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. This was worth £2 billion in 2008–09. The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to an audience of 643 million viewers. In the 2010–11 season the average Premier League match attendance was 35,363, the second highest of any professional football league behind the German Bundesliga, and stadium occupancy was 92.2% full. The Premier League 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 the Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga.

Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic. Keane was a dominating central-midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude which helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005, having joined the club in 1993. Keane helped United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club. He then signed for Celtic but retired as a player less than a year later.

He played at international level for much of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over a period of 14 years, most of which he spent as captain. He played in every Republic of Ireland game at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, although he was sent home from the 2002 World Cup after an incident with national coach Mick McCarthy.

He was appointed manager of Sunderland shortly after his retirement as a player, and took the club from 23rd position in the Football League Championship in late August to win the division title and gain promotion to the Premier League. Keane's arrival was cited as the catalyst for Sunderland's recovery. He managed to keep Sunderland from relegation in the 2007–08 season, but in his second season as a top-flight manager he left his position with Sunderland in the relegation zone. In April 2009, he was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town, but was sacked by the club in January 2011 with them 19th in the Championship.