Premier League

1888

Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.

The Football League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was 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. By the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse.

1950

This record was then beaten in the 2013–14 season recording an average attendance of 36,695 with an attendance of just under 14 million, the highest average in England's top flight since 1950. == Managers == Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection and player acquisition.

1970

Seven of them have won the title: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Manchester City (5), Arsenal (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), Leicester City (1) and Liverpool (1). == History == === Origins === Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football.

1980

Seven of them have won the title: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Manchester City (5), Arsenal (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), Leicester City (1) and Liverpool (1). == History == === Origins === Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football.

The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January 1990. During the 1980s major English clubs had begun to transform into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue.

1985

Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs had been banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

1986

The commercial imperative led to the top clubs seeking to increase their power and revenue: the clubs in Division One threatened to break away from the Football League, and in so doing they managed to increase their voting power and gain a more favourable financial arrangement, taking a 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986.

The Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV, the price rose to £44 million over four years with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash.

According to Scholar who was involved in the negotiations of television deals, each of the First Division clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights before 1986, this increased to around £50,000 in the 1986 negotiation, then to £600,000 in 1988.

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. There have been several studies into the reasoning behind, and effects of, managerial sackings.

1988

The Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV, the price rose to £44 million over four years with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash.

According to Scholar who was involved in the negotiations of television deals, each of the First Division clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights before 1986, this increased to around £50,000 in the 1986 negotiation, then to £600,000 in 1988.

The 1988 negotiations were conducted under the threat of ten clubs leaving to form a "super league", but they were eventually persuaded to stay, with the top clubs taking the lion's share of the deal.

1989

The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequent Taylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished.

1990

The Football League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was 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. By the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse.

At the 1990 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 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.

The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January 1990. During the 1980s major English clubs had begun to transform into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue.

By the beginning of the 1990s, the big clubs again considered breaking away, especially now that they had to fund the cost of stadium upgrade as proposed by the Taylor Report. In 1990, the managing director of London 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.

The FA released a report in June 1991, Blueprint for the Future of Football, that supported the plan for Premier League with FA the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league. === Foundation (1990s) === At the close of the 1990–1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall.

1991

At the 1990 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 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.

The FA released a report in June 1991, Blueprint for the Future of Football, that supported the plan for Premier League with FA the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league. === Foundation (1990s) === At the close of the 1990–1991 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.

The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Luton Town, Notts County, and West 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. === "Top Four" dominance (2000s) === The 2000s saw the dominance of the so-called "Top Four" clubs.

The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season—the year prior to the formation of the Premier League. 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.

1992

Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.

The English top-flight has produced the second-highest number of UEFA Champions League/European Cup titles, with five English clubs having won fourteen European trophies in total. Forty-nine clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992: forty-seven English and two Welsh clubs.

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 the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted. The league held its first season in 1992–93.

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.

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.

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". At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland.

Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 23 players from 11 clubs have won or shared the top scorer title.

1993

From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.

1994

Manchester City won the title in the 2011–12 season, becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season.

Under its Merlin brand, Topps held the licence to produce collectables for the Premier League between 1994 and 2019 including stickers (for their sticker album) and trading cards.

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.

1995

The number of clubs was reduced from 22 to 20 in 1995, when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted.

1996

Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker, including Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur. Arsène Wenger is the longest-serving manager, having been in charge of Arsenal 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.

1997

In 1997–98, all three promoted clubs were relegated by the season's end. The Premier League distributes a portion of its television revenue as "parachute payments" to relegated clubs for adjustment to television revenue loss.

The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons.

1998

The idea came closest to reality in 1998, when Wimbledon received Premier League approval to relocate to Dublin, Ireland, but the move was blocked by the Football Association of Ireland.

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). Between the 1998–99 season and the 2012–13 season, RTÉ broadcast highlights on Premier Soccer Saturday and occasionally Premier Soccer Sunday.

1999

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

The former chairman and chief executive, John Quinton and Peter Leaver, were forced to resign in March 1999 after awarding consultancy contracts to former Sky executives Sam Chisholm and David Chance.

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. The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2016.

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on 14 February 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.

By February 2020, 117 different nationalities had played in the Premier League, and 101 nationalities had scored in the competition. In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.

2000

The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Luton Town, Notts County, and West 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. === "Top Four" dominance (2000s) === The 2000s saw the dominance of the so-called "Top Four" clubs.

Leeds United were the only non-"Top Four" side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, in the 2000–01 season.

The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2000–01 season when they took over from Mitre.

By 2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36% of the total.

2001

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.

The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 to 2002 to 2003–04.

2002

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 to 2002 to 2003–04.

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.

2003

The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 to 2002 to 2003–04.

2004

From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.

The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004 to 2005 to 2006–07.

Between the 2004–05 season and the 2006–07 season, RTÉ broadcast a live match on 15 Saturday afternoons with each match being called Premiership Live. The Premier League is broadcast by SuperSport across sub-Saharan Africa. == Stadiums == As of the 2017–18 season, Premier League football has been played in 58 stadiums since the formation of the division.

In the 2004–05 season, the figure had increased to 45%.

2005

Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes. In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005.

Currently the ranking of England (and de facto the Premier League) is second, behind Spain. ==== Previous seasons ==== An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season.

The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. == Sponsorship == The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.

The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004 to 2005 to 2006–07.

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on 14 February 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.

Thierry Henry won his fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season.

2006

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season—the year prior to the formation of the Premier League. 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.

The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004 to 2005 to 2006–07.

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.

Between the 2004–05 season and the 2006–07 season, RTÉ broadcast a live match on 15 Saturday afternoons with each match being called Premiership Live. The Premier League is broadcast by SuperSport across sub-Saharan Africa. == Stadiums == As of the 2017–18 season, Premier League football has been played in 58 stadiums since the formation of the division.

2007

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season—the year prior to the formation of the Premier League. 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.

The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. == Sponsorship == The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.

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.

The total raised from these deals is 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. 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.

The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season.

2008

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. == Sponsorship == The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.

2009

There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-09, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001.

They are also the only teams to maintain a winning average of over 50% throughout their entire Premier League tenures. === Emergence of the "Big Six" (2010s) === The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Top Four" with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both breaking into the top four places on a regular basis, turning the "Top Four" into the "Big Six".

In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham finished fourth and became the first team to break the top four since Everton five years prior.

The chocolate company Cadbury has been the official snack partner of the Premier League since 2017, and sponsors the Golden Boot, Golden Glove, and Playmaker of the Season awards. == Finances == 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.

Deloitte's "Football Money League" listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season, 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.

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 2011 to 2012–13.

By 2009, under 40% of the players in the Premier League were English.

2010

In 2010 the Premier League was awarded the Queen'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. The Premier League is the fourth wealthiest professional sport league after the NFL, the MLB, and the NBA by revenue. The Premier League includes some of the richest football clubs in the world.

The total raised from these deals is 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. 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.

Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion.

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 2011 to 2012–13.

The total domestic rights have raised £3.018 billion, an increase of 70.2% over the 2010–11 to 2012–13 rights.

As of the 2010–11 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.

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". At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland.

2011

Liverpool (2005), Manchester United (2008) and Chelsea (2012) won the competition during this period, with Arsenal (2006), Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008) and Manchester United (2009 and 2011) all losing Champions League finals.

Manchester City won the title in the 2011–12 season, becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season.

In the five seasons following the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times, while Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season.

The first Premier League match to be played outside England was Swansea City's home match at the Liberty Stadium against Wigan Athletic on 20 August 2011.

Every season except (2001–02, 2011–12 and 2017–18) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League.

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 2011 to 2012–13.

2012

For the 2012–13 season the Premier League has 10 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Swansea took one of England's three available places in the Europa League in 2013–14 by winning the League Cup in 2012–13.

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. Participation in the Premier League by some Scottish or Irish clubs has sometimes been discussed, but without result.

This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea—who had won the Champions League that summer, but finished sixth in the league—qualified for the Champions League in place of Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the Europa League. From 2015–16, the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League, increasing the maximum number of participants per country to five.

The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. == Sponsorship == The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.

From 2013, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. Premier League clubs agreed in principle in December 2012, to radical new cost controls.

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 2011 to 2012–13.

On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year.

The total domestic rights have raised £3.018 billion, an increase of 70.2% over the 2010–11 to 2012–13 rights.

Premier League viewership has increased rapidly, with NBC and NBCSN averaging a record 479,000 viewers in the 2014–15 season, up 118% from 2012–13 when coverage still aired on Fox Soccer and ESPN/ESPN2 (220,000 viewers), and NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage.

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). Between the 1998–99 season and the 2012–13 season, RTÉ broadcast highlights on Premier Soccer Saturday and occasionally Premier Soccer Sunday.

He broke the record set by Alex 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. There have been several studies into the reasoning behind, and effects of, managerial sackings.

2013

The deal was worth around £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively.

The number of Welsh clubs in the Premier League increased to two in 2013–14, as Cardiff City gained promotion, but they were relegated after their maiden season.

Swansea took one of England's three available places in the Europa League in 2013–14 by winning the League Cup in 2012–13.

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.

Deloitte's "Football Money League" listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season, 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.

From 2013, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. Premier League clubs agreed in principle in December 2012, to radical new cost controls.

Starting with the 2013–14 season, these payments are in excess of £60 million over four seasons.

Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion.

On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year.

In China, the broadcast rights were awarded to Super Sports in a six-year agreement that began in the 2013–14 season.

As of the 2019–20 season, Canadian broadcast rights to the Premier League are owned by DAZN, after having been jointly owned by Sportsnet and TSN from 2013 to 2014. The Premier League is broadcast in the United States by NBC Sports, a division of Sky parent Comcast.

This record was then beaten in the 2013–14 season recording an average attendance of 36,695 with an attendance of just under 14 million, the highest average in England's top flight since 1950. == Managers == Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection and player acquisition.

2014

On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year.

As of the 2019–20 season, Canadian broadcast rights to the Premier League are owned by DAZN, after having been jointly owned by Sportsnet and TSN from 2013 to 2014. The Premier League is broadcast in the United States by NBC Sports, a division of Sky parent Comcast.

Premier League viewership has increased rapidly, with NBC and NBCSN averaging a record 479,000 viewers in the 2014–15 season, up 118% from 2012–13 when coverage still aired on Fox Soccer and ESPN/ESPN2 (220,000 viewers), and NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage.

2015

In the five seasons following the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times, while Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season.

Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes. In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005.

This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea—who had won the Champions League that summer, but finished sixth in the league—qualified for the Champions League in place of Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the Europa League. From 2015–16, the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League, increasing the maximum number of participants per country to five.

From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.

The FA 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 of major U.S.

On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year.

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). Between the 1998–99 season and the 2012–13 season, RTÉ broadcast highlights on Premier Soccer Saturday and occasionally Premier Soccer Sunday.

2016

Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of £2.4 billion in 2016–17, with a further £343 million in solidarity payments to English Football League (EFL) clubs. The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people.

Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes. In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005.

The 2016–17 Deloitte Football Money League report showed the financial disparity between the "Big Six" and the rest of the division.

A substantial part of the clubs' revenue by then came from television broadcast deals, with the biggest clubs each taking from around £150 million to nearly £200 million in the 2016–17 season from such deals.

This took effect in England in 2016–17, when Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and won the Europa League, giving England five Champions League entrants for 2017–18.

From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.

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. The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2016.

For the 2016–17 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 35,838 for Premier League matches with an aggregate attendance of 13,618,596.

2017

Cardiff were promoted again in 2017–18 but the number of Welsh clubs remained the same for the 2018–19 Premier League season, for Swansea City were relegated from the Premier League in 2017–18.

This took effect in England in 2016–17, when Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and won the Europa League, giving England five Champions League entrants for 2017–18.

The chocolate company Cadbury has been the official snack partner of the Premier League since 2017, and sponsors the Golden Boot, Golden Glove, and Playmaker of the Season awards. == Finances == 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.

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). ===Relegation=== Since its split with the Football League, established clubs in the Premier League have a funding disparity from counterparts in lower leagues.

Every season except (2001–02, 2011–12 and 2017–18) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League.

Between the 2004–05 season and the 2006–07 season, RTÉ broadcast a live match on 15 Saturday afternoons with each match being called Premiership Live. The Premier League is broadcast by SuperSport across sub-Saharan Africa. == Stadiums == As of the 2017–18 season, Premier League football has been played in 58 stadiums since the formation of the division.

The stadiums for the 2017–18 season show a large disparity in capacity.

The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2017–18 season is 806,033 with an average capacity of 40,302. Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs.

Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker, including Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur. Arsène Wenger is the longest-serving manager, having been in charge of Arsenal 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.

2018

For the 2018–19 season average Premier League match attendance was at 38,181, second to the Bundesliga's 43,500, while aggregated attendance across all matches is the highest of any league at 14,508,981.

As of the end of the 2018–19 season—the 27th season of the Premier League—Liverpool, in fourth place in the all-time points table, were over 250 points ahead of the next team, Tottenham Hotspur.

On 13 November 2018, Susanna Dinnage was announced as Scudamore's successor due to start in early 2019. The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients.

Cardiff were promoted again in 2017–18 but the number of Welsh clubs remained the same for the 2018–19 Premier League season, for Swansea City were relegated from the Premier League in 2017–18.

Following Cardiff City's relegation after the 2018–19 season, there are currently no Welsh clubs participating in the Premier League. Because they are members of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the question of whether clubs like Swansea should represent England or Wales in European competitions has caused long-running discussions in UEFA.

In October 2018, Panini were awarded the licence to produce collectables from the 2019–20 season.

In June 2018, it was announced that Amazon 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 all Boxing Day fixtures.

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 £1.62bn; this compares to £1.05bn in La Liga, £0.83bn in Serie A, £0.72bn in Bundesliga, and £0.54bn in Ligue 1.

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.

2019

In Deloitte's 2019 report, all the "Big Six" were in the top ten of the world's richest clubs. === 2020s === From the 2019–20 season, video assistant referees were used in the league. Project Big Picture was announced in October 2020 that described a plan to reunite the top Premier League clubs with the English Football League, proposed by leading Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool.

On 13 November 2018, Susanna Dinnage was announced as Scudamore's successor due to start in early 2019. The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients.

The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. == Sponsorship == The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.

Under its Merlin brand, Topps held the licence to produce collectables for the Premier League between 1994 and 2019 including stickers (for their sticker album) and trading cards.

In October 2018, Panini were awarded the licence to produce collectables from the 2019–20 season.

The Amazon telecasts are produced in association with Sunset + Vine and BT Sport. With the resumption of play in the 2019–20 Premier League due to the COVID-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.

As of the 2019–20 season, Canadian broadcast rights to the Premier League are owned by DAZN, after having been jointly owned by Sportsnet and TSN from 2013 to 2014. The Premier League is broadcast in the United States by NBC Sports, a division of Sky parent Comcast.

2020

In Deloitte's 2019 report, all the "Big Six" were in the top ten of the world's richest clubs. === 2020s === From the 2019–20 season, video assistant referees were used in the league. Project Big Picture was announced in October 2020 that described a plan to reunite the top Premier League clubs with the English Football League, proposed by leading Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool.

Additionally, the media occasionally discusses the idea that Scotland's two biggest teams, Celtic and Rangers, should or will take part in the Premier League, but nothing has come of these discussions. == International competitions == === Qualification for European competitions === ==== Qualification criteria for 2020–21 ==== The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

By February 2020, 117 different nationalities had played in the Premier League, and 101 nationalities had scored in the competition. In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.

2021

The Premier League ranks first in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons as of 2021.

It has been criticised by the Premier League leadership and the UK government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport. On 26 April 2021, in a match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace, the play was stopped to allow players, Wesley Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté, to break Ramadan fast.

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). Between the 1998–99 season and the 2012–13 season, RTÉ broadcast highlights on Premier Soccer Saturday and occasionally Premier Soccer Sunday.




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