The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays English Premier League for sponsorship reasons) comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. It was created in 1992.

The competition

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. 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.

Currently, the top four teams in the Premiership qualify for the Champions League. The top two teams directly enter the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round, and must survive a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase.

Sponsorship

Since 1993, the 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)
• 2001-2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership)
• 2004-2008: Barclays Bank (Barclays Premiership)

Premier League clubs, 2004-05

Former Premier League Members

Notes:

• Leeds United, Leicester City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been relegated from the Premier League to The Championship of The Football League for 2004-05.
• Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion won automatic promotion to the Premier League from the First Division of The Football League. Crystal Palace won the third promotion place by defeating West Ham United 1-0 in the playoff final held 29 May, 2004, in the Millennium Stadium.

Past Premier League winners

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 id:ManUnited   value:rgb(1,0,0)       legend:Manchester_United_(8)
 id:Arsenal     value:rgb(1,1,1)       legend:Arsenal_(3)
 id:Blackburn   value:rgb(0,0,1)       legend:Blackburn_Rovers_(1)

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 from:1992 till:1993 text:"1st Manchester United 1" color:ManUnited
 from:1993 till:1994 text:"2nd Manchester United 2" color:ManUnited
 from:1994 till:1995 text:"3rd Blackburn Rovers 1" color:Blackburn
 from:1995 till:1996 text:"4th Manchester United 3" color:ManUnited
 from:1996 till:1997 text:"5th Manchester United 4" color:ManUnited
 from:1997 till:1998 text:"6th Arsenal 1" color:Arsenal
 from:1998 till:1999 text:"7th Manchester United 5" color:ManUnited
 from:1999 till:2000 text:"8th Manchester United 6" color:ManUnited
 from:2000 till:2001 text:"9th Manchester United 7" color:ManUnited
 from:2001 till:2002 text:"10th Arsenal 2" color:Arsenal
 from:2002 till:2003 text:"11th Manchester United 8" color:ManUnited
 from:2003 till:2004 text:"12th Arsenal 3" color:Arsenal

Top scorers

By season

All-time

Through the end of the 2003-04 season.

Executive officers

• Chief Executive: Richard Scudamore

Worldwide reach

A Norwegian take on FA Premier League team names

The Premier League is one of the most cosmopolitan and widely watched national sporting leagues in the world. Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 stars from England's domestic leagues competed in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. It is widely watched overseas, with matches being shown in over 150 countries and reaching over 450 million people worldwide. Premier League teams such as Manchester United and star players such as David Beckham and Michael Owen 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.

External links

• FA Premier League official site (http://www.premierleague.com/)
• The FA official site (http://www.thefa.com/)
• Original and Biggest English Premier League Site (http://www.4thegame.com/)

de:Premier League ja:プレミアリーグ nl:Premier League simple:FA Barclaycard Premiership sv:FA Premier League it:Campionato di calcio inglese zh:英格兰足球超级联赛 fr:Championnat d'Angleterre de football