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General knowledge · Sport

The Premier League

Founded 1992

Sport — the top division of English football

The top division of English football since the 1992–93 season, created when the First Division clubs broke away from the Football League to sell their own broadcasting rights. Twenty clubs have played 38 matches each since 1995–96, and the competition has been dominated by Manchester United, whose thirteen titles remain the record. Its most famous seasons are Arsenal's unbeaten campaign of 2003–04 and Leicester City's title at odds of 5,000–1 in 2015–16.

How to spot them

  • ▸Twenty clubs, 38 games, three points for a win, three relegated to the Championship
  • ▸Founder Members Agreement of 17 July 1991; the first season kicked off on 15 August 1992
  • ▸The Invincibles, the 100-point season, the 5,000–1 champions
  • ▸Six clubs have never been relegated from it

Key facts

Brian Deane's header for Sheffield United against Manchester United on 15 August 1992, the competition's first goal (1992)

Twenty-two clubs took part in that first season

Arsenal went the whole 2003–04 season unbeaten, 26 wins and 12 draws (2003–04)

The Invincibles; no side has repeated it over 38 games

Manchester City finished the 2017–18 season on 100 points (2017–18)

The record points total for a season of 38 games

Leicester City won the title in 2015–16 at odds of 5,000–1 (2015–16)

Claudio Ranieri's side, the first champions from outside the established big clubs since Blackburn in 1995

Alan Shearer's 260 goals, for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United

Still the all-time scoring record in the competition

Created by a breakaway from the Football League First Division, agreed on 17 July 1991 (1991)

The clubs wanted to negotiate their own television deal, which went to BSkyB

Cut from twenty-two clubs to twenty at the end of the 1994–95 season (1995)

Four went down and only two came up

Arsenal's 2026 title ended a wait of twenty-two years (2026)

They finished on 85 points, ahead of Manchester City

Quick-fire facts

  • •The Founder Members Agreement was signed on 17 July 1991 and the league incorporated as a company on 27 May 1992
  • •The first season began on 15 August 1992 with 22 clubs; the first goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United
  • •It has had 20 clubs playing 38 matches each since 1995–96
  • •Manchester United hold the record with 13 titles
  • •Arsenal's 2003–04 side went unbeaten: 26 wins, 12 draws, no defeats
  • •Manchester City's 100 points in 2017–18 is the record; they also won four titles in a row from 2020–21 to 2023–24
  • •Alan Shearer is the leading scorer with 260 goals, for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United
  • •Six clubs have never been relegated from it: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur
  • •Leicester City won it in 2015–16 having started the season at 5,000–1
  • •Arsenal were champions in 2025–26 on 85 points, their first title since the unbeaten season of 2003–04

Drill it — 8 cards

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Sources