EPL stands for English Premier League. It is the top-tier tournament of English football league system. The title is contested by 20 football clubs. All the top-notch football players are selected by these clubs. The league spans over the months from August to May; August being the starting month. About 380 matches are played in the EPL, where teams play each other on the home and away grounds. Let’s take a look at important aspects of this highly followed football league.
What is the format of EPL?
EPL or English Premier League works on promotion and relegation system. This league works as a preparatory ground for the teams to train for Europa League. The top 3 teams of the league confirm their spots in Europa League which is considered a more prestigious tournament than EPL. Last three teams in the score tally are relegated to Championship, which is second tier tournament of English football.
In the next season, the first three ranking teams of Championship are included in EPL by replacing the relegated teams.
Interestingly, the ‘Big Four’, that is, the highest scoring teams in the English Premier League have mostly been Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, point wise, in the last few years. However, Tottenham Hotspur has managed to create an upset for the fourth spot in 2021-22 season.
How does EPL work?
English Premier League is played among 20 best clubs of English Football. The teams are assigned 3 points each for every win. In case of draw, the teams share 1 point each. No points allotted to the losing side.
The teams fight to get the top positions in the league by scoring as many points as possible. Those teams that win the highest points are given the first three slots in score tally. These teams qualify to play in Europa League to prove their supremacy among other European clubs.
If the teams’ points end up at equal score, the number of goals posted in total are taken into account. And if the teams tie up on this parameter too, they enjoy the same position in the points tally. It happens rarely, but holds true, as a rule of the EPL tally table.
However, the instances like relegation and promotion are decided with the help of clear winners. The clear winners are decided by the record of wins from the games played between the tied teams head to head. If still the number of wins come out to be same, a decider match is played between the teams at a neutral venue.
Which is more prestigious – Premier League or Champions League?
Champions League is more prestigious than English Premier League. The latter is a competition among elite European clubs. All the top clubs from the European Continent contend for the title. It is played among 16 teams.
English Premier League acts as qualifying round for English Clubs who want to get a slot in Champions League or UEFA Champions League, the complete name of the Champions League.
While moving to the World Cup, the continents need to send their best teams. All these league tournaments help select the teams that deserve to be in the Division Football, and eventually, the World Cup.
Which clubs play the EPL?
About 49 clubs have played the EPL. Of these 49 clubs, six are such clubs that have attended every single season of this tournament. These perennial teams of the EPL are – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur. More or less, these teams have occupied the top slots in ranking chart almost all years. A few surprises did make way to the table, but their supremacy does not dilute down despite the upsets.
The teams that constituted EPL in the inaugural seasons are:
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Blackburn Rovers
- Chelsea
- Coventry City
- Crystal Palace
- Everton
- Ipswich Town
- Leeds United
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Middlesbrough
- Norwich City
- Nottingham Forest
- Oldham Athletic
- Queens Park Rangers
- Sheffield United
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Southampton
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Wimbledon
What is the History of EPL?
Prior to EPL, the Football League was the name of the league system of England. It had four divisions. With the introduction of EPL, the clubs that had better record and popularity created a new entity for themselves and emerged as a single, autonomous division. The three other divisions of the Football League continued to operate as before. The EPL, however, did not deviate from the format and continued to follow the promotion and relegation pattern as was employed in the Football League.
The Football Association Premier League continues to be in the board of directors of EPL and has its say in the selection of chairman and chief executive, and also in formulation and changes of rules.
1990-91 was the inaugural season of EPL. 22 teams played in this season. With the new seasons unfolding, the top ranking positions were held by four teams only in 2000s, which led to the concern of the league turning monotonous. However, in 2010s, the Big Four expanded to Top Six.
EPL came into existence to enable clubs make a lot of money through sponsorship and selling of broadcasting rights. There is a significant disparity in the incomes of the top six teams as compared to the others. According to a Deloitte report of year 2019, the top six teams were the world’s richest clubs, with Manchester United having a whooping revenue figure of €676.3 million.
EPL, the elite club of the English footballers, is a prestigious tournament and you will see the teams giving their all to make a place in its course tally. Winning it is a true achievement and can help boost earnings overnight for a professional footballer.
To conclude,
Football in England is followed like a religion. This sport is played at various tiers in different countries. EPL is the top-tier tournament of England football. It was previously known as Football League, which was made of four divisions. The breaking off of top division of the Football League led to the birth of EPL and has changed the face of the English Football since then.