The Scottish people (Scots Gaelic: Albannaich), or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.

In modern use, "Scottish people" or "Scots" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, family ancestral or genetic origins are from within Scotland. The Latin word Scotti originally applied to a particular, 5th century, Goidelic tribe that inhabited Ireland. Though usually considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has also been used for the Scottish people, but this use is now primarily by people outwith Scotland.

There are people of Scottish descent in many countries other than Scotland. Emigration, influenced by factors such as the Highland and Lowland Clearances, Scottish participation in the British Empire, and latterly industrial decline and unemployment, resulted in Scottish people being found throughout the world. Large populations of Scottish people settled the new-world lands of North and South America, Australia and New Zealand, with a large Scottish presence particularly noticeable in Canada, which has the second largest population of descended Scots ancestry, after the United States. They took with them their Scottish languages and culture.

Scotland has seen migration and settlement of peoples at different periods in its history. The Dalriadic Gaels, the Picts and the Britons had respective origin myths, like most Middle Ages European peoples. Germanic people such as Angles and Saxons arrived beginning in the 7th century while the Norse settled many regions of Scotland from the 8th century onwards. In the High Middle Ages, from the reign of David I of Scotland, there was some emigration from France, England and the Low Countries to Scotland. Many famous Scottish family names, including those bearing the names which became Bruce, Balliol, Murray and Stewart came to Scotland at this time, Today Scotland is one of the countries of the United Kingdom, and the majority of people living in Scotland are British citizens.

The ethnic groups of Scotland

In the Early Middle Ages, Scotland had several ethnic or cultural groups labelled as such in contemporary sources, namely the Picts, the Gaels, the Britons, with the Angles settling in the far southeast of the country. Culturally, these peoples are grouped according to language. Most of Scotland until the 13th century spoke Celtic languages and these included, at least initially, the Britons, as well as the Gaels and the Picts. Germanic peoples included the Angles of Northumbria, who settled in south-eastern Scotland in the region between the Firth of Forth to the north and the River Tweed to the south. They also occupied the south-west of Scotland up to and including the Plain of Kyle and their language, Old English, was the earliest form of the language which eventually became known as Scots. Later the Norse arrived from Norway, Ireland and Denmark etc. in the north and west in quite significant numbers, recently discovered to have left about thirty percent of men in the Outer Hebrides with a distinct, Norse marker in their DNA. The evidence in the Northern Isles is higher.

Use of the Gaelic language spread throughout nearly the whole of Scotland by the 9th century, reaching a peak in the 11th to 13th centuries, but was never the language of the south-east of the country.

After the division of Northumbria between Scotland and England by King Edgar (or after the later Battle of Carham; it is uncertain, but most medieval historians now accept the earlier 'gift' by Edgar) the Scottish kingdom encompassed a great number of English people, with larger numbers quite possibly arriving after the Norman invasion of England (Contemporary populations cannot be estimated so we cannot tell which population thenceforth formed the majority). South-east of the Firth of Forth then in Lothian and the Borders (OE: Loðene), a northern variety of Old English, also known as Early Scots, was spoken.

The Northern Isles and some parts of Caithness were Norn-speaking (the west of Caithness was Gaelic-speaking into the 20th Century, as were some small communities in parts of the Central Highlands). From 1200 to 1500 the Early Scots language spread across the lowland parts of Scotland between Galloway and the Highland line, being used by Barbour in his historical epic, 'The Brus' in the late 1300s in Aberdeen.

From 1500 until recent years, Scotland was commonly divided by language into two groups of people, Gaelic-speaking (formerly called Scottis by English speakers and known by many Lowlanders in the eighteenth century as 'Irish') "Highlanders" and the Inglis-speaking, later to be called, Scots-speaking, and later still, English-speaking "Lowlanders". Today, immigrants have brought other languages, but almost every adult throughout Scotland is fluent in the English language.

Scottish ancestry abroad

[[File:Census Bureau Scottish Americans in the United States.gif|thumb|Areas with greatest proportion of reported Scottish ancestry in the United States. Does not include those of Scots-Irish ancestry. ]]

Today, Scotland has a population of just over five million people, the majority of whom consider themselves Scottish. In addition, there are many more people with Scots ancestry living abroad than the total population of Scotland. In the 2000 Census, 4.8 million Americans reported Scottish ancestry, 1.7% of the total U.S. population. Given Scotland's population (just over 5 million), there are almost as many Scottish Americans as there are native Scots living in their home country. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 Ulster Scots emigrated to the American colonies. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million descendants of the Scots-Irish migration now living in the U.S.

In Canada, according to the 2001 Census of Canada data, the Scottish-Canadian community accounts for 4,719,850 people. Scottish-Canadians are the 3rd biggest ethnic group in Canada. Scottish culture has particularly thrived in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia (Latin for "New Scotland"). There, in Cape Breton, where both Lowland and Highland Scots settled in large numbers, Canadian Gaelic is still spoken by a small number of residents. Cape Breton is the home of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts.

Large numbers of Scottish people reside in other parts of the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland, particularly Ulster where they form the Ulster-Scots community. The number of people of Scottish descent in England and Wales is impossible to quantify due to the ancient and complex pattern of migration within Great Britain. Of the present generation alone, some 800,000 people born in Scotland now reside in either England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Other European countries have had their share of Scots immigrants. The Scots have been emigrating to mainland Europe for centuries as merchants and soldiers. Many emigrated to France, Poland, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands. Recently some scholars suggested that up to 250,000 Russians may have Scottish blood.

Significant numbers of Scottish people also settled in Australia and New Zealand. Approximately 20 percent of the original European settler population of New Zealand came from Scotland, and Scottish influence is still visible around the country. The South Island city of Dunedin, in particular, is known for its Scottish heritage and was named as a tribute to Edinburgh by the city's Scottish founders. In Australia, the Scottish population was fairly evenly distributed around the country.

In Latin America there are notable Scottish populations in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.

The Scots and Continental Europe

The Netherlands

It is said that the first people from the Low Countries to settle in Scotland came in the wake of Maud's marriage to the Scottish king, David I, during the Middle Ages. Craftsmen and tradesmen followed courtiers and in later centuries a brisk trade grew up between the two nations: Scotland's primary goods (wool, hides, salmon and then coal) in exchange for the luxuries obtainable in the Netherlands, one of the major hubs of European trade.

By 1600, trading colonies had grown up on either side of the well-travelled shipping routes: the Dutch settling along the eastern seaboard of Scotland; the Scots congregating first in Campvere – where they were allowed to land their goods duty free and run their own affairs – and then Rotterdam, where Scottish and Dutch Calvinism coexisted comfortably. Besides the thousands (or the estimated over 1 million) of local descendants with Scots ancestry, both ports still show signs of these early alliances. Now a museum, 'The Scots House' in the town of Veere was the only place outwith Scotland where Scots Law was practised. In Rotterdam, meanwhile, the doors of the Scots International Church have remained wide open ever since 1643.

Poland

From as far back as the mid-15th century there were Scots trading and settling in Poland. A Scot's Pedlar Pack in Poland, which became a proverbial expression, usually consisted of cloths, woollen goods and linen handkerchiefs. Itinerants also sold tin and ironware such as scissors and knives. Along with the protection offered by King Stephen in the Royal Grant of 1576 a district in Krakow was assigned to Scots immigrants.

Records from 1592 reveal Scots settlers being granted citizenship of Krakow giving their employment as trader or merchant. Payment for being granted citizenship ranged from 12 Polish florins to a musket and gunpowder or an undertaking to marry within a year and a day of acquiring a holding.

By the 17th century there were an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Scots living in Poland. Many came from Dundee and Aberdeen and could be found in Polish towns from Krakow to Lublin. Settlers from Aberdeenshire were mainly Episcopalians or Catholics, but there were also large numbers of Calvinists. As well as Scottish traders, there were also many Scottish soldiers in Poland. In 1656 a number of Scottish Highlanders who were disenchanted with Oliver Cromwell's rule went to Poland in the service of the King of Sweden.

The Scots integrated well and many acquired great wealth. They contributed to many charitable institutions in the host country, but did not forget their homeland; for example, in 1701 when collections were made for the restoration fund of the Marischal College, Aberdeen, the Scottish settlers in Poland gave generously.

Many Royal Grants and privileges were granted to Scottish merchants until the 18th century at which time the settlers began to merge more and more into the native population. Bonnie Prince Charlie was half Polish, being the son of James Edward Stewart and Clementina Sobieska, granddaughter of Jan Sobieski, King of Poland. The City of Warsaw elected a Scottish immigrant Aleksander Czamer (Alexander Chalmers) as the mayor.

Italy

By 1592 the Scottish community in Rome was big enough to merit the building of Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi (English: St Andrew of the Scots). It was constructed for the Scottish expatriate community in Rome especially for those intended for priesthood. The adjoining hospice was a shelter for Catholic Scots who fled their country because of religious persecution. In 1615 Pope Paul V gave the hospice and the nearby Scottish Seminar to the Jesuits. It was rebuilt in 1645. The church and facilities became more important when James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender set his residence in Rome in 1717, but were abandoned during the French occupation of Rome in the late 18th century. In 1820, although religious activity was resumed, it was no longer led by the Jesuits. Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi was reconstructed in 1869 by Luigi Poletti. The church was deconsecrated in 1962 and incorporated into a bank (Cassa di Risparmio delle Province Lombarde). The Scottish Seminar also moved away. The Feast of St Andrew is still celebrated there on 30 November.

Gurro in Italy is said to be populated by the descendants of Scottish soldiers. According to local legend, Scottish soldiers fleeing the Battle of Pavia who arrived in the area were stopped by severe blizzards that forced many, if not all, to give up their travels and settle in the town. To this day, the town of Gurro is still proud of its Scottish links. Many of the residents claim that their surnames are Italian translations of Scottish surnames. The town also has a Scottish museum.

Culture

Language

Historically, Scottish people have spoken many different languages and dialects. The Pictish language, Norse, Norman-French and Brythonic languages have been spoken by forebears of Scottish people. However, none of these are in use today. The remaining three major languages of the Scottish people are English, Lowland Scots (various dialects) and Gaelic. Of these three, English is the most common form as a first language. There are some other minority languages of the Scottish people, such as Spanish, used by the population of Scots in Argentina.

The Norn language was spoken in the Northern Isles into the early modern period — the current dialects of Shetlandic and Orcadian are heavily influenced by it, to this day.

There is still debate whether Scots is a dialect or a language in its own right, as there is no clear line to define the two. Scots is usually regarded as a mid way between the two , as it is highly mutually intelligible with English, particularly the dialects spoken in the North of England as well as those spoken in Scotland, but is treated as a language in some laws.

Scottish English

After the Union of Crowns in 1603, the Scottish Court moved with James VI & I to London and English vocabulary began to be used by the Scottish upper classes. With the introduction of the printing press, spellings became standardised. Scottish English, a Scottish variation of southern English English, began to replace the Scots Language. Scottish English soon became the dominant language. By the end of the 17th century, Scots Language had practically ceased to exist, at least in literary form. While Scots remained a common spoken language, the southern Scottish English dialect was the preferred language for publications from the 18th century to the present day. Today most Scottish people speak Scottish English, which has some distinctive vocabulary and may be influenced to varying degrees by Scots language.

Scots Language

Lowland Scots, also known as Lallans or Doric, is a language of Germanic origin. It has its roots in Northern Middle English. After the wars of independence, the English used by Lowland Scots speakers evolved in a different direction to that of Modern English. Since 1424, this language, known to its speakers as Inglis, was used by the Scottish Parliament in its statutes. By the middle of the 15th century, the language's name had changed from Inglis to Scottis. The reformation, from 1560 onwards, saw the beginning of a decline in the use of Scots forms. With the establishment of the Protestant Presbyterian religion, and lacking a Scots translation of the bible, they used the Geneva Edition. From that point on; God spoke English, not Scots. Scots continued to be used in official legal and court documents throughout the 18th century. However, due to the adoption of the southern standard by officialdom and the Education system the use of written Scots declined. Lowland Scots is still a popular spoken language with over 1.5 million Scots speakers in Scotland. The Scots language is used by about 30,000 Ulster Scots and is known in official circles as Ullans. In 1993, Ulster Scots was recognised, along with Scots, as a variety of the Scots language by the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages.

Scottish Gaelic

thumb|Scottish English and Scottish Gaelic are used on bilingual road signs throughout the Gaelic speaking parts of Scotland, such as this one, seen in village of Mallaig.Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language with similarities to Irish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic comes from Old Irish. It was originally spoken by the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Rhinns of Galloway, later being adopted by the Pictish people of central and eastern Scotland. Gaelic (lingua Scottica, Scottis) became the de facto language of the whole Kingdom of Alba, giving its name to the country (Scotia, "Scotland"). Meanwhile, Gaelic independently spread from Galloway into Dumfriesshire (it is unclear if the Gaelic of 12th century Clydesdale and Selkirkshire came from Galloway or Scotland-proper). The predominance of Gaelic began to decline in the 13th century, and by the end of the Middle Ages Scotland was divided into two linguistic zones, the English/Scots-speaking Lowlands and the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and Galloway. Gaelic continued to be spoken widely throughout the Highlands until the 19th century. The Highland clearances and the Education Act of 1872, which actively discouraged the use of Gaelic in schools, caused the numbers of Gaelic speakers to fall. Many Gaelic speakers emigrated to counties such as Canada or moved to the industrial cities of lowland Scotland. Communities where the language is still spoken natively are restricted to the west coast of Scotland; and especially the Hebrides. However, large proportions of Gaelic speakers also live in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. A report in 2005 by the Registrar General for Scotland based on the 2001 UK Census showed about 92,400 people or 1.9% of the population can speak Gaelic while the number of people able to read and write rose by 7.5% and 10% respectively. Outwith Scotland, there are communities of Scottish Gaelic speakers such as the Canadian Gaelic community; though their numbers have also been declining rapidly. The Gaelic language is recognised as a Minority Language by the European Union. The Scottish parliament is also seeking to increase the use of Gaelic in Scotland through the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Gaelic is now used as a first language in some Schools and is prominently seen in use on dual language road signs throughout the Gaelic speaking parts of Scotland. It is recognised as an official language of Scotland with "equal respect" to English.

Religion

The modern people of Scotland remain a mix of different religions. The Protestant and Catholic divisions still remain in the society. In Scotland the main Protestant body would be the Church of Scotland which is Presbyterian. The mother church for Presbyterians is St Giles' Cathedral. In the United States, people of Scottish and Scots-Irish descent are chiefly Protestant, with many belonging to the Baptist or Methodist churches, or various Presbyterian denominations.

Literature

Folklore

Science and Engineering

Music

Sport

The Modern game of Golf originated in Scotland.

Cuisine

Clans

Anglicisation

Many Scottish surnames have become Anglicised over the centuries. This reflected the gradual spread of English, also known as Early Scots, from around the 13th century onwards, through Scotland beyond its traditional area in the Lothians. It also reflected some deliberate political attempts to promote the English language in the outlying regions of Scotland, including following the Union of the Crowns under King James VI of Scotland and James I of England in 1603, and then the Act of Union of 1707 and the subsequent defeat of rebellions.

However, many Scottish surnames have remained predominantly Gaelic albeit written according to English orthographic practice (as with Irish surnames). Thus MacAoidh in Gaelic is Mackay in English, and MacGill-Eain in Gaelic is MacLean and so on. Mac (sometimes Mc) is common as, effectively, it means "son of". MacDonald, MacAulay, Balliol, Gilmore, Gilmour, MacKinley, Macintosh, MacKenzie, MacNeill, MacPherson, MacLear, MacAra, Craig, Lauder, Menzies, Galloway and Duncan are just a few of many examples of traditional Scottish surnames. There are, of course, also the many surnames, like Wallace and Morton, stemming from parts of Scotland which were settled by peoples other than the (Gaelic) Scots. The most common surnames in Scotland are Smith and Brown, which come from several origins each - e.g. Smith can be a translation of Mac a' Ghobhainn (thence also e.g. MacGowan), and Brown can refer to the colour, or be akin to MacBrayne.

Anglicisation is not restricted to language. In his Socialism: critical and constructive, published in 1921, future Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald wrote: "The Anglification of Scotland has been proceeding apace to the damage of its education, its music, its literature, its genius, and the generation that is growing up under this influence is uprooted from its past."

Etymology

The word Scotia was used by the Romans, as early as the 1st century CE, as the name of one of the tribes in what is now Scotland. The Romans also used Scotia to refer to the Gaels living in Ireland. The Venerable Bede (c. 672 or 673 – 27 May, 735) uses the word Scottorum for the nation from Ireland who settled part of the Pictish lands: "Scottorum nationem in Pictorum parte recipit." This we can infer to mean the arrival of the people, also known as the Gaels, in the Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the western edge of Scotland. It is of note that Bede used the word natio (nation) for the Scots, where he often refers to other peoples, such as the Picts, with the word gens (race). In the 10th century Anglo Saxon Chronicle, the word Scot is mentioned as a reference to the "Land of the Gaels". The word Scottorum was again used by an Irish king in 1005: Imperator Scottorum was the title given to Brian Bóruma by his notary, Mael Suthain, in the Book of Armagh. This style was subsequently copied by the Scottish kings. Basileus Scottorum appears on the great seal of King Edgar (1074–1107). Alexander I (c. 1078–1124) used the words Rex Scottorum on his great seal, as did many of his successors up to and including James II.

In modern times the words Scot and Scottish are applied mainly to inhabitants of Scotland. The possible ancient Irish connotations are largely forgotten. The language known as Ulster Scots, spoken in parts of northeastern Ireland, is the result of 17th and 18th century immigration to Ireland from Scotland.

In the English language, the word Scotch is a term to describe a thing from Scotland, such as Scotch whisky. However, when referring to people, the preferred term is Scots. Many Scottish people find the term Scotch to be offensive when applied to people. The Oxford Dictionary describes Scotch as an old-fashioned term for "Scottish".

See also

British People

Alba

Caledonia

Gaels

Homecoming Scotland 2009

Garde Écossaise

Irish-Scots

Italian-Scots

List of Scots

Prehistoric settlement of Great Britain and Ireland

Celtic Peoples

Germanic Peoples

Redlegs

Scots-Irish

Scots-Quebecer

Scottish American

Scottish Australian

Scottish Canadian

Scottish New Zealander

Scottish Argentine

Scottish Brazilian

Scottish Chilean

Metis people

Scottish Jamaican

Scottish national identity

Scottish names

Ulster Scots

Notes

References

Ritchie, A. & Breeze, D.J. Invaders of Scotland HMSO. (?1991) ISBN-X

David Armitage, "The Scottish Diaspora" in Jenny Wormald (ed.), Scotland: A History. Oxford UP, Oxford, 2005. ISBN

External links

The Scots In New Zealand Exhibition Minisite from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

"We're nearly all Celts under the skin" by Ian Johnston for The Scotsman Online

Top 100 Scottish People

Biographies of Famous Scots at www.Scottish-people.info, part of the Gazetteer for Scotland project

Discover your Scottish family history at the official government resource for Scottish Genealogy

Category:Celtic culture Category:Ethnic groups in Europe Category:Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom Category:History of Scotland Category:Scottish society Category:Scottish diaspora

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The Scottish Premier League (Scottish Gaelic: Prìomh Lìog na h-Alba), also known as the SPL (and the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland. It is the top level of the Scottish football league system, above the Scottish Football League.

More people in Scotland per head of population watch their domestic top-level league than any other European nation. the Scottish Premier League is ranked 15th in the UEFA rankings of European leagues, which are based on the performances of member clubs in European competitions. A total of 18 clubs have competed in the SPL since its inauguration in 1998–99, but only two have won the title, the Old Firm of Rangers (7) and Celtic (6).

Background

Previously, the Scottish Football League had a two divisional structure (Divisions One and Two) between which clubs were promoted and relegated at the end of each season. However, by the mid 1970s, this organisation was perceived to be stagnant, and it was decided to split into a three divisional structure: Premier Division (formerly Division One), First Division (formerly Division Two) and a newly added Second Division. This system came into force for the 1975–76 season. This setup continued until the 1994–95 season, when a four divisional structure was introduced, along with a new Third Division, with all four divisions consisting of ten clubs.

On 8 September 1997, the football clubs in the Premier Division decided to split from the Scottish Football League and form the Scottish Premier League, following an earlier example in England, which came into force during the 1992–93 season. This decision was fuelled by a desire by the top clubs in Scotland to retain more of the revenue generated by the game. Originally, league sponsorship money was divided proportionally between clubs in all four divisions; after the SPL was formed, this was no longer the case.

Competition format

There are currently twelve clubs in the Scottish Premier League. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner.

A season, which runs from July until May, is divided into two phases. During the first phase, each club plays three games against every other team, either once at home and twice away or vice-versa. After this first phase of matches, by which time all clubs will have played 33 games, the league splits into a 'top six' and a 'bottom six'. Each club then plays a further five matches against the other five teams in their own section. Points achieved during the first phase of 33 matches are carried forward to the second phase, but the teams will compete only within their own sections during the second phase. After the first phase has been completed, clubs cannot move out of their own section in the league, even if they achieve more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.

At the beginning of each season, the Scottish Premier League 'predicts' the likely positions of each club in order to produce a fixture schedule that will ensure the best possible chance of all clubs playing each other twice at home and twice away. These are known as the league seeding and are based on clubs' performance in previous years. However, should a club predicted to finish in the top six finish in the bottom six, it faces the possibility of playing more games away from home than at home or vice-versa. This, in turn, has a knock-on effect on the top-six with an imbalance of fixtures resulting; for example, one club may play one team three times at home and once away.

The bottom placed SPL club at the end of the season is relegated, and swaps places with the winner of the Scottish First Division, provided that the winner satisfies the league's entry criteria.

Split

Originally the SPL contained 10 clubs, but it subsequently enlarged to 12 for the 2000–01 season onwards. The increase from 10 clubs to 12 was part of the deal offered to obtain approval from SFL member clubs. Since then, the SPL has operated a "split league format" to prevent the need for a 44-game schedule, which was once used in the Scottish Premier Division, but is now considered to be too high a number of games in a league season.

Under this system, after 33 games (i.e., when every club has played every other club three times, either twice away and once at home or vice-versa) the division is split into two halves. The clubs play a further five matches against the teams in their half of the division, taking their total to 38 games. This can (and often does) result in the team placed seventh having a higher points total than the team placed sixth, because their final five games are considerably easier. For example, in the 2005–06 season, the seventh placed club, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, gained more points than the fourth placed club, Hibernian.

There has been criticism of the split season format. In April 2007, Craig Levein labelled it as "rubbish" and a "nonsense", claiming that it resulted in lost revenue for clubs and put more pressure on managers, while Rangers manager Walter Smith branded the format as "unfair" and called for an 18-team league to be considered. The SPL has defended the split format, however, and dismissed the possibility of expanding the league due to a lack of strong enough clubs within the Scottish Football League. In March 2008 Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies was the latest to call for a league revamp, claiming that the potential for four matches per season against the same opponent is too many.

Promotion and relegation

Providing they meet certain criteria regarding their stadium, the top club from the Scottish First Division is promoted to the SPL, with the 12th-placed SPL club relegated. These promotion criteria have previously caused controversy. In 2003, the chairmen of the member clubs voted against Falkirk's proposed ground share with Airdrie United and stopped the club from having the 10,000 capacity stadium it required, thus saving Motherwell from relegation.

The same situation nearly materialised in 2004. After several votes and discussion, including threats of court cases from Partick Thistle, the team threatened with relegation, Inverness Caledonian Thistle were promoted on the basis that they would ground share with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. In 2005, the stadium size criterion for entry to the SPL was reduced to 6,000, thereby allowing Inverness Caledonian Thistle to return to their home stadium during the 2005–06 season.

Old Firm dominance

One of the main criticisms of the SPL is the dominance of the two Old Firm clubs, Celtic and Rangers. No team outside the Old Firm has won the SPL since it was formed in 1998 and there has only been one season (2005–06) where both clubs failed to occupy first and second positions, with Hearts finishing second behind Celtic. Whilst this is similar to other European leagues, this dates back to the beginning of Scottish league football, with a few exceptional periods. The average home attendances of both clubs are significantly higher than the other 10 clubs, resulting in the Old Firm having far greater revenues and therefore more money to spend on players. Both clubs also receive significant revenue from their regular participation in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

However, despite having more resources than other Scottish clubs, the Old Firm still experience difficulty in competing with big clubs from other leagues in terms of transfer fees and player wages due to the SPL's relatively low television revenue. A recurring theme in recent years has been the prospect of the two clubs leaving the Scottish football set-up to join either the English set-up, or an Atlantic League with clubs from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. While some feel that the departure of the Old Firm from the Scottish football setup would be detrimental to Scottish football as a whole, others, such as Craig Levein, believe it would benefit Scottish football due to increased competition among the remaining clubs for the SPL title. World football's governing body FIFA, however, has ruled out the prospect of any move to the English set-up.

Winter break

A further issue of controversy was the SPL's decision to scrap the 'winter break' after the 2000–01 season, thereby forcing clubs to play throughout January and often resulting in postponement of matches and significant damage to clubs' pitches due to adverse weather conditions, as well as player fatigue . Managers Martin O'Neill, Jim Duffy and Walter Smith are among those who have called for the winter break to be reinstated. Alex McLeish accused the SPL of taking Scottish football "back to the Dark Ages" after its decision to scrap the mid-season hiatus.

European qualification

The Scottish Premier League were thirteenth in UEFA's coefficient ranking for 2009, meaning that for the 2010–11 season, two SPL clubs qualified for the UEFA Champions League (the SPL champions, who enter the group stages since the defending champions will have already qualified to the group stages, and the runners-up, who enter the third qualifying round for non-champions) as well as two qualifying for the UEFA Europa League (the third and fourth placed clubs). The winners of the Scottish Cup also qualify for the Europa League, unless that team have already qualified for either the Champions League or Europa League. If the Scottish Cup winners have already qualified for the Champions League, the Europa League place is handed to the runners-up, and if the winners have already qualified for the Europa League, the Europa League place is given to the highest-placed SPL club who have not qualified for European competition. The same rule also applies if both the winners and the runners-up have already qualified. In 2010, as Dundee United had qualified for the Europa League through both winning the Scottish Cup and finishing third in the SPL, a Europa League placed passed to Motherwell, who finished fifth in the SPL.

Clubs also had the opportunity to apply for qualification to the UEFA Intertoto Cup before it was folded into the Europa League; qualification for that event was given to the highest placed applicant, although only two clubs chose to play in the tournament since the SPL's inception in 1998–99 (Dundee in 2001 and Hibernian in 2004, 2006 and 2008). Clubs may also qualify for Europe via the UEFA Fair Play ranking.

Since the SPL's inception, Scotland's UEFA co-efficient has improved significantly, having been ranked 26th in 1998–99. In 2003 Celtic became the first Scottish club since Dundee United in 1987 to reach a European final, eventually losing 3–2 to FC Porto after extra-time in the UEFA Cup final. In 2003–04, two Scottish clubs (Celtic and Rangers) qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. In 2005–06, Rangers became the first Scottish club to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League, a feat which was repeated by Celtic the following two seasons. In the 2007–08 season, three Scottish clubs were competing in Europe after Christmas for the first time since 1970, while in the same season Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final, their first European final since their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph of 1972, where they lost 2–0 to Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg. During the season Scotland's European representatives collected the most coefficient points since the 1982–83 season.

Until 1995, the winners of the Scottish League Cup were granted a place in the UEFA Cup, although this privilege was rarely invoked as the winning teams usually qualified for Europe by some other means such as winning the League Championship or Scottish Cup. The most recent example was Raith Rovers, who represented Scotland in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup after winning the League Cup the previous season as a First Division club. This privilege has since been discontinued due to the reduction in the number of European places granted to Scottish clubs.

Players

Scottish Premier League clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish. There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players, and few restrictions on individual foreign players – all players with EU nationality, including those able to claim an EU passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain UK work permits.

The only restriction on selection is the "Under-21 rule". This rule states that each club must include at least three players under the age of 21 in its matchday squad. Opinions on this rule appear to be divided among SPL managers. Walter Smith, Gus MacPherson and Jim Jefferies have expressed their disapproval of the policy. John Collins, meanwhile, expressed approval of the ruling, claiming that it is healthy for Scottish football and encouraged the development of young players.

Recent decline in television revenue has resulted in relatively little spending among SPL clubs in recent seasons, with major transfer spending mostly limited to the Old Firm clubs. As a result, many clubs are now more reliant on developing their own young players and selling them on for profit. This has also resulted in a large proportion of SPL clubs' squads being made up of Scottish players (73% in the 2004–05 season).

Finances

Sponsorship

The Bank of Scotland, who had sponsored the league since March 1999 (The League was unsponsored for most of the inaugural season), did not renew their sponsorship at the end of the 2006–07 season. Talks began with Clydesdale Bank, and a deal was confirmed shortly afterwards. A four-year deal for £8m came into effect from July 2007 and in 2010 this was extended until 2013.

Financial crisis

Since the SPL began, four of its member clubs have entered administration. Serious financial difficulties first arose in 2002 when broadcaster Sky Sports withdrew their interest in the League’s television rights when the SPL rejected their offer of £45m, hoping that a better deal would arise from another broadcaster. A better deal failed to arise, however, adding to the clubs’ already delicate financial position. By season 2001/02, combined debt among SPL clubs was estimated to be around £132m, having been barely into double figures two years previously. Motherwell became the first SPL club to enter administration in April 2002, with debts of £11m and a wage bill totalling 97% of their annual turnover. Dundee were next to follow, when in November 2003 they sacked 25 staff after debts of £20m. The severity of the SPL's financial problems were revealed in September 2003 when combined losses for SPL clubs during 2001/02 was estimated to have been £60m.

Livingston became the third SPL club to enter administration in February 2004, with debts of £3.5m. Dunfermline Athletic's financial position also looked bleak, with several players asked to take wage-cuts, while Rangers Chairman David Murray announced in September 2004 a plan to raise £57m via a rights issue in an attempt to wipe-out a large proportion of the club's debts. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2003 described five SPL clubs—Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Hearts, Hibernian and Livingston—as "technically insolvent".

Financial recovery

After widespread cost-cutting measures, SPL clubs' finances began to show signs of improvement. Both Motherwell and Dundee came out of administration in April and August 2004, respectively, while Livingston ended their fifteen month spell in administration in May 2005. PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2006 report on SPL finances revealed operating profits of £2.8m among SPL clubs—the first collective operating profit made by Scotland's top-flight clubs in over a decade. Seven of the SPL's 12 clubs had a wage turnover ratio of less than 60%.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2007 report revealed a collective loss of £9m for 2005–06, however six clubs—Falkirk, Hibernian, Inverness CT, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Rangers—all made a profit. The report highlighted the increasingly precarious financial position of Hearts, describing their current finances as "unsustainable" with debt rising by £7m to £28m and a wage bill which represents 97% of their turnover. The figures for 2006–07 showed a collective profit of £3m, with eight clubs making a profit.

Despite recent improvements in the financial position of SPL clubs, Gretna became the fourth SPL club to enter administration in March 2008 after their main benefactor Brooks Mileson was forced to withdraw his financial support due to failing health.

Financial crises 2007–10

With the financial crises and the UK economic recession, SPL clubs are expected to be badly affected. A reduction in revenue from ticket sales for SPL games and club merchandise will impact negatively on club expenditure. Players may be expected to take wage cuts and team squads will be reduced. Indeed some clubs may reduce the number of non-playing staff. During 2009 and 2010, the financial constraints at Rangers were widely reported, with the club's debt rising to £30 million.

The 21st PWC annual review found that SPL clubs made a collective loss of £22M during the 2008–09 season, although this loss was almost entirely due to problems at two clubs. Rangers incurred a £14M loss after losing most of their European revenues due to an early defeat by FBK Kaunas, while Hearts lost £8M. Indeed, Rangers stabilised financially since then, with costs severely reduced and income generated from Champions League participation due to winning the league twice. Hearts were described by The Scotsman as the only true financial "basket case" in the SPL, with the club having a wages-to-turnover ratio of 126% and debt of over three times turnover.

Media coverage

Television

Between season 1998–99 and season 2001–02, exclusive television rights for live Scottish Premier League matches were held by Sky Sports, with a highlights package held by STV's Scotsport. After Sky Sports withdrew their interest in the SPL when their offer for £45m to continue ownership of the live TV rights were declined by the SPL on the grounds of not being substantial enough, discussions began in 2002 for a new pay-per-view satellite television channel, dubbed "SPL TV". Discussions broke down in April 2002, however, when the Old Firm clubs, Rangers and Celtic, utilised the 11–1 voting system to veto the proposals. This caused discontent among the remaining 10 SPL clubs who subsequently announced their intention to resign from the league.

Despite a two-year television deal being agreed with BBC Scotland in July 2002 (for a significant amount less than the money previously offered by Sky Sports), the 10 non-Old Firm clubs confirmed their resignation from the SPL in August 2002, citing discontent with the league's 11–1 voting procedure which effectively gave the Old Firm clubs a veto over attempts to change SPL rules. The ten clubs withdrew their resignations in January 2003 after an agreement was reached to change the voting procedures and to change the distribution of TV revenue.

With BBC Scotland's television contract due to expire after the 2003–04 season, the SPL agreed a new television deal with Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports in February 2004 in a four-year deal worth £54m. In June 2008, it was announced that a further four-year deal would commence for the 2010/11 season, with the deal worth £125m.

Setanta lost the rights to show live SPL games in the United Kingdom as they were unable to pay the £3 million they owed to the SPL. The SPL then agreed a deal with ESPN and Sky Sports worth £13 million per season to the clubs. This is comparable to the deal which Setanta previously had in place, but it was around half of the amount that Setanta would have been paying from 2010. The Old Firm criticised the decision of nine of the other SPL clubs to accept that offer from Setanta, instead of taking an alternative package from Sky that would have been worth significantly more than the deal signed after Setanta went into administration.

BBC Scotland's Sportscene currently own the rights to broadcast highlights of each game first on terrestrial TV. The BBC also hold the rights to show on-line internet highlights to UK users for one week after each game. BBC Alba, launched in September 2008, show one full SPL game every Saturday evening for two seasons. The games are broadcast three hours after the game has ended. The SPL is broadcast in Australia by Setanta Oz and in the USA by Setanta Sports North America.

International television

The SPL is available to view in the following countries around the world.

Australia – Setanta Sports

Canada – Setanta Sports

France – Ma Chaîne Sport

Norway – TV2 (only Old Firm games)

Poland – TVP Sport

Russia – Tелеканал Футбол

Sweden – Viasat Sport and TV10

Radio

Radio broadcasting rights are currently held by BBC Radio Scotland, who have held the rights since the SPL's inception in 1998. BBC Radio Scotland also provide internet webcasts to all Scottish Premier League matches, having became the first broadcaster to introduce such a service in June 2000. However Old Firm games are broadcast when available on BBC Radio 5 Live and also on 102.5 Clyde 1.

SPL clubs

SPL members for 2011–12

The following twelve clubs will compete in the Scottish Premier League during the 2011–12 season:

! Club			2010-11 Scottish Premier League>2010–11	! First season in top division	! First season of current spell in top division	! Last title
	9th	1905–06	1905–06	1984–85
	2nd	1890–91	1890–91	2007–08
	4th	1925–26	1996–97	1982–83
			2011–12	—
	3rd	1890–91	1983–84	1959–60
	10th	1895–96	1999–2000	1951–52
	7th	2004–05	2010–11	—
	5th	1899–1900	1992–93	1964–65
	6th	1903–04	1985–86	1931–32
	1st (Champions)	1890–91	1890–91	2010–11
	8th	1924–25	2009–10	—
	11th	1890–91	2006–07	—

Former SPL members

These are previous members of the SPL in reverse order of them losing membership.

!Club	in 2010-11 in Scottish football>2010–11	!First seasonin top division	!Last season intop division	Scottish football champions>Last title
style="text-align:left"				—
style="text-align:left"				—
style="text-align:left"	N/A			—
style="text-align:left"				—
style="text-align:left"
style="text-align:left"				—

St. Mirren, Inverness CT and Dunfermline Athletic are the only clubs to have been promoted into the SPL twice. Dunfermline Athletic are also the only club to have been relegated twice from the SPL.

Stadia

style="text-align:center">51,082 style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center">20,421 style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center" style="text-align:center">8,016 style="text-align:center"

width=130	Stadium	Capacity	Club	! Notes
Celtic Park	60,832	Celtic F.C.>Celtic
Ibrox Stadium	|	Rangers F.C.>Rangers
Pittodrie Stadium	22,199 ||	Aberdeen F.C.>Aberdeen	The first all-seater stadium in the United Kingdom.<
Easter Road	|	Hibernian F.C.>Hibernian
Rugby Park	18,128 ||	Kilmarnock F.C.>Kilmarnock
Tynecastle Stadium	17,420 ||	Heart of Midlothian F.C.>Heart of Midlothian
Tannadice Park	14,209 ||	Dundee United F.C.>Dundee United
Fir Park	13,742 ||	Motherwell F.C.>Motherwell
East End Park	12,509 ||	Dunfermline Athletic F.C.>Dunfermline Athletic
McDiarmid Park	10,673 ||	St. Johnstone F.C.>St. Johnstone	First purpose built all seater stadium in Scotland.<
St. Mirren Park	|	St. Mirren F.C.>St. Mirren
Caledonian Stadium	7,819 ||	Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.>Inverness C.T.

Club managers

The following is a list of the current managers in the SPL. The list is arranged chronologically by appointment.

!Manager	!Club	!Appointed
Derek McInnes	St. Johnstone F.C.>St. Johnstone
Jim McIntyre (footballer)	Jim McIntyre	Dunfermline Athletic F.C.>Dunfermline Athletic
Terry Butcher	Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.>Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Peter Houston	Dundee United F.C.>Dundee United
Neil Lennon	Celtic F.C.>Celtic
Danny Lennon	St Mirren F.C.>St Mirren
Colin Calderwood	Hibernian F.C.>Hibernian
Craig Brown (footballer)	Craig Brown	Aberdeen F.C.>Aberdeen
Stuart McCall	Motherwell F.C.>Motherwell
Kenny Shiels	Kilmarnock F.C.>Kilmarnock
Ally McCoist	Rangers F.C.>Rangers
Paulo Sérgio Bento Brito	Paulo Sérgio	Heart of Midlothian F.C.>Heart of Midlothian

Statistics

Championships

Rangers F.C.Rangers F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Rangers F.C.Celtic F.C.Rangers F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Rangers F.C.Rangers F.C.Rangers F.C.

!Season	!Winner	!Runner-up	!Relegated	!Top Scorer	SPFA Players' Player of the Year>Players' Player of the Year	SFWA Footballer of the Year>Writers' Player of the Year
Scottish Premier League 1998–99	1998–99	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	Dunfermline Athletic F.C.>Dunfermline Athletic	Henrik Larsson 29 (Celtic)	Henrik Larsson (Celtic)	Henrik Larsson (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 1999–2000	1999–2000	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	No Relegation	Mark Viduka 25 (Celtic)	Mark Viduka (Celtic)	Barry Ferguson (Rangers)
Scottish Premier League 2000–01	2000–01	Celtic||	Rangers F.C.>Rangers	St. Mirren F.C.>St. Mirren	Henrik Larsson 35 (Celtic)	Henrik Larsson (Celtic)	Henrik Larsson (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2001–02	2001–02	Celtic||	Rangers F.C.>Rangers	St. Johnstone F.C.>St. Johnstone	Henrik Larsson 29 (Celtic)	Lorenzo Amoruso (Rangers)	Paul Lambert (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2002–03	2002–03	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	No Relegation	Henrik Larsson 28 (Celtic)	Barry Ferguson (Rangers)	Barry Ferguson (Rangers)
Scottish Premier League 2003–04	2003–04	Celtic||	Rangers F.C.>Rangers	Partick Thistle F.C.>Partick Thistle	Henrik Larsson 30 (Celtic)	Chris Sutton (Celtic)	Jackie McNamara (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2004–05	2004–05	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	Dundee F.C.>Dundee	John Hartson 25 (Celtic)	John Hartson (Celtic) / Fernando Ricksen (Rangers)	John Hartson (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2005–06	2005–06	Celtic||	Heart of Midlothian F.C.>Heart of Midlothian	Livingston F.C.>Livingston	Kris Boyd 32 (15 – Kilmarnock, 17 – Rangers)	Shaun Maloney (Celtic)	Craig Gordon (Hearts)
Scottish Premier League 2006–07	2006–07	Celtic||	Rangers F.C.>Rangers	Dunfermline Athletic F.C.>Dunfermline Athletic	Kris Boyd 20 (Rangers)	Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)	Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2007–08	2007–08	Celtic||	Rangers F.C.>Rangers	Gretna F.C.>Gretna	Scott McDonald 25 (Celtic)	Aiden McGeady (Celtic)	Carlos Cuéllar (Rangers)
Scottish Premier League 2008–09	2008–09	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.>Inverness CT	Kris Boyd 27 (Rangers)	Scott Brown (Scottish footballer)>Scott Brown (Celtic)	Gary Caldwell (Celtic)
Scottish Premier League 2009–10	2009–10	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	Falkirk F.C.>Falkirk	Kris Boyd 23 (Rangers)	Steven Davis (Rangers)	David Weir (Rangers)
Scottish Premier League 2010–11	2010–11	Rangers||	Celtic F.C.>Celtic	Hamilton Academical F.C.>Hamilton Academical	Kenny Miller 21 (Rangers)	Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic)	Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic)

All-time SPL table

This table is a cumulative record of all SPL matches played since the inception of the league in 1998. The table is accurate from the 1998–99 season to the end of the 2010–11 season, inclusive. Teams highlighted in bold are current members of the Premier League.

490 490 490 490 490 454 490 490 302 262 228 224 228 190 190 114 76 38

P	!Club	Ssn	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	PPG	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1	align=left		13	|	358	72	60	1128	397	+731	1146		6	7
2	align=left		13	|	338	88	64	1073	390	+683	1102		7	5	1
3	align=left		13	|	203	121	166	648	578	+70	730			1	5	1
4	align=left		13	|	167	119	204	589	697	−108	620					3
5	align=left		13	|	168	114	208	574	698	−124	618				1	4
6	align=left		12	|	162	113	179	623	642	−19	599				2	2
7	align=left		13	|	159	115	216	592	744	−152	592				1	1
8	align=left		13	|	146	137	207	561	733	−172	575				1	1
9	align=left		8	|	78	79	145	295	483	−188	313					1
10	align=left		7	|	80	61	121	308	412	−104	301
11	align=left		6	|	74	59	95	274	297	−23	281
12	align=left		6	|	62	65	97	219	304	−85	251				1
13	align=left		6	|	50	61	117	191	335	−144	211
14	align=left		5	|	51	48	91	197	277	−80	201
15	align=left		5	|	48	45	97	205	306	−101	189				1
16	align=left		3	|	30	26	58	93	158	−65	116
17	align=left		2	|	14	19	43	76	125	−49	61
18	align=left		1	|	5	8	25	32	83	−51	13

P = Position; Ssn = Number of seasons; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points; Ppg = Points per game

Top scorers

Former Kilmarnock and Rangers player Kris Boyd has scored the most goals in the SPL, with 164 goals. He broke the previous record of 158, set by Henrik Larsson, by scoring five goals for Rangers in a 7–1 win against Dundee United on 30 December 2009. Boyd and Larsson are the only players to have scored more than 100 goals in the SPL, which started in the inaugural 1998–99 season. There are players who have scored far more goals in the predecessor Scottish Football League competition, with Jimmy McGrory and Bob McPhail each scoring more than 300 goals in the top flight of Scottish football.

Top 10 SPL scorers

Kilmarnock F.C.Henrik LarssonDerek RiordanScott McDonaldJohn HartsonKenny MillerNacho NovoStevie CrawfordColin Nish

width=45	Rank			! Club(s)	Goals
align=center	1	Kris Boyd	Kilmarnock (2001–2006)Rangers (2006–2010) ||align=center|164
align=center	2	|	Celtic F.C.>Celtic (1998–2004)	158
align=center	3	| Hibernian (2001–2006) Celtic (2006–2008) Hibernian (2008–2011) ||align=center|95
align=center	4	| Motherwell (2004–2007) Celtic (2007–2010) ||align=center|93
align=center	5	|	Celtic F.C.>Celtic (2001–2006)	88
align=center	6	| Hibernian (1999–2000)Rangers (2000–2001)Celtic (2006–2007)Rangers (2008–2011) ||align=center|75
align=center	7	| Dundee (2002–2004) Rangers (2004–2010) ||align=center|73
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center">8		Dunfermline Athletic (2000–2004) Dundee United (2005) Aberdeen (2005–2006) Dunfermline Athletic (2006–2007) |>rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|63
Chris Sutton	Celtic F.C.>Celtic (2000–2006)
style="text-align:center"	10		Kilmarnock (2003–2008) Hibernian (2008–2011) |>style="text-align:center"|62

Records and awards

; Biggest home win: Celtic 9–0 Aberdeen (2010–11) ; Biggest away win: St. Johnstone 0–7 Rangers (1998–99) Dunfermline Athletic 1–8 Celtic (2005–06) ; Most goals in a game: Motherwell 6–6 Hibernian (2009–2010) ; Most consecutive wins: Celtic, 25, 2003–04 ; Most consecutive games unbeaten: Celtic, 32, 2003–04 ; Most consecutive defeats: Partick Thistle, 10, 2003–04 ; Most consecutive games without a win: Hamilton Academical, 22, 2010–11 ; Most consecutive games without scoring a goal: Dunfermline Athletic, 9, 2006–07 ; Most points in a season: Celtic, 103 points, 2001–02 ; Fewest points in a season: Gretna, 13 points, 2007–08 ; Most goals scored in a season: Celtic, 105 goals, 2003–04 ; Fewest goals scored in a season: St. Johnstone, 23 goals, 2010–11 ; Most goals conceded in a season: Aberdeen, 83 goals, 1999–00 Gretna, 83 goals, 2007–08 ; Fewest goals conceded in a season: Celtic, 18 goals, 2001–02 ; Most wins in a season: Celtic, 33, 2001–02 ; Fewest wins in a season: Dunfermline Athletic, 4, 1998–99 Livingston, 4, 2005–06 ; Fewest defeats in a season: Celtic, 1, 2001–02 ; Most defeats in a season: Livingston, 28, 2005–06 ; Most draws in a season: Dunfermline Athletic, 16, 1998–99 ; Fewest home defeats in a season: Celtic, 0, 2001–02 and 2002–03 Rangers, 0, 2009–10 ; Fewest away defeats in a season: Celtic, 0, 2003–04 ; Fewest home wins in a season: Hamilton Academical, 1, 2010–11 ; Fewest away wins in a season: Dunfermline Athletic, 0, 1998–99 ; Youngest player: Scott Robinson, for Hearts vs Inverness CT, ; Youngest goalscorer: Fraser Fyvie, for Aberdeen vs Heart of Midlothian, ; Oldest player: Andy Millen, for St. Mirren vs Hearts, 42 years 279 days, 15 March 2008 ; Most goals in a season: Henrik Larsson (Celtic), 35 goals, 2000–01 ; Fastest goal: Anthony Stokes, 12.4 seconds, Hibernian 1–4 Rangers, 27 December 2009 ; All-time top scorer: Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock and Rangers), 164 goals ; Most hat-tricks: Henrik Larsson (Celtic), 12 ; Hat-tricks in consecutive games: Henrik Larsson (Celtic), 2000–01Anthony Stokes (Falkirk), 2006–07 ; Most goals in a game: Kenny Miller, 5, Rangers v St. Mirren, 4 November 2000 Kris Boyd, 5, Kilmarnock v Dundee United, 25 September 2004 Kris Boyd, 5, Rangers v Dundee United, 30 December 2009 ; Most consecutive clean sheets: Robert Douglas, Celtic, 7 games, 2000–01 ; Most clean sheets in a season: Fraser Forster and Łukasz Załuska, Celtic, 23 games, 2010–11 ; Most SPL appearances: Steven Pressley, 306 (correct to the end of the 2008–09 season) ; Highest attendance: 60,440, Celtic v St. Mirren, 7 April 2001 ; Lowest attendance: 431, Gretna v Inverness CT, 5 April 2008 ; Highest average attendance: 59,369, Celtic, 2000–01 ; Lowest average attendance: 2,283, Gretna, 2007–08 ; Highest transfer fee paid: Tore André Flo, from Chelsea to Rangers, £12m, 23 November 2000 ; Highest transfer fee received: Aiden McGeady, from Celtic to Spartak Moscow, £9.5m, 13 August 2010 ; Highest transfer fee between two SPL clubs: Scott Brown, from Hibernian to Celtic, £4.4m, 1 June 2007

The following clubs have won Programme of the Year:

1998–99: Heart Of Midlothian

1999–00: Dundee United

2000–01: Dunfermline Athletic

2001–02: Aberdeen

2002–03: Aberdeen

2003–04: Aberdeen

2004–05: Aberdeen

2005–06: Aberdeen

2006–07: Aberdeen

2007–08: Aberdeen

2008–09: Aberdeen

2009–10: Aberdeen

2010–11: Aberdeen

See also

List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues

Scottish Premier League monthly awards

Notes

References

External links

Scottish Premier League Official Site

SPL BBC page

Category:National association football premier leagues 1 Category:1998 establishments in Scotland

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Barclays Premier League
Pixels	150px
Country
Confed	UEFA (Europe)
Founded	20 February 1992
Teams	20
Relegation	Football League Championship
Levels	1
Domest cup	FA Cup
League cup	League Cup
Confed cup	UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Europa League
Champions	Manchester United
Season	2010–11
Most successful club	Manchester United (12)
Tv	Sky SportsESPNBBC (Highlights only)
Website	premierleague.com
Current	2011–12 Premier League }}

The Premier League is an English professional league for 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. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It was known as the Premiership from 1993 to 2007. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

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 Premier League has since become the world's most watched association football league. It is the world's most lucrative football league in terms of revenue, with combined club revenues of over £2 billion in 2008–09. It is ranked first in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga.

Since 1888, a total of 23 clubs have been crowned champions of the English football system. Of the 45 clubs to have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, four have won the title: Manchester United (12 titles) Arsenal (3), Chelsea (3) and Blackburn Rovers (1). The current champions are Manchester United, who won the title in the 2010–11 season.

History

Origins

Despite significant European success during the 1970s and early 1980s, the late '80s had marked a low point for English football. Stadia were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition for five years following the events at Heysel in 1985. The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990 (resulting in Manchester United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991) and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadia in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of that year.

Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44 million over four years. The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadia improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport.

Foundation

+ Premier League champions	Season	Champions
align="center"
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Arsenal
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Arsenal
align="center"
align="center"	Chelsea
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Manchester United
align="center"	Chelsea
align="center"	Manchester United

At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.

In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted.

The league held its first season in 1992–93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were 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, and Wimbledon. Luton Town, Notts County and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old first division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season.

Development

As of the end of the 2010–11 season, there had been 19 completed seasons of the Premier League. Due to insistence by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. The Welsh club Swansea City were promoted to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season. They were the first non-English team to compete in the Premier League. On 20 August 2011, the first Premier League match to be played outside England was between Swansea City and Wigan Athletic at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales.

Corporate structure

The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The current chairman is Sir Dave Richards, who was appointed in April 1999, and the chief executive is Richard Scudamore, appointed in November 1999. The former chairman and chief executive, John Quinton and Peter Leaver, were forced to resign in March 1999 after awarding consultancy contracts to former Sky executives Sam Chisholm and David Chance. The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.

The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. For the 2010–11 season the Premier League had 10 representatives in the Association. The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Competition format

Competition

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.

Qualification for European competitions

As of the 2009–10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changes, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group stage. The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on the winners and runners-up of the two domestic cup competitions. If one of the cup winners qualifies for Europe through their league position, the sixth-placed team in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League unless a runner-up qualifies instead. If both of the cup winners qualify for the Champions League through their league position, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League if neither runner-up takes a spot. If either domestic cup competition is contested between teams outside the top four league positions, the winner will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League regardless of their final league position, and the runner-up will not qualify. A further place in the UEFA Europa League is also available via the Fair Play initiative. If the Premier League has one of the three highest Fair Play rankings in Europe, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings which has not already qualified for Europe will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.

An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this means that if the Champions League winner falls outside of its domestic league's top four, it will qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. No association can have more than four entrants in the Champions League.

In 2007, the Premier League became the highest ranking European League based on the performances of English teams in European competitions over a five-year period. This broke the eight-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga. The top three leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter four teams into the Champions League. Michel Platini, the UEFA president, had proposed taking one place from the top three leagues and allocating it to that nation's cup winners. This proposal was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting. In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the top four leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rather than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one of the top 15 leagues in Europe. This was part of Platini's plan to increase the number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage.

Trophy

The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London. It weighs , and is tall, wide and deep. Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt, while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. Malachite's green colour is also representative of the green field of play. The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above the handles on either side of the trophy – the third is symbolised by the captain of the title winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his head at the end of the season. In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Arsenal winning the title without a single defeat.

Sponsorship

The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. There have been three sponsors since the league's formation. 1993–2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership) 2001–2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership) 2004–2007: Barclays (Barclays Premiership) 2007–present: Barclays (Barclays Premier League)

As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers. The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2000–01 season when they took over from Mitre.

Finances

The Premier League has the highest revenue of any football league in the world, with total club revenues of €2.479 billion in 2009–10, and is the second most profitable after the German Bundesliga. In 2010 the Premier League was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Premier League was recognised for its outstanding contribution to international trade and the value it brings to English football and the United Kingdom's broadcasting industry. The Premier League's gross revenue is regularly the fourth highest of any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League.

In terms of world football, the Premier League clubs are some of the richest in the world. Deloitte, who annually release figures on club revenues through its "Football Money League", listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season. No other league has more than four clubs in this table. Premier League teams have dominated the list for many years, and even topped the list for almost a decade until the 2004–05 season. After the Premier League's new TV deal went into effect, the league-wide increase in revenues is expected to increase the Premier League clubs' standing in the list, and there is a possibility that a Premier League club will be top of the list.

Media coverage

United Kingdom and Ireland

Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.

The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European Leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.

The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seasons. The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons. The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001–02 to 2003–04. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004–05 to 2006–07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis. Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63 per cent increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three-year period. Raidió Teilifís Éireann broadcast the highlights package in Ireland. Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday. Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract. The total raised from these deals is more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average media income from league games of around £40 million a year from 2007 to 2010.

The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result. An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position. In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest. The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2013. Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion. On 22 June 2009, due to troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010–11 to 2012–13.

Worldwide

Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most watched sporting league, being broadcast to over 600 million people in over 200 countries worldwide, often on networks owned and/or controlled by NewsCorp, which owns BSkyB and thus the primary UK and Ireland TV rights. In the United States, coverage is shared between Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and ESPN; NewsCorp sometimes buys pitch-side advertising boards with the Fox Soccer Channel logo replacing that of Sky. In Canada, Rogers Sportsnet owns the Premier League rights for three years from the 2010–11 season. In Australia, Fox Sports shows the games with a Viewers Choice option for up to five live games and up to nine games live on any given game-week.

The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme. In India, the matches are broadcast live on ESPN and Star Sports. In the People's Republic of China, data from 2003 suggested that matches were attracting television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more than any other foreign sport. However, when the Chinese rights to Premier League matches were sold to a subscription channel in 2007, the number of viewers proved to be in the tens of thousands. Due to its popularity in Asia, the league has held four pre-season tournaments there, the only Premier League affiliated tournaments ever to have been held outside England. The Premier League Asia Trophy has been played in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China and involves three Premier League clubs playing against a local team from the host nation, often the national side.

Figures from UK tourism body VisitBritain suggest that 750,000 visitors to Britain attended a Premier League match in 2010, spending a total £595 million and an average of £766. Visitors from Norway are most likely to come to watch Premier League football, with one in 13 Norwegian tourists travelling specifically to attend matches. Second on the list is the United Arab Emirates. For those visiting family and friends, the most likely to watch a football match are from Japan, China and Australia.

Criticisms

"Big Four" dominance

bgcolor="BADAFF">11 4 bgcolor="BADAFF" bgcolor="BADAFF" 3 bgcolor="gold" 2 2 2 bgcolor="gold" 2 bgcolor="gold" 2 4 4 3 4 3 4 16

+ "Big Four" since the start of the Premier League<		Season !! Arsenal F.C.	A !! C !! L !! MU
	10	|	6	1
1993–94 FA Premier League	1993–94	|	14	8	1
1994–95 FA Premier League	1994–95	12 ||	11	4	2
1995–96 FA Premier League	1995–96	5 ||	11	3	1
1996–97 FA Premier League	1996–97	|	6	4	1
1997–98 FA Premier League	1997–98	1 ||	4	3	2
1998–99 FA Premier League	1998–99	|	3	7	1
1999–2000 FA Premier League	1999–2000	|	5	4	1
2000–01 FA Premier League	2000–01	|	6	3	1
2001–02 FA Premier League	2001–02	1 ||	6	2	3
2002–03 FA Premier League	2002–03	|	4	5	1
2003–04 FA Premier League	2003–04	1 ||	2	4	3
2004–05 FA Premier League	2004–05	|	1	5	3
2005–06 FA Premier League	2005–06	|	1	3	2
2006–07 FA Premier League	2006–07	|	2	3	1
2007–08 Premier League	2007–08	|	2	4	1
2008–09 Premier League	2008–09	|	3	2	1
2009–10 Premier League	2009–10	|	1	7	2
2010–11 Premier League	2010–11	|	2	6	1
Top fourfinishes	|	11	12	19

A major criticism of the Premier League has been the emergence of the so-called "Big Four" clubs. Since Blackburn Rovers lifted the trophy in 1994–95, only three clubs have won the Premier League title – Manchester United (ten of the club's twelve titles), Arsenal and Chelsea (three times each). In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside the top three since the formation of the Premier League. From the 1996–97 season onwards, the "Top Four" (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United) have dominated the top four spots, and thus places in the UEFA Champions League (qualification was one club for the first four seasons, increased to two clubs in 1997, three in 1999 and four since 2002). The benefits of qualification, especially increased revenue, are believed to have widened the gap between the "Top Four" clubs and the rest of the Premier League. As of the end of the 2010–11 season, Manchester United have finished in the top four the most often, having finished in the top four in all 19 Premier League seasons. Arsenal are second with 16 top four finishes, followed by Liverpool with 12 and Chelsea with 11.

In May 2008, then Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan said the "Big Four"'s dominance threatened the division, saying, "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world." Following Keegan's comments, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore defended the league, saying, "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting." The dominance of Chelsea and Manchester United has led some to believe that the "Big Four" has contracted to a "Big Two"; no club other than these two has won the Premier League since 2004 and, , 20 of the last 27 major domestic trophies have gone to either Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Big Four" with two new clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, vying for top four places to secure Champions League football. In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham Hotspur pipped Manchester City to finish fourth becoming the first team to "break" the top four since Everton in 2005. In 2010–11, Manchester City finished third – the first time a team has broken into the top three since Chelsea did so in the 2003–04 season.

Widening gap with lower leagues

One of the main criticisms levelled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf between the Premier League and the Football League. Since its split with the Football League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to distance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues, many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. In every season except 2001–02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League. In 1997–98 all three promoted clubs were relegated at the end of the season.

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2006–07 season, these payments are in the amount of £6.5 million over the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this rose to £11.2 million per year for clubs relegated in 2007–2008. Designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £45 million while the average Football League Championship club receives £1 million), critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not, leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. For some clubs, including Burnley, Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, Leicester City, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, and Wimbledon who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, financial problems, including in some cases administration or even liquidation have followed. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have ensued for several clubs unable to cope with the gap.

Clubs

A total of 45 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 up to and including the 2011–12 season. Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

The following 20 clubs are competing in the Premier League during the 2011–12 season.

0044th0099th01515th01414th0022nd0077th0088th0066th0033rd0011st01212th0222nd in the Football League Championship0211st in the Football League Championship01313th01010th0233rd in the Football League Championship0055th01111th01616th01717th

!Club	in 2010–11 in English football>2010–11	!First season intop division	!Number of seasons in top division	!Number of seasons in the Premier League	!First season ofcurrent spell intop division	!Top divisiontitles	!Last top division title
align="left"	Arsenala,b	|	1904–05	95	20	1919–20	13	2003–04
align="left"	Aston Villaa,b,c	|	1888–89	101	20	1988–89	7	1980–81
align="left"	Blackburn Roversa,c	|	1888–89	72	18	2001–02 FA Premier League>2001–02	3	1994–95
align="left"	Bolton Wanderersc	|	1888–89	73	13	2001–02 FA Premier League>2001–02	0	n/a
align="left"	Chelseaa,b	|	1907–08	77	20	1989–90	4	2009–10
align="left"	Evertona,b,c	|	1888–89	109	20	1954–55	9	1986–87
align="left"	Fulhamb	|	1949–50	23	11	2001–02 FA Premier League>2001–02	0	n/a
align="left"	Liverpoola,b	|	1894–95	97	20	1962–63	18	1989–90
align="left"	Manchester Citya	|	1899–1900	83	15	2002–03 FA Premier League>2002–03	2	1967–68
align="left"	Manchester Uniteda,b	|	1892–93	87	20	1975–76	19	2010–11
align="left"	Newcastle United	|	1898–99	81	18	2010–11	4	1926–27
align="left"	Norwich Citya	Championship||	1972–73	22	5	2011–12 Premier League>2011–12	0	n/a
align="left"	Queens Park Rangersa	Championship||	1968–69	22	5	2011–12 Premier League>2011–12	0	n/a
align="left"	Stoke Cityc	|	1888–89	56	4	2008–09 Premier League>2008–09	0	n/a
align="left"	Sunderland	|	1890–91	81	11	2007–08 Premier League>2007–08	6	1935–36
align="left"	Swansea Cityb	Championship||	1981–82	3	1	2011–12 Premier League>2011–12	0	n/a
align="left"	Tottenham Hotspura,b	|	1909–10	71	20	1978–79	2	1960–61
align="left"	West Bromwich Albionc	|	1888–89	73	6	2010–11	1	1919–20
align="left"	Wigan Athleticb	|	2005–06	7	7	2005–06 FA Premier League>2005–06	0	n/a
align="left"	Wolverhampton Wanderersc	|	1888–89	63	4	2009–10 Premier League>2009–10	3	1958–59

Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United were relegated to the nPower Championship (old Div. 2) for the 2011–12 Season, whilst Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City were promoted to the 2011–12 Premier League. Swansea became the first Welsh side to ever gain promotion to the Premier League, after defeating Reading 4–2 in the 2011 Championship play-off final.

^a: Founding member of the Premier League ^b: Never been relegated from Premier League ^c: One of the original 12 Football League teams

Stadia

Premier League football has been played in 50 stadia since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. The Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 and the subsequent Taylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished; as a result all stadia in the Premier League are all-seater. Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, with some clubs moving to new-build stadia. A total of nine stadia that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadia for the 2010–11 season show a large disparity in capacity: Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United has a capacity of 75,957 with Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool, having a capacity of 16,220. The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2010–11 season is 770,477 with an average capacity of 38,523.

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs. For the 2009–10 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 34,215 for Premier League matches with a total aggregate attendance figure of 13,001,616. This represents an increase of 13,089 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992–93). However, during the 1992–93 season the capacities of most stadia were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline for all-seater stadia. The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season.

Managers

Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans. Managers are required to have a UEFA Pro License which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences. The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis (i.e. more than 12 weeks – the amount of time an unqualified caretaker manager is allowed to take control). Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker; examples include Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Only one manager, Alex Ferguson, has remained in his position since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. Arsène Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League since 1996, while David Moyes has been Everton's manager since 2002. The most recent appointment was André Villas-Boas of Chelsea. No English manager has won the Premier League; the five managers to have won the title comprise two Scots Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, twelve wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins), a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins) and an Italian (Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, one win). Currently 15 of the managers are from the British Isles, with seven of them coming from Scotland and five from England.

The current managers in the Premier League are: {|class="wikitable sortable" ! !Name !Club !Appointed |- |}}||||Manchester United|| |- |}}||||Arsenal|| |- |}}||||Everton|| |- |}}||||Stoke City|| |- |}}||||Wolverhampton Wanderers|| |- |}}||||Tottenham Hotspur|| |- |}}||||Sunderland|| |- |}}||||Wigan Athletic|| |- |}}||||Norwich City|| |- |}}||||Manchester City|| |- |}}||||Bolton Wanderers|| |- |}}||||Queens Park Rangers|| |- |}}||||Swansea City|| |- |}}||||Newcastle United|| |- |}}||||Blackburn Rovers|| |- |}}||||Liverpool|| |- |}}||||West Bromwich Albion|| |- |}}||||Fulham|| |- |}}||||Aston Villa|| |- |}}||||Chelsea|| |}

Players

Appearances

Ryan Giggs holds the record number of Premier League appearances with a total of 573. He is one of only two players (the other being Sol Campbell) to have played in all 19 Premier League seasons. He is also the only player to have scored during each campaign and holds the record number of Premier League Champions medals with a total of 12.

Foreign players and transfer regulations

+All-time appearances	(Premier League appearances only)	!Rank!!Player!!Appearances
1		574
2	align="left"	572
3		535
4		503
5		491
6		488
7		466
8		463
9		460
10		441

At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just eleven players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland). By 2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36 percent of the total. In the 2004–05 season the figure had increased to 45 percent. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. By 2009 the average Premier League team had an average of 13 foreign players in their side with under 40% of the players in the Premier League being English. The effect of foreign players on the England national football team has been the subject of a long-standing debate with some such as José Luis Astiazarán, president of Spain's La Liga, suggesting that the high number of young foreign players is the reason behind the national side's lack of success at international football tournaments. Vicente Del Bosque, the manager of the Spanish national team, disagrees stating that he "didn't think it's damaging for English football to have people from abroad."

In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young British players in favour of signing less-expensive foreign players, in 1999, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union. Currently a non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75 percent of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal if they believe that he is a special talent and "able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in the UK." One area where the Premier League's player registration rules are more restrictive than those of some other football leagues, such as those of Belgium and Portugal, is that academy level non-EU players have little access to English football by law.

Players can only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the Football Association. The two current transfer windows run from the last day of the season to 31 August and from 31 December to 31 January. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific licence from the FA, usually on an emergency basis. As of the 2010–11 season, the Premier League introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 25-man squad of players aged over 21, with the squad list only allowed to be changed in transfer windows or in exceptional circumstances. This was to enable the 'home grown' rule to be enacted, whereby the League would also from 2010 require at least 8 of the named 25 man squad to be made up of 'home-grown players', defined as a player who:

Wages and transfer records

There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year, but subsequently rose by an average 20 per cent per year for a decade, £409,000 in 2000–01, £676,000 in 2003–04 season rising to £1.1 million for the 2008–09 season.

The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million. The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996. This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand. Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million. This was surpassed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid on 1 September 2008 for £32.5 million. This fee was then surpassed twice on deadline day of the January 2011 window, first by Andy Carroll's £35 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool. This was then beaten when Fernando Torres moved from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50 million. The Torres deal remains the British transfer record paid for a player. The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Top scorers

+All-time top scorers in the Premier League	(Premier League goals only)	!Rank!!Player!!Goals
1		260
2		187
3		174
4		162
		149
	149
7		147
8		140
9		129
		123
	123
	123

Players in the Premier League compete for the Premier League Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season, as well as for Golden Boot awards for the first person to score 10, 20 or 30 goals in a season. They can also compete for the informal competitions of Goal of the Month and Goal of the Season. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260. Shearer finished among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier League and won the top scorer title three times. During the 1995–96 season he became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals. Since then, 18 other players have reached the 100-goal mark.

Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 14 different players from 10 different clubs have won or shared the top scorers title. Thierry Henry won his third consecutive and fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season. This surpassed Shearer's mark of three titles which he won consecutively from 1994–95 through 1996–97. Other multiple winners include Michael Owen, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Didier Drogba who have won two titles each. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most goals in a season (34) – for Newcastle and Blackburn respectively. Cole's record came in the 1993–94 season, while Shearer's came in 1994–95, both of which were 42-game seasons. Shearer's mark of 31 goals from a 38-game season in 1995–96 was equalled in the 2007–08 season by Cristiano Ronaldo. Five goals is the record individual scoring total for a player in a single Premier League game held by four players; Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov. Only Ryan Giggs of Manchester United has scored in all 19 Premier League seasons.

Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1,000 goals in the league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 4–1 defeat by Middlesbrough in the 2005–06 season. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are the only other teams to have reached the 1,000-goal mark, with Tottenham being the latest team to do so after a Jermain Defoe goal on 23 April 2011.

The highest-scoring match to date in the Premier League occurred on 29 September 2007 when Portsmouth beat Reading 7–4..

Player and manager awards

In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medals awarded to players, the Premier League also awards the monthly Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards, as well as annual awards for Manager of the Year, Player of the Season, Golden Boot and the Golden Glove awards.

10 Seasons Awards

In 2003, the Premier League celebrated its first decade by holding the 10 Seasons Awards:

Teams of the Decade:

* Domestic: David Seaman, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Steve Bruce, Stuart Pearce, David Beckham, Paul Ince, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen

* Overseas: Peter Schmeichel, Dan Petrescu, Jaap Stam, Marcel Desailly, Denis Irwin, Fredrik Ljungberg, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona

* Overall: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Marcel Desailly, Denis Irwin, David Beckham, Patrick Vieira, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer, Eric Cantona

Overall Player of the Decade – Alan Shearer

Domestic Player of the Decade – Alan Shearer

Overseas Player of the Decade – Eric Cantona

Goal of the Decade – David Beckham, 17 August 1996, Wimbledon v. Manchester Utd

Save of the Decade – Peter Schmeichel, 21 December 1997, Newcastle United v. Manchester Utd

Match of the Decade – Liverpool F.C. 4–3 Newcastle United F.C., 3 April 1996

Photograph of the Decade – Phil Noble (PA), 11 September 1999, Michael Owen of Liverpool miss against Manchester United

Commentator of the Decade – Martin Tyler of Sky Sports

Quote of the Decade – "I would love it if we beat them. Love it!", Kevin Keegan, 29 April 1996

Manager of the Decade – Sir Alex Ferguson

Outstanding Contribution – Alan Shearer

Contribution to the Community – Lucas Radebe

Most Appearances – Gary Speed (352)

Goalkeeper with most clean sheets – David Seaman (130)

Most Coaching Appearances – Sir Alex Ferguson (392)

10,000th Goal – Les Ferdinand, 15 December 2001, Tottenham Hotspur v. Fulham

Top Goalscorer – Alan Shearer (204)

See also

List of English Football League managers

Football records in England

References

External links

Category:Premier League 1 England Category:1992 establishments in England

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