Discover the origins and history of the top tier of English football
The 2016/17 season marks the 25th of the Premier League after its formation in 1992.
After numerous discussions with football authorities, players and
television broadcasters, the First Division clubs resigned from the
Football League in May 1992 and the Premier League was formed with the
inaugural campaign starting on Saturday 15 August of that year.
Below, each of the 24 seasons has been charted with the story of how
the titles were won and the players who starred. From 2011/12's
incredible finale, to Arsenal's "Invincibles", as well as each of
Manchester United's record 13 triumphs, find out more about the rich
history of the Premier League.
In the opening season of 1992/93, 22 clubs competed
in the competition, with Brian Deane of Sheffield United scoring the
first goal in what was known at the time as the FA Premier League.
The inaugural members of the Premier League 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 Utd, Sheffield
Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
A total of 47 clubs have played in the Premier League since its
inception, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd, and Spurs
participating in every campaign to date. Brighton & Hove Albion and
Huddersfield Town will make that figure 49 when the 2017/18 campaign
gets under way in August.
At the end of each season, the bottom three clubs are relegated, with
three promoted clubs from the Football League's Championship replacing
them. The only exception to this was in the 1994/95 season when the
League decided to reduce the number of clubs to 20. As a result, Crystal
Palace joined Norwich, Leicester City and Ipswich in being relegated
from the Premier League at the end of the 1994/95 season, with only two
clubs replacing them from Division One, as the Championship was known
then.
Apart from the opening campaign in 1992/93, every season of the
Premier League has had a title sponsor. From the 1993/94 season,
England’s top flight was known as the FA Carling Premiership, before the
sponsorship changed in 2001 to Barclaycard until 2004.
The title of the competition then changed to the FA Barclays
Premiership, with this being amended to Barclays Premier League ahead of
the 2007/08 campaign.
Season 2015/16 marked the final campaign of a title sponsor
arrangement, with the competition name becoming Premier League from
2016/17.
Manchester United were the first winners of the competition,
finishing 10 points clear of Aston Villa, and have been PL champions on
13 occasions in total. Blackburn won the title once, in 1994/95, while
Arsenal triumphed in 1997/98, 2001/02 and 2003/04.
Chelsea became the fourth club to win the PL, in 2004/05, and have
since gone on to claim the title four more times, 2005/06, 2009/10,
2014/15 and the most recent in 2016/17. Man City have won the title
twice, securing the trophy in dramatic fashion in 2011/12 with a goal in
stoppage time of the final day, and again in 2013/14.
Leicester are the latest and sixth club to win the Premier League,
completing a remarkable title triumph a year after a successful battle
against relegation.
The most successful manager in the competition is Sir Alex Ferguson
who has guided Manchester United to all their Premier League successes.
He also holds the record for being the longest serving manager in the
Premier League, spending 21 years at Old Trafford since its inception in
1992 before retiring at the end of the 2012/13 season. .
Ryan Giggs made 632 Premier League appearances for Manchester United, more than any other player
Ryan Giggs participated in every title-winning year for
Manchester United and the Welshman has also played the most matches in
the Premier League, amassing 632 appearances.
Former Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton forward
Alan Shearer is the Premier League top scorer with 260 goals and is the
only player to surpass the 200 mark.
From the 2001/02 season, clubs who finish in the top four places
qualify for the UEFA Champions League, while the team ending the
campaign in fifth get to play in the UEFA Europa League. Further places
can become available to teams in sixth and seventh depending on whether
teams in the top five win the League Cup or FA Cup.
There has been an increase in English representation in Europe since
the start of the Premier League, when, in the opening season, only the
champions qualified for the UEFA Champions League, with the second and
third-placed clubs entering the UEFA Cup, as the UEFA Europa League was
then known.
FIXTURES
Arsenal Leicester Emirates Stadium, London
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Watford Liverpool Vicarage Road, Watford
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Chelsea Burnley Stamford Bridge, London
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Crystal Palace Huddersfield Selhurst Park, London
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Everton Stoke Goodison Park, Liverpool
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Southampton Swansea St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
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West Brom Bournemouth The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
In the opening season of 1992/93, 22 clubs competed
in the competition, with Brian Deane of Sheffield United scoring the
first goal in what was known at the time as the FA Premier League.
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