What the Premier League is
The Premier League is the highest division in the English football league system and is contested by professional clubs. It is often called the English league, but it is not the whole football system: several divisions sit below it, including the EFL Championship, which is linked to the competition through promotion and relegation.
In practical terms, the Premier League is a 20-club championship in which every team plays every other team twice during the season. The competition is also known as the English Premier League.
Format and history
The league uses a points-based, round-robin format. Each club plays 38 matches: one at home and one away against each of its 19 opponents. The standings take shape over a season that normally runs from August to May. At the end, the table determines the champion and which clubs remain in the division or drop to the lower tier. Teams in the EFL Championship can earn promotion to the Premier League.
The competition was established on 20 February 1992, initially under the name FA Premier League. It followed the decision by clubs in the Football League’s First Division to break away from the Football League. The inaugural season began in August 1992 with 22 teams. The number was reduced to 20 for the 1995–96 season, and Manchester United won the first edition.
Organization and reach
The participating clubs are shareholders in the organization that runs the competition. Centralized broadcasting rights are an important part of its commercial model: the league organization negotiates packages for access to matches rather than leaving every league-wide deal to individual clubs. The competition has an international audience, and its matches are broadcast in more than 200 territories, according to the information provided.
That reach helps explain the Premier League’s prominent place in world football, but it does not mean that resources are shared equally among clubs. The competition is also part of a larger promotion-and-relegation system. Sporting results can move a club from the Championship into the top division or send a Premier League team down. The league therefore combines a regular season among 20 clubs with consequences that extend beyond the race for the title.