Premier League
| Founded | 20 February 1992 |
|---|---|
| Country | England[z 1] |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 20 (since 1995–96)[z 2] |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | EFL Championship |
| Domestic cup(s) |
|
| League cup(s) | EFL Cup |
| International cup(s) |
|
| Current champions | Liverpool (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Manchester United (13 titles) |
| Most appearances | Gareth Barry (653) |
| Top goalscorer | Alan Shearer (260) |
| Broadcaster(s) |
|
| Website | premierleague.com |
| Current: 2025–26 Premier League | |
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons usually run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches: two against each other team, one home and one away.[1] Most games are played on weekend afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures.[2]
The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992, following the decision of clubs from the First Division (the top tier since 1888) to break away from the English Football League. Teams are still promoted and relegated to and from the EFL Championship each season. The Premier League is a corporation managed by a chief executive, with member clubs as shareholders.[3] The Premier League takes advantage of a £5 billion domestic television rights deal, with Sky and BT Group broadcasting 128 and 32 games, respectively.[4][5] This will rise to £6.7 billion from 2025 to 2029.[6] In the 2022–2025 cycle, the Premier League earned a record £5.6 billion from international rights.[7] As of 2023–24, Premier League clubs received central payments totalling £2.8 billion, with additional solidarity payments made to relegated EFL clubs.[8]
The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people.[9][10] As of the 2024–25 season, the Premier League has the highest average and aggregate match attendance of any association football league in the world, at 40,421 per game.[11][12] Most stadiums operate close to full capacity.[13] The Premier League is currently ranked first in the UEFA coefficient rankings based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons, ahead of Italy's Serie A.[14] The English top-flight has produced the second-highest number of European Cup / UEFA Champions League titles, with a record six English clubs having won fifteen European cups in total.[15]
Fifty-one clubs have competed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992: 49 from England and two from Wales. Seven have won the title: Manchester United (13), Manchester City (8), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Liverpool (2), Blackburn Rovers (1) and Leicester City (1).[16] Only six clubs have played in every season to date: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.[17]
Cite error: There are <ref group=z> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=z}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "When will goal-line technology be introduced?". Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. The total number of matches can be calculated using the formula n*(n-1) where n is the total number of teams.
- ^ "Why is there a Saturday football blackout in the UK for live streams & TV broadcasts?". Goal India. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Smith, Rory; Draper, Kevin; Panja, Tariq (9 February 2020). "The Long Search to Fill Soccer's Biggest, Toughest Job". The New York Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "English Premier League broadcast rights rise to $12 billion". Sky News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Sky and BT pay less in new £4.46bn Premier League football deal". Sky News. London. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Premier League agrees record £6.7bn domestic TV rights deal". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Overseas rights overtake domestic in latest Premier League cycle". SportBusiness. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ "Premier League clubs share record £2.8bn in broadcast revenue". Premier League. 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ "History and time are key to power of football, says Premier League chief". The Times. 3 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ "Playing the game: The soft power of sport". British Council. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- ^ "English Premier League Performance Stats – 2024–25". ESPN. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Premier League 2024/25 » Attendance". weltfussball.de. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ Chard, Henry. "Your ground's too big for you! Which stadiums were closest to capacity in England last season?". Sky Sports. Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "Member associations - UEFA rankings - Country coefficients". UEFA. July 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ O, Gerard. "Champions League: What Country Has Been the Most Successful". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Premier League Competition Format & History | Premier League". Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ "How long have Everton been in top-flight, which other clubs have never gone down". 14 May 2023. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.