Tha FA Premier League.

This article is about the English football league. For other uses, see Premier League (disambiguation). The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It is sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

The competition formed 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, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. The Premier League has since become the world's most watched association football league.[1] It is the world's most lucrative football league, with combined club revenues of £1.93 billion ($3.15bn) in 2007–08.[2] It is also ranked first in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.[3]

A total of 44 clubs have competed in the Premier League, but only four have won the title: Arsenal (3 titles), Blackburn Rovers (1), Chelsea (3), and Manchester United (11 trophies). The current champions are Chelsea.

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
2008–09 Manchester United
2009–10 Chelsea

Sponsorship

The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. 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)
2004–2007: Barclays (Barclays Premiership)
2007–present: Barclays (Barclays Premier League)

All-time appearances

(Premier League appearances only) Rank Player Appearances
1. David James      573
2. Ryan Giggs        548
3. Gary Speed       535
4. Sol Campbell     496
5. Emile Heskey     469
6. Frank Lampard  467
7. Paul Scholes       443
8. Alan Shearer       441
9. Jamie Carragher  435
10. Phil Neville        429

All-time top scorers in the Premier League


(Premier League goals only) Rank Player Goals

1. Alan Shearer                    260
2. Andrew Cole                    187
3. Thierry Henry                    174
4. Robbie Fowler                   163
5. Les Ferdinand                    149
6. Michael Owen                    147
7. Teddy Sheringham              147
8. Frank Lampard                  129
9. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink   127
10. Dwight Yorke                  123

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