soccer Channel is a United States Digital cable network owned by News Corporation, that specializes in soccer. Setanta Sports North America is a television channel launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports to offer live and tape-delayed events

The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme. ^[41] In the People's Republic of China, matches attract television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more than any other foreign sport. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ^[42] Due to this popularity, the league has held three pre-season tournaments in Asia, the only Premier League affiliated tournaments ever to have been held outside England. In July 2003, the FA Premier League Asia Cup was held in Malaysia, featuring three Premiership clubs, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Birmingham City, and the Malaysia national team. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Malaysia national football team is the national team of Malaysia and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. ^[43] In 2005 the Asia Trophy featured a similar format, held in Thailand and featuring the Thailand national team competing against three English clubs—Everton, Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, the last of which won the trophy. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The Thailand national football team is the national team of Thailand and is connected to the Football Association of Thailand. ^[44] In 2007, the Barclays Asia Trophy was held in Hong Kong and featured Liverpool, Portsmouth, Fulham and the Hong Kong FA Cup winning team, South China, with Portsmouth winning the competition. The Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 ( Traditional chinese: 巴克萊亞洲錦標賽 was the third edition of the prestigious Premier League Asia Hong Kong FA Cup ( is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. South China Athletic Association (also known as South China, SCAA,) is a Hong Kong Sports club, best known for its football ^[45]

The FA has faced difficulty fighting internet copyright infringement. In an effort to stop the broadcasting of streams of live games on the net they have hired NetResult, a company that specialises on protecting trademark rights online. The BBC reported that NetResult, on behalf of the Premier League, emailed a warning to 101greatgoals. blogspot. com, an independent website that links to youtube videos, that forced its temporary closure. ^[46]

Criticisms

Widening gap between lower leagues

One of the main criticisms leveled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf between the Premiership and the Football League. In English football, the Premiership-Football League gulf is a term used to describe the increase in the financial differences between clubs from the Premier League Since its split with the Football League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to distance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,^[47] many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. In every season except 2001–02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League. The 2001-02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Fulham Football Club is an English football team based in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 1997–98 all three promoted clubs were relegated at the end of the season. ^[48]

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2006–07 season, these payments are in the amount of £6. 5 million over the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this is set to rise to £11. 2 million per year for clubs relegated in 2007–2008. ^[47] Designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £45 million while the average Football League Championship club receives £1 million^[47]), critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premiership and those that have not,^[49] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons In English football, the Premiership-Football League gulf is a term used to describe the increase in the financial differences between clubs from the Premier League

"Big Four" dominance

Another major criticism is the development of the so-called "Big Four" clubs. ^[50] In the past 13 seasons only three different clubs have won the Premier League title—Manchester United (eight times), Arsenal (three times) and Chelsea (twice). Blackburn Rovers are the only other team to have won the title in the Premier League's history. In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside the top three since the formation of the Premier League, with Arsenal finishing inside the top five in all but two seasons, while Liverpool, without an English league title since the pre-Premier League era, have not finished lower than fifth since 1999. In recent years, the success of these clubs has led to these four teams being increasingly referred to as the "Big Four". The Big Four clubs have finished in the first four positions for the last three seasons, therefore they have all qualified for the last four seasons of the Champions League and receive the financial benefits of such qualification. The benefits, especially increased revenue, is believed to have widened the gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premier League. ^[50] In May 2008, Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan said the Big Four's dominance threatened the division, saying, "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world. Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born 14 February 1951 is a former footballer, and former England national team coach who has been manager of various "^[51] Following Keegan's comments, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore defended the league, saying, "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting. Richard Scudamore is currently Chief Executive of the FA Premier League, a position he has held since November 1999. "^[52]

Trophy

The Premiership trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey & Garrard. Garrard & Co formerly Asprey & Garrard is a luxury Jewellery and Silver company founded by George Wickesin London in 1735 Weighing four stone (approximately 25 kilograms), its main body is solid sterling silver, while its base is made of the semi-precious African stone malachite. The stone is a unit of Weight. It is part of the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the British Isles, and formerly used in most Sterling silver is an Alloy of Silver containing 925% pure silver and 7 A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash Malachite is a carbonate mineral normally known as "copper carbonate" with the formula Cu 2 CO3[[hydroxide The green colour of malachite is representative of the green field of play. ^[53] The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. 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 lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. ^[53]

Premier League clubs

See also: List of Premier League clubs

See also: English football champions

A total of 40 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 and the end of the 2007–08 season. The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Premier League at any time since its formation in 1992 to the current season History Following the legalisation of professional football by The Football Association in 1885 the English Football League was established in 1888 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 Premiership season and have not subsequently returned to the top flight. Luton Town Football Club are an English football team based in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. Notts County Football Club is a football club based in Nottingham, England, and the oldest of all the clubs that are now professional For a list of all clubs past and present see List of FA Premier League clubs and an amalgamated table can be found at All-time FA Premier League table. The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Premier League at any time since its formation in 1992 to the current season The All-Time FA Premier League Table is a cumulative record of all match results points and goals of every team that has played in the Premier League since its inception in For a list of winners and runners-up of the Premier League since its inception, and top scorers for each season, see English football champions. History Following the legalisation of professional football by The Football Association in 1885 the English Football League was established in 1888

Seven clubs have been members of the Premiership for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. Tottenham Hotspur, ˈtɒʔnəm is an English professional football club which currently plays in the Premier League. ^[54]

Premier League members for 2008–09

The following 20 clubs will compete in the Premier League during the 2008–09 season.

Club	Position in 2007–08	First season in top division	Number of seasons in top division	First season of current spell in top division	Top division titles	Last title
Arsenala,b	3rd	1904–05	92	1919–20	13	2003–04
Aston Villaa,b	6th	1888–89	98	1988–89	7	1980–81
Blackburn Roversa	7th	1888–89	69	2001–02	3	1994–95
Bolton Wanderers	16th	1888–89	70	2001–02	0	n/a
Chelseaa,b	2nd	1907–08	74	1989–90	3	2005–06
Evertona,b	5th	1888–89	106	1954–55	9	1986–87
Fulham	17th	1949–50	20	2001–02	0	n/a
Hull City	3rd; Championship	2008–09	1	2008–09	0	n/a
Liverpoola,b	4th	1894–95	94	1962–63	18	1989–90
Manchester Citya	9th	1899–1900	80	2002–03	2	1967–68
Manchester Uniteda,b	1st	1892–93	84	1975–76	17	2007–08
Middlesbrougha	13th	1902–03	60	1998–99	0	n/a
Newcastle United	12th	1898–99	79	1993–94	4	1926–27
Portsmouth	8th	1927–28	32	2003–04	2	1949–50
Stoke City	2nd; Championship	1888–89	53	2008–09	0	n/a
Sunderland	15th	1890–91	78	2007–08	6	1935–36
Tottenham Hotspura,b	11th	1909–10	74	1978–79	2	1960–61
West Bromwich Albion	1st; Championship	1888–89	72	2008–09	1	1919–20
West Ham United	10th	1923–24	52	2005–06	0	n/a
Wigan Athletic	14th	2005–06	4	2005–06	0	n/a

^a = Founding member of the Premier League
^b = Played in every Premier League season

Players

See also: List of foreign Premier League players

Premier League clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The 2001-02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater The 2001-02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. Fulham Football Club is an English football team based in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The 2001-02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition Hull City Association Football Club are an English football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. TalkManchester City FC before changing verbs to singular --> Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club The FA Premier League 2002-03 season (often referred to as the 2002-03 Barclaycard Premiership, due to sponsorship rights was the eleventh season of the Middlesbrough Football Club, also known as The Boro are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Premier League. Newcastle United Football Club (also known as The Magpies or The Toon) is an English football club based in Newcastle upon Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the south coast city of Portsmouth. Stoke City Football Club is a football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional Association football team based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, which plays in Tottenham Hotspur, ˈtɒʔnəm is an English professional football club which currently plays in the Premier League. West Bromwich Albion Football Club (also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or WBA) are The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons } West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, who have played Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. This is a list of foreign players in the Premier League, which commenced play in 1992 There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players, and few restrictions on individual foreign players — all players with EU nationality, including those able to claim an EU passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain UK work permits. The only area where the Premiership's player registration rules are more restrictive than those of some other football leagues, such as those of those of Belgium and Portugal, is that academy level non-EU players have little access to English football. ^[55]

At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just eleven players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. ^[56] By 2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premiership was 36%. In the 2004–05 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,^[57] and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[58] No English manager has won the Premier League; the four managers to have won the title comprise two Scots (Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, ten wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win)), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins) and a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins). Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE, (born 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish football manager Kenneth Mathieson 'Kenny' Dalglish MBE (born 4 March 1951 in Dalmarnock, Glasgow) is a former Scottish international football This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Arsène Wenger OBE (born October 22, 1949 in Strasbourg) is a French football manager, in charge of Arsenal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho, GOIH (ʒuˈzɛ moˈɾiɲu (born 26 January 1963 in Setúbal) is a Portuguese

In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young British players in favour of signing less-expensive foreign players, in 1999, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union. The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for security and order The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in ^[59] Currently a non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75% 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 if they believe that he is a special talent and "able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in the UK. "^[55]

Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 players from England's domestic leagues competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 17th staging of the World Cup, was held in South Korea and Japan from May 31 to June 30. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the Premier League was the most represented league with more than eighty players in the competition, including 21 of the 23 players in England's squad. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament This article lists the confirmed national football squads for

As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year,^[60] but subsequently rose by an average 20% per year for a decade,^[61] peaking in the 2003–04 season, when the annual salary of the average Premier League player was £676,000. ^[62]

The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. The progression of the British football transfer fee record tracks the increases in the record for the highest transfer fee paid or received by British Association Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a £3 million-plus transfer fee. Alan Shearer, OBE (born 13 August 1970 is an English retired footballer who played as a Striker in the English Premier League for ^[63] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996. ^[63] This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand. Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978 in Peckham, London) is an English footballer. ^[63] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand. Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (commonly spelled as van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976 in Oss, North Brabant) is a Dutch footballer Juan Sebastián Verón (born 9 March 1975 in La Plata) is an Argentine professional football player who plays as a Midfielder. ^[64][65] As of 2007, the current record holder is Andriy Shevchenko, who joined Chelsea from AC Milan in May 2006. Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Андрій Миколайович Шевченко Andrij Mykolajovyč Ševčenko; born September 29 1976 in Dvirkivschyna, Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to by the abbreviation Milan, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million. ^[66]

Top scorers

All-time top scorers in the Premier League
(Premier League goals only)

Rank	Player	Goals
1	Alan Shearer	260
2	Andy Cole	187
3	Thierry Henry	174
4	Robbie Fowler	163
5	Les Ferdinand	149
6	Teddy Sheringham	146
7	Michael Owen[67]	136
8	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	127
9	Dwight Yorke[67]	123
10	Ian Wright	113
As of 12 May 2008 (Bold denotes players still in Premier League), (Italics denotes players still playing professional football). Alan Shearer, OBE (born 13 August 1970 is an English retired footballer who played as a Striker in the English Premier League for Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971 in Nottingham, England, UK) is an English footballer. Thierry Daniel Henry ( born 17 August 1977 Robert Bernard 'Robbie' Fowler, (born 9 April 1975 in Toxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside, England) is an English footballer Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966 in Paddington, London) is a former English footballer Edward Paul 'Teddy' Sheringham MBE (born 2 April 1966 in Highams Park, London is a retired English professional footballer, and the father of footballer Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English football player who currently plays for and captains Newcastle United Jerrel "Jimmy Floyd" Hasselbaink (born 27 March 1972 in Paramaribo, Suriname) usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dwight Eversley Yorke (born November 3 1971 in Canaan, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobago football player Ian Edward Wright, MBE (born 3 November 1963 in Woolwich, London) is an English former professional footballer who won the Golden Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [68]

Further information: Top Scorer (Golden Boot) by season, List of football players with a Premiership medal

Players in the Premier League can compete for the informal competitions of Goal of the Month and Goal of the Season. History Following the legalisation of professional football by The Football Association in 1885 the English Football League was established in 1888 Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992 only four teams have won the title - Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea The Goal of the Month is a monthly segment on BBC's Match of the Day Television programme in honour of the best goal scored each month The Goal of the Season is an annual competition and award given on BBC's Match of the Day, in honour of the most spectacular goal scored that season Other titles players compete for include the top-scorer for a season. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premiership goals with 260. Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing Alan Shearer, OBE (born 13 August 1970 is an English retired footballer who played as a Striker in the English Premier League for Shearer finished among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier League and won the top scorer title three times. During the 1995–96 season he became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals. ^[69]

Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 13 different players have won or shared the top scorers title. Thierry Henry won his third consecutive and fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season. Thierry Daniel Henry ( born 17 August 1977 This surpassed Shearer's mark of three titles which he won consecutively from 1994–95 through 1996–97. Other multiple winners include Michael Owen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who have won two titles each. Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English football player who currently plays for and captains Newcastle United Jerrel "Jimmy Floyd" Hasselbaink (born 27 March 1972 in Paramaribo, Suriname) usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most goals in a season (34) — for Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers respectively. Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971 in Nottingham, England, UK) is an English footballer. Cole's record came in the 1993–94 season, while Shearer's came in 1994–95, both of which were 42-game seasons. ^[70] Shearer's mark of 31 goals from a 38-game season in 1995–96 was equalled in the 2007–08 season by Cristiano Ronaldo, a mark which surpassed the record of most goals by a midfielder in a season. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira) is a Portuguese footballer ^[71]

Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1,000 goals in this league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored, in a 4–1 defeat by Middlesbrough, in the 2005–06 season, having been the first team to have conceded a Premiership goal following the League's inception. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira) is a Portuguese footballer Arsenal are the only other team to have reached the 1,000 goal mark. The highest-scoring match to date in the Premiership occurred on 29 September 2007 when Portsmouth defeated Reading 7–4. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[72]

Only two players have scored in each of the 16 Premiership seasons, Sheffield United player Gary Speed and Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs, both former captains of the Wales national football team. Gary Andrew Speed (born September 8 1969 in Mancot, Wales) is a Welsh footballer, who plays in midfield. Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom The Wales national football team represents Wales in international men's football. ^[73]

Women's Premier League

Main article: FA Women's Premier League

The National Division of the FA Women's Premier League is the Premiership's female counterpart. The FA Women's Premier League is the major Women's football Competition in England. The FA Women's Premier League is the major Women's football Competition in England. Most of its clubs are affiliated with Premiership and Football League sides; however, teams are semi-professional; no professional teams have existed since Fulham returned to semi-pro status in 2003. The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs Fulham WFC, also known as Fulham LFC, is a Ladies Football Club (LFC formerly associated with Fulham Football Club. ^[74] The league comprises 12 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Northern Division and Southern Division. The FA Women's Premier League Northern Division is a league in the second-level in the women's football pyramid in England along with the Southern divisions The FA Women's Premier League Southern Division is a league in the second level in the women's football pyramid in England along with the Northern division The champions of each are promoted to the National Division, and the bottom two National Division clubs are relegated.

Since forming in 1993 the Women's Premier League has been dominated by Arsenal, who have won nine of the fifteen league titles. Arsenal Ladies Football Club are an English Women's football club affiliated with Arsenal FC. ^[75] The women's game has a much lower profile than that of the Premier League, with Women's Premier League teams typically playing matches at grounds owned by non-league men's clubs.

References

External links

• Official Site
• The FA
• Premier League News
• Map of all Premier League clubs
• History of football kit by club
• Premier League Videos

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