English Premier League - History
The English Premier League (EPL) or Barclay’s Premier League as it is currently known is the top professional club league in England. The Premier League has been attracting over half a billion viewers for the past 18 years. The inception of this league was due to the decline of football in the 1980’s. The sport was abandoned as due to the calamity that took place at the Heysel Stadium in 1985 during the European tournament. As a result, numerous top English players chose to play abroad.
The English Premier League was born in February 1992 and was branded as “The Premiership” throughout the United Kingdom. It began with the 1992-93 season. Initially, it started off as FA Premier League on 20 February 1992. The decision of clubs in the old first division to resign from The Football League was the reason behind it. The first season of EPL was played with a total of 22 teams contesting it. Manchester United lifted the cup and became the champions. Ever since, they have been on a winning streak and have 11 titles in their bag out of a possible 18.
Because of pressure from The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which insisted that the domestic leagues cut down the number of matches that football clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995. The inaugural EPL comprised of 22 members namely 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 United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon. A total of 43 clubs have chipped in but only 4 of them have won the title. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers have been the proud Champions.
The league officially changed its name to “Premier League” in 2007. It is the most lucrative football league with combined revenues rising up to a staggering $3.15 billion in 2007-08. The difference in revenue generation over the years is worth mentioning here. In 1986, The Football League received 6.3 million pounds for a two year contract. When that was renewed the price rose up to a whopping 44 million pounds over four years.
The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. Carling (FA Carling Premiership) were the sponsors from 1993-2001. Then came Barclay Card (Barclaycard Premiership) from 2001-2004. 2004 onwards Barclays Bank has been the sponsor (Barclays Premiership) till now. The sponsor has the right to decide the name of the EPL. It is run as a corporation which is owned by all 20 of the current English Premier League clubs. Each club in The Premiership is treated as a shareholder with 1 vote going to each one with regard to certain matters such as changes to the rules and contracts.
Gross Revenue of the EPL is the fourth highest of any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League.
Currently the television rights are held by Sky TV and Setanta till the end of 2010 season. They have paid an incredible 1.7billion pounds. No one had ever wondered that The Premier League will be the world's most watched league and the most money-spinning. Catching the attention of the top players from all over the globe it is hard to believe that the first ball kicked in the Premier League was just 18 years ago on 15th August 1992.
Over the past 18 seasons greater revenue has guaranteed that English clubs can compete on an international scale in terms of transfer fees and wages. This is an important factor which has seen some of the best overseas players’ grace the Barclays Premier League as it is recognized currently.
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