Barclays Premiership Tickets

Details of Barclays Premiership and the Ticket Luck value

The Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top stratum of the English football league system. For sponsorship reasons, it was officially known as the Barclays Premier League, otherwise colloquially known as The Premiership. The FA Premier League (as it was then known) was formed in 1992 from the clubs in the top division of The Football League, and is currently contested by twenty clubs. In a total of fifteen seasons, the title has been won by only four teams: Manchester United (nine times), Arsenal (three times), Chelsea (twice), and Blackburn Rovers (once). The current Premier League champions are Manchester United, who won the title with two games remaining of the 2006?07 season. The FA Women's Premier League, more specifically the National Division, is the Premiership's female counterpart, as most of its clubs are affiliated with Premiership and Football League sides; however, the league is semi-professional and has a much lower profile than the men's game.

It is the world's most watched sporting league, and the most money-spinning football league which is based solely on the performances of member clubs in European competitions over a five-year period. With the 2006/07 season results in consideration, the Premier League is unofficially ranked second behind Spain's La Liga, but ahead of Italy's Serie A in the UEFA rankings of European leagues; this is an improvement on the third place from the official rankings up to the 2005?06 season. The league held its first season in 1992?93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premiership goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2?1 win against Manchester United. Due to avowal by 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 were 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' on February 12, 2007.

The Premier League is operated as a corporation that is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is considered a shareholder with one vote each on such issues 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 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 Forum, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. The European Club Forum 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 Cup.

There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 38 games for each club, with a total of 38 games in each season. 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, and then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned as champion. If points are equal the goal difference and goals scored then determines the winner. If still equal they are deemed to occupy the same position; if the champions, teams for relegation or qualification for other competitions thus cannot be decided, a series of play-off matches are played between the affected teams at neutral venues. 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. Arsenal Football Club which are also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners, are an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. They play in the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football, having won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups.

Arsenal was founded in 1886, though the club's first period of major success came in the 1930s and they dominated English football for a decade. After a lean period in the post-war years they became only the second club of the 20th century to win the Double in 1970?71, and during the past twenty years they have been one of the most successful clubs in English football ? in this time Arsenal won two further Doubles, the Premier League in 2003?04 unbeaten, and in 2005?06 became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League final.

Arsenal has a large and diverse fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they regularly contest the North London derby. Arsenal are one of the richest clubs in English football (worth over ?600m as of 2007), and thanks to their stature, have regularly featured in portrayals of football in British culture. There is also a highly successful ladies team, Arsenal LFC, affiliated with the club. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, but in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In 2006 they made a less drastic move to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway.