About the premier league

About the premier league

Roles and objectives

The Premier League must:

Manage, continually improve and be regarded as the world's best league football competition - on and off the field.

Increase interest in our competitions, promote accessibility to live games and ensure that media exposure is used to optimum effect.

Generate increased commercial value, using the resulting revenues to further enhance our competitions and strengthen the long-term future of the Premier League and its clubs.

Use our power and influence responsibly to improve the game in this country and abroad through partnership with the FA, UEFA and other bodies.

Create a quality of competition that provides a platform from which our member clubs can achieve unparalleled success in European or World competitions.

Use our resources to develop playing talent that will provide for international success with the England team at all levels - with the status of World Champions being the realistic goal.

Our relationship with the clubs

The Premier League is owned by 20 Shareholders - the member clubs, whose membership in the league is dependent on the performance of their football team in the Barclays Premier League.

The shareholders meet quarterly. Any shareholder can table a motion to be discussed at the meeting. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote and all rule changes and major commercial contracts require the support of two thirds of the clubs voting at a general meeting.

The Football Association is also a special shareholder. They have the right of veto in certain crucial areas, such as the appointment of Chairman and Chief Executive and promotion and relegation, but have no say on other areas of Premier League work.

The day-to-day business and statutory company responsibilities are handled by the Board of Directors, which comprises of Chairman and Chief Executive, and the full-time members of staff at the Premier League.

Shareholder meetings are held every other month during the season and the AGM is a two-day meeting held during the close season.

At the Summer AGM, relegated clubs will transfer their ordinary share to the promoted clubs.

The Premier League & other football bodies

The Barclays Premier League is widely regarded as the elite club competition in world football.

Like every other league in England, the Premier League comes under the jurisdiction of the Football Association (the FA) and must submit its rules each year for approval and sanction.

The FA's primary objective is to develop the game at all levels, from the England national team down to grass-roots football and youth academies. Along with its British partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the FA comes under the control of the European governing body - the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

Formed in 1954 and based in Geneva, UEFA works and acts on behalf of the member associations to promote football and ensure its well-being on the continent. The organisation is responsible for many high-profile competitions, some involving national teams such as the prestigious European Championships. UEFA's premier club competitions are the European Champions League and the UEFA Cup, in which Premier League clubs aspire to compete and succeed on a yearly basis.

The FA and the 50 other associations of UEFA are all affiliated with the world's governing body - the Federation of International Football Associations, or FIFA.

The scope of FIFA's roles and duties has vastly expanded in recent years, and the body is supported in its task of organising, promoting and developing football by the six confederations across the globe. The AFC in Asia, CAF in Africa, CONCACAF in North and Central America and the Caribbean, CONMEBOL in South America, the OFC in Oceania and UEFA comprise 204 member associations in total.

FIFA, formed in 1904 and now one of the world's biggest sports organisations, strives to safeguard the game's good image and it is responsible for the Laws of the Game, which are based upon the rules that were first ratified in 1886.

The rules and regulations are discussed on a yearly basis by the International Football Association Board, which comprises four representatives of FIFA and one each from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, acknowledging the significance of the British associations in the history of the game.

FIFA can also boast the World Cup as its prized asset the ultimate stage on which a professional footballer can perform and a tournament which captures the imagination of the entire planet.

A History of The Premier League

A History of The Premier League

It is the world's most watched league and the most lucrative - attracting the top players from all over the globe. Hard to believe then that the first ball kicked in the Premier League was as relatively recently as 15th August 1992.

The 1980s saw a nadir in English football. Stadiums were crumbling and hooliganism was rife. English teams were banned from Europe following the death of 39 fans at Heysel Stadium in Belgium ahead of Liverpool's European Cup Final against Juventus in 1985. Few of the world's top players would even contemplate plying their trade in England.

Then in 1989 came Hillsborough and the Taylor report. 96 fans died and over 150 were injured - crushed during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Lord Justice Taylor recommended a complete overhaul in the way football grounds were run and structured - leading to the introduction of all-seater stadia.

radical restructuring

Faced with the huge cost of implementing the recommendations and growing concern over the inability to attract quality players, there was mounting discontent among the top clubs. As early as 1988 ten clubs had threatened to break away in order to take advantage of higher television revenue.

A radical restructuring was needed if English clubs and the game in general were to develop and flourish.

The Founder Members Agreement was signed on 17th July 1991 establishing the basic principles for the setting up of the Premier League. The League would have commercial independence from the Football League and FA, leaving it free to organise its own broadcast and sponsorship agreement.

On the 20th February 1992 the first division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and three months later the Premier League was established as a limited company.

The League decided to take the radical step of assigning television rights to Sky TV. At the time charging fans to watch televised sport was a relatively new concept, but a combination of the quality of football on offer and Sky's marketing strategy saw the value of the Premier League soar. The initial deal was worth £191million over five years. To televise the matches from 2007-2010, Sky and Setanta have paid a staggering £1.7billion.

shape and develop

Sponsorship has also played an enormous role. In 1993 Carling paid £12million for four years and the competition became known as the FA Carling Premiership. They renewed for another four years paying a 300% increase. In 2001 Barclaycard became the new sponsors for £48million over three years. Barclays took over in 2004 with their renewal price for 2007 coming in at £65.8million for three seasons.

Increased revenue has ensured that English clubs can compete on a global scale in terms of transfer fees and wages - an important factor which has seen some of the best overseas players grace the Barclays Premier League.

In 1992 there were just 11 non-British or Irish footballers in the Premier League, by 2007 this had increased to over 250. Over the years overseas players have helped shape and develop the British game. Overseas managers, too, have been eager to work in England, and techniques used by the likes of Arsene Wenger, Gerrard Houllier and Ruud Gullit have had an enormous impact.

The Premier League was initially composed of 22 clubs but it was always the intention to reduce that number to 20 to promote development and excellence at club and international level. This was achieved at the end of the 1994/95 season when four clubs were relegated and just two promoted.

Burnley won promotion in 2009 to take the total number of clubs to have played in the Premier League to 43. The most successful team in Premier League history is undoubtedly Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's side have won a remarkable 11 titles and have never finished below third since the Premier League was launched in 1992.

ground capacities

Select Criteria League Table Goals Scored Goals Conceded Clean Sheets Average Goals Scored Half-time League Home League Away League Disciplinary Table Age of Club Ground Capacities Average Attendance

Team Ground Capacity 1 Man Utd 75797 2 Arsenal 60361 3 Newcastle 52339 4 Sunderland 49000 5 Manchester City 47715 6 Liverpool 45522 7 Aston Villa 43786 8 Chelsea 42449 9 Everton 40157 10 Tottenham 36230 11 West Ham Utd 35303 12 Blackburn 31367 13 Birmingham 30079 14 Wolves 29303 15 Bolton 27879 16 Stoke City 27500 17 WBA 26500 18 Fulham 25478 19 Wigan Athletic 25133 20 Blackpool 16100

age of club

Team	years
1	Stoke City	147
2	Aston Villa	136
3	Bolton	136
4	Birmingham	135
5	Blackburn	135
6	Wolves	133
7	Everton	132
8	Man Utd	132
9	WBA	132
10	Sunderland	131
11	Fulham	131
12	Newcastle	129
13	Tottenham	128
14	Arsenal	124
15	Manchester City	123
16	Blackpool	123
17	Liverpool	118
18	West Ham Utd	115
19	Chelsea	105
20	Wigan Athletic	78

shortest players

Player Team Height(Shortest) 1 Aaron Lennon Tottenham 165 cm 2 Shaun Wright-Phillips Manchester City 166 cm 3 Steed Malbranque Sunderland 168 cm 4 Daniel Pacheco Liverpool 168 cm 5 Paul Scholes Man Utd 168 cm 6 Jay Spearing Liverpool 168 cm 7 Carlos Tevez Manchester City 168 cm 8 Jermain Defoe Tottenham 169 cm 9 Leighton Baines Everton 170 cm 10 Barry Bannan Aston Villa 170 cm 11 Dos Santos Giovani Tottenham 170 cm 12 Jonathan Hogg Aston Villa 170 cm 13 Matthew Jarvis Wolves 170 cm 14 Andrew Johnson Fulham 170 cm 15 Alan Judge Blackburn 170 cm 16 Martin Olsson Blackburn 170 cm 17 Kevin Phillips Birmingham 170 cm 18 Andy Reid Sunderland 170 cm 19 Wayne Routledge Newcastle 170 cm 20 Freddie Sears West Ham Utd 170 cm
<> | Next Page >		<> |