The FA Premier League (which, for sponsorship/legal reasons, is often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in the UK and the Barclays English Premier League internationally) is a league competiton for English Football clubs located at the top of the English football league system (above The Football League), making it England's main football competition.

The FA Premier League comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. It was created in 1992, when the top division football clubs broke away from the Football League after securing a greatly improved TV rights deal with the then fledgling satellite television company Sky Television. The new name was simply a commercial restructuring and a rebranding exercise as there was no innovation in competitive terms; an identical first tier league had existed the previous season. The Premiership boasts some of the best players in the world, many of them not English.

The Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with total club revenues of over £1.3 billion in 2003–04 according to Deloitte, more than 50 percent above its nearest competitor, Italy's Serie A ^[1]. It is currently second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five year period, behind Spain's La Liga, and was the best performing league in 2004–05^[2].

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 38 games for each club and a total of 380 games in Premier League play. At the end of each season 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 a play-off involving the 3rd to 6th placed clubs, are promoted in their place.

The top four teams in the Premiership qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. The fifth placed team automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, and the sixth and seventh placed teams can also qualify, depending on what happens in the two domestic cup competitions. If the FA Cup champions and runners-up both finish in the top 5 of the Premier League, the FA Cup's UEFA Cup spot goes to the sixth placed team in the League. 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 with the FA Cup spot, it is never transferred to the losing finalist).

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

• 1993–2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership)
• 2001–08: Barclays (Barclays Premiership; from 2001-2004, it was known as the Barclaycard Premiership)

Claimed by some to be "The Greatest Show On Earth", the FA Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over a billion people^[3]. Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 stars from England's domestic leagues competed in the

in Korea and Japan. It is widely watched overseas, with matches being shown in over 150 countries. Premier League teams such as Manchester United and star players such as Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard or Ruud van Nistelrooy have become worldwide sporting icons. The Premier League is particularly popular in Scandinavia, with ferry operators offering "football ferries" to Norwegian football fans wishing to see their favourite teams in action.

In 2000–01, the number of foreign players (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom) participating in the Premiership was 36%. In the 2004–05 season the figure had increased to 45%. Arsenal's 85% figure (rising from 64% in 2000–01) is the highest of any club over the period. Chelsea, who were purchased in 2003 by Roman Abramovich, have been overtaken in terms of the number of foreign born players by Liverpool (72%).

The FA Premier League was formed on 20th February 1992 and played its first season in 1992–93. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions. A number of events during the mid and late Eighties had sent clear signals that fundamental changes were needed to the structure of professional football. The English game was at possibly its lowest ebb ever. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters were faced with poor facilities, hooliganism was rife and English football was banned from European competition. The old First Division became a selling league as many top players were lured by the financial attractions of the continent.

A radical restructuring was required if English football was to prosper. A proposal for the establishment of the league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17th July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements.

In 1992 the First Division Clubs resigned from the football league en masse and on 27th May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company, which worked out of an office at the then Football Association's headquarters, Lancaster Gate.

* Played in every Premier League season.
† Founding member of Premier League

† Founding member of Premier League. (a) Now Milton Keynes Dons F.C.

Notes:

• Team movements for 2005–06 season:
  • Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton were relegated to The Championship. On a dramatic final day of the season, last-place West Bromwich Albion defeated Portsmouth, but had to see other results go their way. Norwich City, who started the day outside the drop zone, were destroyed 6–0 by Fulham. Southampton lost 2–1 to Man United. Palace were eight minutes from survival and leading Charlton 2–1, but Charlton equalised, consigning the Eagles to the drop.
  • Sunderland have won The Championship for 2004–05, assuring themselves of a return to the Premier League for 2005–06.
  • The second automatic promotion spot is taken by Wigan Athletic, which will play in the top flight for the first time in their history.
  • The third and final promotion spot is taken by West Ham United when they defeated Preston North End 1–0 in the playoff final on May 30th, 2005, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

* Premier League championships (total English football championships)
Up to 1992, the winners of the First Division of The Football League were the English football champions.
Liverpool hold the overall record with 18 championships.

The other two top honors that an English club can win are the FA Cup and the European Cup. Winning the FA Cup and the League Championship is known as a double. Manchester United is the only team to win all three, known as the treble.

The following clubs have won the top division in English football, that is the Football League from 1888–89 to 1991–92 and the Premier League since the 1992–93 season.

• 18 wins: Liverpool
• 15 wins: Manchester United
• 13 wins: Arsenal
• 9 wins: Everton
• 7 wins: Aston Villa
• 6 wins: Sunderland
• 4 wins: Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday
• 3 wins: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
• 2 wins: Burnley, Chelsea, Derby County, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur
• 1 win: Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion

As of September 2005

Over the history of the Premier League, the so called "Curse of Christmas" became apparent—from the first season onwards, the team who was bottom of the league on Christmas Day was always relegated. This curse was only broken in season 2004–05, when West Bromwich Albion finished 17th on the final day.

• Premier League Records
• Premiership-Football League gulf

• ^ Curse of a 'Beautiful Game', Associated Press
• ^ Template:Web reference simple
• ^ Campbell, Dennis, United (versus Liverpool) Nations, The Observer, January 6 2002.

• Map of Premier League stadium locations
• FA Premier League official site
• The FA official site

Template:English football league system