The Premier League is an English professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Football League. Welsh clubs that compete in the English football league system can also qualify.

The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away), totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons; others during weekday evenings. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and thus officially known as the Barclays Premier League and is colloquially known as the Premiership. Outside the UK it is commonly referred to as the English Premier League (EPL).

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with BSkyB and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively. The league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. In 2014/15, teams were apportioned revenues of £1.6 billion.

Premier League refers to the top football division in England. It may also refer to a number of other professional sport leagues:

Basketball

Cricket

Association football

The 2008–09 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 17th season since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. Manchester United became champions for the 11th time on the penultimate weekend of the season, defending their crown after winning their tenth Premier League title on the final day of the previous season. They were run close by Liverpool, who had a better goal difference and who had beaten United home and away, including a dramatic 4–1 victory at Old Trafford, but who were undone by a series of disappointing draws. The campaign – the fixtures for which were announced on 16 June 2008 – began on Saturday, 16 August 2008, and ended on 24 May 2009. A total of 20 teams contested the league, consisting of 17 who competed the previous season and three promoted from the Football League Championship. The new match ball was the Nike T90 Omni.

Starting with this season, clubs were now allowed to name seven substitutes on the bench instead of five. This season was also different in that there was no New Year's Day game, as is traditional. This was because the FA Cup Third Round is traditionally played on the first Saturday in January, which in 2009 fell in the usual spot for New Year's league games. September saw Manchester City taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, transforming them into one of the world's wealthiest football clubs, securing the signing of Robinho for a British record £32.5 million just seconds before the 2008 summer transfer window closed in the process.

The 2004–05 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season. Chelsea won the title with a record 95 points, securing the title with a 0–2 win at The Reebok Stadium against Bolton Wanderers.

In the domestic cup competitions, Arsenal won the FA Cup after beating holders Manchester United on penalties in the final. Chelsea won the Football League Cup, beating Liverpool (who had defeated holders Middlesbrough in the 4th round) 3–2 after extra time.

Personnel and kits

League table

Source: Barclays Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
^1. Though they failed to qualify for the Champions League as one of the top four English clubs at the end of the season, Liverpool were given a special dispensation to compete as they were defending champions of the European competition. They were, however, forced to enter in the first qualifying round. See Liverpool F.C. 2005–06 UEFA Champions League qualification
^2. Since the finalists of the 2004–05 FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Football League Cup, were confirmed to qualify for the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, and the fifth-placed team (Liverpool) were moved to the Champions League, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League were rewarded with entry to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.