The Premier League is one of the most watched and most revered leagues in the world of football today. It is amazing to think that the League was only started up in August 1992; it is so well established that one would think that it has been around for decades! Football at that point in time needed a massive facelift in the UK as a sequence of disasters for the sport had been ongoing since the early 80s. While things may have been going swimmingly for the sport in other countries (think Maradona for Argentina in the World Cup in 1986) the UK had suffered with hooliganism and the 1985 Heisel stadium disaster, where in Liverpool's European Cup final against Juventus, a retaining wall collapsed due to rioting in the stands, killing 39 people. The final blow for the game was in 1989 with the Hillsborough disaster where 96 fans died and over 150 were injured by crushing during the semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. This gave rise to a recommendation by the Taylor report that all football grounds were to be renovated to ensure the same thing did not occur again - which lead to the all-seater stadiums we have today. Because of the crisis which English football had endured, there was no way that international players would be lured into playing for any English teams, and it was recognised that restructuring was necessary for the development of the sport in the UK. The powers that be established the Premier League, signing the Founder Members Agreement on 17th July 1991, agreeing on independence from the Football League and FA. In 1992 the first division clubs resigned from the Football League and within three months the Premier League was registered as a limited company. One of the innovative ways that the League marketed itself was to sign up with Sky TV - a radical concept which meant that fans would have to pay to watch the new FA Carling Premiership. This proved a brilliant plan, with an initial deal of 191 million over 5 years. Carling, the new sponsors paid 12million for four years, renewed for another 4 years, before sponsorship was taken over by Barclaycard who paid 48 million over 3 years! While these sums of money sound absolutely enormous, they are vital for clubs who need substantial income for wages and transfer fees, especially if they are to compete on an international basis. In 1992 the League had just 11 non-British or Irish players: by 2007 they had over 250. It is recognised that Manchester United are the most successful team in the League, having won 11 titles, as well as the fact that they have never finished below third since the Leagues beginnings in 1992. Having started out with 24 clubs in the League, it was narrowed down to 20 clubs in 1994/95 so as to promote high standards and competition! As well as Manchester United the other clubs in the League at present are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, Westham United, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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