English football league system
The English football league system, also referred to as the football pyramid, is a structured organization of football clubs in England that operates on a hierarchical basis. Established in 1888 by William McGregor, the system originally began with the English Football League and has grown to encompass five national levels, with further divisions extending to semi-professional leagues. The system allows for promotion and relegation, meaning successful clubs can ascend to higher tiers while struggling teams risk being demoted to lower ones. The Premier League, founded in 1992, represents the highest level of the pyramid, hosting 20 of the country's top teams, including renowned clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea.
Levels two through four consist of the English Football League Championship, League One, and League Two, each also featuring 24 teams, with specific promotion and relegation rules. Beyond these, the system includes the National League and several regional leagues, creating a vast network of clubs that provide opportunities for competition at various skill levels. Ultimately, the English football league system fosters a rich culture of football, deeply intertwined with national identity and community engagement, and includes thousands of teams from across the country.
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English football league system
The English football league system is an organization of clubs, or teams, in English football (known as soccer in the United States). Tracing its roots to a football league begun by William McGregor in 1888, the football league system contains five national levels, each consisting of one division. Levels beyond the fifth cover regional groups down to semi-professional levels and contain thousands of teams from all across England. The league system is based on a hierarchical structure often likened to a pyramid, in which the most successful teams rise through promotion to the top, and struggling teams are relegated to lower levels.
Background
The game known as football in England and many other countries, and soccer in the United States, is likely based on one of the oldest pastimes in the world. Researchers hypothesize that simple kick-the-ball games have existed for thousands of years. Early games were likely improvised amusements for children or for regular people unwinding after work. Records exist of basic soccer-like games being played in the ancient civilizations of China and the Mediterranean.
The establishment of football as a professional sport in England in 1885 and the subsequent creation of a competitive league system in the coming years established the sport as the favorite of England. To some, playing or even just watching the matches became a consuming passion. By the late twentieth century, football had become a major part of the English national identity and enjoyed popularity across the British Commonwealth.
Overview
The beginning of the English football league system can be traced to the establishment of the English Football League by William McGregor in 1888. McGregor was the director of the Aston Villa football club, a group that had pushed for the professionalization of the game. Similar-minded clubs from the surrounding area—Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton—and the Lancashire region—Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley, Bolton, Everton, and Preston North End—joined the League.
Shortly after these twelve clubs founded the English Football League, another group of clubs established the Football Alliance, a rival organization. The Football League and Football Alliance operated for several seasons before their leaders and member clubs voted to unify. At that time, the overall organizational structure came to be known generally as the English football league system, with one section of the system retaining the proper title of English Football League. By the twenty-first century, some 145 clubs had participated in the system, and eleven of the twelve original 1888 clubs were still active.
In modern times, the English football league system consists of a large number of football clubs organized into leagues. These leagues are situated in a pyramid-shaped scheme, often known as the football pyramid. The majority of leagues, whose performance records are on the lower and average levels, are located in the broader lower areas of the pyramid system. Meanwhile, the smaller number of elite teams with high performance records are located in the much narrower upper portions.
One of the trademarks of this pyramid system is that its components are not permanently set. Each section of the pyramid is interconnected with others, and clubs can move between them through a complex process of promotion or demotion (called relegation). In other words, a club that begins in a lower-performing league can have a winning season and move to the top of that league and may be promoted to a higher league in the coming season. Alternately, low-performing clubs may find themselves slipping within their leagues or even being relegated to lower leagues based on seasonal results.
The highest level of the system, forming the narrow top of the pyramid structure, is occupied by the Premier League. The Premier League was designed and adopted in 1992 to contain the most successful teams in the country; many of the best Premier League players also represent England in the World Cup and Olympics. Twenty teams hold Premier League status. At the end of each season, the top teams in the League are declared champions. The top League champions include Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Leicester City, Manchester United, and Manchester City. Meanwhile, the lowest-performing three teams each season are demoted to the next-down level, the English Football League Championship.
Levels two through four are occupied by different levels known as the English Football League. Level two is the highest of these and is known as the English Football League Championship level. This level contains twenty-four teams that compete to be promoted to the Premier League. The two most successful teams automatically move to the Premier League, while a playoff match determines the third promoted team. Meanwhile, as in other levels, the three least successful teams are relegated to the third level.
Level three is known as English Football League One. Like the Championship level, it also contains twenty-four teams that compete in a similar way. The two top teams are promoted to the Championship automatically, with the third slot determined by play-off matches. In this level, four teams that perform most poorly are demoted to the fourth level.
Level four, the English Football League Two, the last English Football League level, also consists of twenty-four teams. This level uses a slightly different ratio of promotion and relegation, however. It observes automatic promotion for the top three teams and a play-off competition for a fourth slot. At this level, only the lowest-performing two teams are relegated to the fifth level.
Level five marks the transition to the National League level. This is the lowest level with national and professional status. It includes twenty-four teams and observes a similar promotion and relegation system to other levels. At this level, however, teams that underperform can be removed from the national level altogether. Four teams per season are relegated to the North or South parts of level six.
Level six includes two divisions, National League North and National League South, each of which includes twenty-two clubs. These clubs may include full-time professional players or part-time semi-professionals. As in higher levels, they compete for promotion and to avoid loss of status.
Level seven and lower levels contain a greatly increasing number of leagues, divisions, and clubs of decreasing size and status. For example, level seven includes three divisions, the Northern League Premier Division, the Southern League Premier Division, and the Isthmian League Premier Division. The eighth level includes six leagues. Sports statisticians chart the subsequent leagues in different ways, with estimates as high as twenty-four levels containing some seven thousand football teams.
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