"representing the Championship, two representing League One, and one representing League Two. Current members are: Below are listed the member clubs of The English Football League for the 2018-19 season. Since 1888 in total there have been 142 Football League members. Originally the bottom club(s) of the bottom division(s) had to apply for re-election each year, which was voted by all the other members. Walsall holds the record for the most reapplications for the Football League. Former Football League clubs include all 20 of the current members of the Premier League along with various relegated, removed or defunct clubs. NB:"
"self–evident that crowds for friendly fixtures were much lower and of course this meant a reduction in revenue and consequent struggle to pay wages. Aston Villa’s Scottish director William McGregor sought a solution by asking the other professional clubs to arrange annual home and away fixtures on a competitive basis, with points to be awarded for winning and drawing. Following a conference between club directors on 23 March 1888, the English Football League was founded on 17 April 1888 as one division of 12 clubs: Accrington (founded in 1876; folded in 1896), Aston Villa (founded in 1874), Blackburn Rovers, Bolton"
"league year after year would permit each club owner to monopolize fan bases in their respective exclusive territories and give them the confidence to invest in infrastructure, such as improved ballparks. This in turn would guarantee the revenues needed to support traveling across the continent. In contrast, the shorter distances between urban areas in England allowed more clubs to develop large fan bases without incurring the same travel costs as in North America. When The Football League, now known as the English Football League, was founded in 1888, it was not intended to be a rival of The Football Association"
"Ham United moved from the Boleyn Ground into the ~60,000 capacity Olympic Stadium at the end of the 2015-16 season. The English Football League, established in 1888 as The Football League by Aston Villa director William McGregor and renamed ""English Football League"" in 2016, was the first professional football league in the world. Since its founding, however, many other leagues have been founded in England. Sunday leagues are played each weekend by clubs, the study made by the FA sees to this. Over the years there has been an increasing effort to link all these leagues together in a Pyramidal"
"British Football Association if the FA did not permit professionalism. A schism was avoided in July 1885 when professionalism was formally legalised in English football. The Football League was founded in 1888, and marked its independence from the London-based Football Association (FA) by establishing headquarters in Preston – the League retained a Northern identity even after it accepted several Southern teams into its ranks. Organised women's football followed as the workforces of majority-female factories of Northern England in the First World War entered the 1917–18 Tyne, Wear & Tees Munition Girls Cup – the world's first women's football tournament. However,"
"cent for a three-division gap. The Football League was founded in 1888, 16 years after the first FA Cup competition. Since the creation of The Football League, Tottenham Hotspur is the only non-league ""giant-killer"" to win the Cup, taking the 1901 FA Cup with a victory over reigning league runners-up Sheffield United: although at that time, there were only two divisions and 36 clubs in the Football League, and Spurs were champions of the next strongest football league – the Southern League and probably already good enough for the First Division (as was shown when they joined the Second Division"
"governing body in English football survived the onset of professionalism, which it formally accepted in 1885. Perhaps the great geographical concentration of population and the corresponding short distances between urban centres was crucial. Certainly it provided the opportunity for more clubs' developing large fan bases without incurring great travel costs. Professional football did not gain acceptance until after the turn of the 20th century in most of Southern England. The earliest league members travelled only through the Midlands and North. When The Football League (now the English Football League) was founded in 1888, it was not intended to be a"
"1888–89 Football League Founded in 1888, the Football League is the oldest such competition in world football. The 1888–89 Football League was the first edition of the Football League, which ran from the autumn of 1888 until the spring of 1889. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester during a meeting on 17 April 1888. The season began on 8 September 1888 with 12 member clubs from the Midlands and North of England: Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Each"
"English Football League System, with Wolves in the Premier League after promotion as winners of the 2017-18 EFL Championship, West Bromwich Albion in the EFL Championship after relegation from the Premier League in 2017-18 and Walsall in EFL League One. A 2008 football pools survey of 6,000 supporters across the country ranked West Bromwich Albion versus Wolverhampton Wanderers as the fiercest rivalry in English football. The earliest Black Country derbies were contested prior to the formation of the Football League. The first ever derby took place on 20 January 1883, when Albion won 4–2 in the third round of the"
"in June 2004. 2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two respectively. Coca-Cola replaced the Nationwide Building Society as title sponsor. The Football League's collection of historic materials is held by the National Football Museum. On 12 November 2015, The Football League announced that it would be officially renamed the English Football League, with the abbreviation ""EFL"" to be emphasised, effective from the beginning of the 2016–17 season. The rebranding would include a new logo consisting"
"oldest national league (the English Football League). Today England's top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, with six of the ten richest football clubs in the world. The England national football team is one of only eight teams to win the World Cup, in 1966. A total of five English club teams have won the UEFA Champions League (European Cup). Football was played in England as far back as medieval times. The first written evidence of a football match came in about 1170, when William Fitzstephen wrote of"
"also home to the world's first football league, which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor. The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and Northern England. The laws of the game are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The board was formed in 1886 after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. FIFA, the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to Laws of the Game of the"
"the Football League), and Charles Wreford-Brown (former England captain and FA Council member). The competition lasted for nine years in its first incarnation, coming to an end in part due to the dominance of the professional sides, and also to a rift in the Football Association that saw the creation of the Amateur Football Association. The shield was replaced in 1908 by the FA Charity Shield which rather than the best amateur side pitted the Football League winner against the winners of the Southern Football League and then later against the winner of the FA Cup. The match was later"
"the top teams needed to play each other in a league much like American baseball teams did. McGregor wrote to the twelve leading clubs in England proposing the formation of a league, what would later be known as the English Football League. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888. Villa's first League game came on 8 September 1888, when they drew 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers as Tom Green scored the club's first League goal. Villa finished runners-up to Preston North End in that inaugural season. It did not take long for"
"Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke (now Stoke City), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers), known as The Football League. When the League admitted additional members from the rival Football Alliance in 1892, it was split into two divisions. For the next 100 years, the First Division was the top professional league in English football. Then, in 1992 the 22 clubs making up the First Division elected to resign from the Football League and set up the Premier League. The Football League was consequently re-organised, with the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions now renamed"
"formed, consisting mostly of Football Alliance clubs. The existing League clubs, plus three of the strongest Alliance clubs, comprised the Football League First Division. The first international game was played in Scotland on 30 November 1872. Charles Alcock, who was elected to secretary of the FA at the age of 28, devised the idea of an international competition, inaugurating an annual Scotland-England fixture. In 1870 and 1871 he placed advertisements in Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers, requesting players for an international between the two countries. The only response that he received stated: ""devotees of the ""association"" rules will find no foemen"
"Constituted as the Football Association Premier League Ltd, it remained as an official Football Association (The FA) competition at the top of the 'Football Pyramid', but it also now had commercial independence from the Football League, allowing it to negotiate a lucrative broadcasting deal with British Sky Broadcasting, ultimately resulting in a rise in revenues and an increase in the number of foreign players in the league, increasing the profile of the league around the world. Having been established on 20 February 1992, the new League began its inaugural season on 15 August 1992. From that inaugural 1992–93 season, the"
"League, last being out of the division in the 2007–08 season when they were relegated from League Two. The last attempt to create a fully national league underneath the English Football League had been the Football Alliance, which was absorbed as Football League Second Division in 1892. The league was formed as the ""Alliance Premier League"" in 1979, coming into force for the 1979–80 season. The league drew its clubs from the Northern Premier League and the Southern League. It greatly improved the quality of football at this lower level, as well as improving the financial status of the top"
"Association. Although it does not run the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, it has veto power over the appointment of the League Chairman and Chief Executive and over any changes to league rules. The English Football League, made up of the three fully professional divisions below the Premier League, is self-governing, subject to the FA's sanctions. For centuries before the first meeting of the Football Association in The Freemasons' Tavern on Great Queen Street, London on 26 October 1863, there were no universally accepted rules for playing football. Six meetings near London's Covent Garden, at 81-82 Long Acre, ended"
"The Football League. The first English side to participate in the following edition was Manchester United, who were also the first English winners in 1968, ten years after their first attempt to win the cup had effectively ended when eight of their players died in the Munich air disaster when flying home from Belgrade after qualifying for the 1957–58 semi-final. Tottenham Hotspur won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Prior to that, England had been pioneers in establishing international competitions, with the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, which was won by West Auckland when they defeated Italian side Juventus in 1909."
"Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, it became the third level division. Following the creation of the Football League Championship in 2004–05 it was re-branded as Football League One. In 1888, Scotsman William McGregor a director of Aston Villa, was the main force between meetings held in London and Manchester involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become the Football League's 12 founder members. The"
"EFL, within the National League, or between the various leagues of the NLS, certain conditions concerning finances and facilities must be met. Failure to meet the requirements of the league concerned will prevent the eligible club from being promoted. The National League was formed in 1979 from leading teams in the Northern Premier League and Southern League and was originally known as the ""Alliance Premier Football League"" and subsequently the ""Football Conference"". Support for such a league came from Alan Hardaker, the long serving Secretary of the Football League. He suggested that an amalgamation of the two strongest lower leagues"
"History of football in England According to fifa, the world governing body of football, the contemporary history of the game began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football ""branched off on their different courses"" and the English Football Association (the FA) was formed as the sport's first governing body. Until the 19th century, football had been played in various forms using a multiplicity of rules under the general heading of ""folk football"". From about the 1820s, efforts were made at public schools and at the University of Cambridge to unify the rules. The split into two codes"
"Everton F.C. Everton Football Club () is a football club in Liverpool, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club have competed in the top division for a record 116 seasons, missing the top division only four times (1930–31 and three consecutive seasons starting with 1951–52) since The Football League was created in 1888. Everton have won 15 major trophies: the League Championship nine times (fourth most as of 2017–18), the FA Cup five times (ninth most) and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup once. Formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The"
"of football were first drafted in 1863 by Ebenezer Cobb Morley, and England has the oldest football clubs in the world. Recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, Sheffield F.C., founded in 1857, is the world's oldest football club. The first ever international football match was between England and Scotland in 1872. Referred to by the sport's governing body FIFA as the ""home of football"", England hosted the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and won the tournament. With a 32.3 million viewing audience, the 1966 final is the most watched television event ever in the United Kingdom. The English"
"Foundation of the Premier League The foundation of the Premier League in English football occurred in the early 1990s. The first major step to its formation occurred in October 1990, when the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT) Greg Dyke met with the representatives of the ""big five"" clubs - David Dein of Arsenal, Philip Carter of Everton, Noel White of Liverpool, Martin Edwards of Manchester United and Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur.. The meeting was to pave the way for a breakaway from the Football League. Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for ITV if only"
"the first ever football league (1888). The modern passing game of football was developed in London in the early 1870s For these reasons England is considered the cradle of the game of football. The governing body for football in England is The Football Association which is the oldest football organisation in the world. It is responsible for national teams, the recreational game and the main cup competitions. They have however lost a significant amount of power to the professional leagues in recent times. English football has a league system which incorporates thousands of clubs, and is topped by four fully"
"English football league hierarchy since the creation of the Premier League in 1992 is summarised by the following timeline chart – which commences with the last season (1991–92) of the old Football League First Division (from which the Premier League was formed). Points at home: 24 <br> Points away from home: 17 <br> Points against ""Big Four"" teams: 4 <br> Points against promoted teams: 3 Biggest home wins: 6–2 vs. Bolton Wanderers, 18 October 2003 <br> 5–1 vs. Everton, 15 May 2004 <br> Biggest home defeat: 0–3 vs. Leicester City, 9 November 2003 <br> Biggest away win: 0–3 vs. Charlton"
"FA) competition at the top of the 'Football Pyramid', but it also now had commercial independence from the Football League, allowing it to negotiate a lucrative broadcasting deal with British Sky Broadcasting, ultimately resulting in a rise in revenues and an increase in the number of foreign players in the league, increasing the profile of the league around the world. Having been established on 20 February 1992, the new League began its inaugural season on 15 August 1992. From that inaugural 1992–93 season, the end of the 2011–12 season marked the 20 seasons anniversary of the Premier League. After its"
"professional teams, which was roughly aligned along a North-South divide. Northern clubs were keen to adopt professionalism as workers could not afford to play on an amateur basis, while Southern clubs by the large part stuck by traditional ""Corinthian"" values of amateurism. Eventually, in 1885 the FA legalised professionalism, and when Aston Villa director William McGregor organised a meeting of representatives of England's leading clubs, this led to the formation of the Football League in 1888. Preston North End were inaugural winners in 1888–89, and were also the first club to complete the double of both winning the league and"
"was founded in 1992 after England's top clubs broke away from the Football League in a successful effort aimed at increasing their income at the expense of clubs in the lower divisions. Links with The Football League were maintained, and each season the bottom three clubs are relegated from the Premier League and replaced by the top three from the Championship. The Premier League is contested between 20 clubs each season. Each club in the Premier League in any given season owns one twentieth of a share in the league itself, meaning that they are all supposedly equal owners with"
"on the eve of the FA Cup Final. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester at a further meeting on 17 April at the Royal Hotel. The name ""Association Football Union"" was proposed by McGregor but this was felt too close to ""Rugby Football Union"". Instead, ""The Football League"" was proposed by Major William Sudell, representing Preston, and quickly agreed upon. Although the Royal Hotel is long gone, the site is marked with a commemorative red plaque on the Royal Buildings in Market Street. The first season of the Football League began a few months later on"
"League and FA Cup double winners are highlighted in bold. When the Football League was first established, all 12 clubs played in just one division. In 1892 the Football League absorbed 11 of the 12 clubs in the rival Football Alliance after it folded, meaning the League now had enough clubs to form another division. The existing division was renamed the First Division and the new division was called the Second Division. In 1920 the Football League admitted the clubs from the first division of the Southern League (the Southern League continued with its remaining clubs) and Grimsby Town, who"