The Premier League is one of the most important leagues in Europe and the world, in which many players want to participate.
It is said to be the most ‘lordly’ and ‘knightly’ league in the world, because of the history of kings and lords in this country. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most important and seen internationally. In this article we tell you everything you need to know about the Premier League.
Premier League Background
The term Premier League is quite modern and current, because at the beginning – and for more than a century – it was called the Football League First Division. The founding date of this tournament is March 23, 1888. Only in 1992 was it renamed as we know it today.
In its early days, the league had 12 participating clubs and was organized under the aegis of The Football Association. Shortly after, in 1892, it became associated with the Football Alliance and together they formed the division system.
Over the next 100 years, the top flight of English football had 23 different champions; the most successful is Liverpool, with 18 titles. Other winning teams are Arsenal (10 tournaments), Everton (8), Aston Villa and Manchester United (7).
In 1992, the 22 participating clubs created the Premier League, England’s top flight. The First Division became the second category until it was dissolved in 2004, when it gave way to the Football League Championship.
As a Premier League, the first champion was Manchester City and the most successful to date is Manchester United, with 13 titles.
Premier League System
In 1995, it was stipulated that there be 20 participating teams in the English league. Thus, the competition was opposed to the FIFA rule that indicated that all European leagues have 18 teams per division.
The Premier League season begins in August and ends the following May. Each team faces the others twice, in a system known as ‘all against all’, once at home and once as a visitor. In total, each team plays 38 games.
Teams are ranked in a single table based on points earned from each game, goal difference, and goals scored. Whoever has the most points at the end of the season is the Premier League champion.
The trophy obtained by the champion was created by the Royal Jewelers Garrard & Co/Asprey of London, it has a weight of 25 kilos and a height of 76 centimeters. It is made of genuine gilt silver, with a malachite pedestal, on which the names of the winners since 1992 are written.
It’s also good to know that the top four in the table qualify for the UEFA Champions League. In turn, the bottom three teams are relegated to the Football League Championship (and the same number are promoted).
The viewers and Premier League Stadium Capacity
Soon after the Premier League began, standing terraces were prohibited, and the entire audience was required to sit to watch the games.
The table below shows the stadium capacities of all Premier League clubs (based on the teams that participated in the league season 2016–2017). Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, with a capacity of over 70,000 people, is the largest in the league.
| Team | Stadium name | Capacity |
| Arsenal | Emirates Stadium | 60,260 |
| Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 41,631 |
| Everton | Goodison Park | 39,572 |
| Leicester | King Power Stadium | 32,312 |
| Liverpool | Anfield | 54,167 |
| Manchester City | City of Manchester | 55,097 |
| Manchester United | Old Trafford | 75,653 |
To illustrate the capacity in relation to the actual audience per match, consider Manchester United. The average attendance was 75,279 for the 2015/2016 season. The tickets are mostly sold in season packages, but a match-day ticket in the 2015/2016 season ranged from £22 to £52.
Seasonal Attendance
The Premier League matches are highly anticipated, and the large stadiums are frequently full or nearly so. The graph below depicts aggregate attendance at games from 2009/10 to 2021/22.
English League Winners
From 1992 to date, 49 teams have participated in the Premier League for at least one season. However, only 7 clubs were crowned winners.
The biggest winner is Manchester United with 13 titles, followed by Manchester City with 8, Chelsea with 5, Arsenal with 3 and Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City, Liverpool with 1 each. This hegemony of one team over the rest is surpassed by some leagues such as the Portuguese, Spanish or Scottish.
As for the English League scorers, we have to talk about Alan Shearer, who scored 260 goals in 441 games (playing for Blackburn and Newcastle), Wayne Rooney, with 208 goals in 491 games (for Everton and Manchester United) and Andrew Cole, with 187 goals in 414 games (playing for Newcastle, Manchester United, Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City and Portsmouth).
We can highlight also a very few foreigner scorers like the Frenchman Thierry Henry (176 goals for Arsenal), the Argentine Sergio Agüero (172 goals for Manchester City) and the Dutchman Robin Van Persie (for Arsenal and Manchester United).
Finally, it is also worth mentioning the Scottish coach Sir Alex Ferguson, who has won 13 titles for Manchester United between 1993 and 2013. As you will see, betting on football and English football in general bring together many illustrious personalities of this sport!
