| The Premier League
- A History
It is the world's most watched football league attracting top players from all over the globe. It seems Hard to believe how fast it has grown from it's
beginings in August 1992.
The 1980s saw a turning point 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 during the European Cup Final
between Liverpool and Juventus in 1985. Very few of the world's top players
would even contemplate plying their trade in England. Then in 1989 came
Hillsborough, 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 (The Taylor Report) - leading to the introduction of all-seater
stadiums. 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. In 1988 ten clubs 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 of the Premier League. The League would have
commercial independence from the Football League and the FA, allowing freedom to
organise its own broadcast and sponsorship deals. 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 Premier
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 paid a staggering £1.7billion. 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 £36 million!. 2001 saw Barclaycard become the new sponsors
for £48million over three years. Barclays Bank 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 have been able to compete on a global scale in terms of
transfer fees and wages, which has seen some of the best
overseas players grace the Barclays Premier League.
Over the years overseas players
and managers have helped shape and develop the British game, 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 the number was reduced to 20
in 1994/95 season to promote development and excellence at club and
international level. The most successful team in
Premier League history to date is Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's
side have won a remarkable 12 titles and have never finished below third since
the Premier League was launched in 1992.
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