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London, UK, : Premier League flags waving in the wind. Premier League is the top level of the English football league system.


The Premier League is the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons typically run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches against all other teams, both home and away. Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures.

The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of First Division (top-tier league from 1888 until 1992) clubs to break away from the English Football League. However, teams may still be relegated to and promoted from the EFL Championship. The Premier League takes advantage of a £5 billion television rights deal, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 128 and 32 games, respectively. This deal will rise to £6.7 billion for the four seasons from 2025 to 2029. The league is projected to earn $7.2bn in overseas TV rights from 2022 to 2025. The Premier League is a corporation managed by a chief executive, with member clubs acting as shareholders. Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of £2.4 billion in 2016–17, with a further £343 million in solidarity payments to EFL clubs.

The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. As of the 2024–25 season, the Premier League has the highest average and aggregate match attendance of any association football league in the world, at 40,421 per game. Most stadiums operate close to full capacity. The Premier League is currently ranked first in the UEFA coefficient rankings based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons, ahead of Italy's Serie A. The English top-flight has produced the second-highest number of European Cup / UEFA Champions League titles, with a record six English clubs having won fifteen European cups in total.


Fifty-one clubs have competed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992: 49 from England and two from Wales. Seven have won the title: Manchester United (13), Manchester City (8), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Liverpool (2), Blackburn Rovers (1) and Leicester City (1). Only six clubs have played in every season to date: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.