From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The FA Premier league is the top football league division for English Football League teams. It is governed by The Football Association.
It was created in 1992 when the teams of the old First Division withdrew from The Football League. Both the league, and its championship, are often called the Premiership.
Teams
There are 20 teams in the FA Premier League. At the start of each season, the bottom three teams of last season are relegated into Division 1 and the top two teams from Division 1, together with the winner of a series of play-offs between the 3rd-6th teams of Division 1, are promoted into the FA Premier League. These are the teams for the 2003/04 season:
- Arsenal F.C *
- Aston Villa F.C *
- Birmingham City F.C
- Blackburn Rovers F.C
- Bolton Wanderers F.C
- Charlton Athletic F.C
- Chelsea F.C *
- Everton F.C *
- Fulham F.C
- Leeds United F.C *
- Leicester City F.C
- Liverpool F.C *
- Manchester City F.C
- Manchester United F.C *
- Middlesbrough F.C
- Newcastle United F.C
- Portsmouth F.C
- Southampton F.C *
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C *
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C
| Previous League Champions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Winner | Total wins | Remarks |
| 2002/03 | Manchester United F.C | 8 (15) | Nil |
| 2001/02 | Arsenal F.C | 2 (12) | Double (FA Cup) |
| 2000/01 | Manchester United F.C | 7 (14) | Nil |
| 1999/00 | Manchester United F.C | 6 (13) | Nil |
| 1998/99 | Manchester United F.C | 5 (12) | Treble (FA Cup, UEFA Champions League) |
| 1997/98 | Arsenal F.C | 1 (11) | Double (FA Cup) |
| 1996/97 | Manchester United F.C | 4 (11) | Nil |
| 1995/96 | Manchester United F.C | 3 (10) | Double (FA Cup) |
| 1994/95 | Blackburn Rovers F.C | 1 (3) | Nil |
| 1993/94 | Manchester United F.C | 2 (9) | Double (FA Cup) |
| 1992/93 | Manchester United F.C | 1 (8) | Nil |
The figure in brackets is the number of English league championships won, including pre-1992 Division 1 titles.
Top Scorers
All-time top Premier League scorers (up to January 2004):
| Alan Shearer | 237 |
| Andy Cole | 159 |
| Les Ferdinand | 144 |
| Robbie Fowler | 140 |
| Teddy Sheringham | 137 |
| Dwight Yorke | 120 |
| Ian Wright | 113 |
| Dion Dublin | 110 |
| Michael Owen | 110 |
| Matthew Le Tissier | 101 |
| Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | 98 |
| Thierry Henry | 97 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 84 |
| Chris Sutton | 81 |
| Ryan Giggs | 79 |
External Links
See also: First Division, Second Division, Third Division
2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04
