Premier League Facts

  • The Premier League is a limited company with the clubs acting as shareholders
  • Since 1992 forty-three clubs have participated in the league but only four have won the title – Manchester united, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea
  • English football clubs were banned from European competition from 1985 – 1990 due to hooliganism
  • Manchester United has claimed the title more times than any other club
  • Only 9 of the inaugural members of the Premier League are current members of the league today
  • Brian Deane of Sheffield United scored the first goal of the Premier League in a match against Manchester United
  • In 1995 the number of participating clubs was reduced from 22 to 20 at FIFA’s insistence
  • In 2007 the League changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League
  • The Football Association has special veto power that can only be used in the election of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman, otherwise it is in no way involved in the day to day running of the League
  • Each club plays a total of 38 games per season
  • It is the richest football league in the world and boasts the 4th highest gross revenue in world sport
  • UK Bookmakers alone make several £100m in turnover from Premiership betting every year
  • The Premier League sells its TV rights as a collective, unlike Serie A and La Liga where individual clubs market and sell their own television rights
  • The PL trophy, designed by Asprey of London, weighs a hefty 56lb or 4 stone and is made of solid sterling silver and silver gilt
  • In the inaugural season in 1992, clubs had to supply their own match balls. Now, it’s big brand business, with the likes of Mitre and Nike fighting over the spoils
  • Only 7 clubs have been members of the ‘corporation’ since its launch – Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur
  • Alan Shearer, who played for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United is the League’s top scorer with 260 goals
  • It’s open season as far as PL players go – there are no team or individual salary restrictions, no limits to the size of the squads, no age restrictions and no restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed to play in the League