How History And Money Shaped The Modern Premier League

From chaotic cup matches to a fixed league

Back in 1887, football in England was scattered across many knockout cups. Clubs played in the Birmingham Cup, the Lancashire Cup, and the FA Cup without a set schedule. Teams often got knocked out early with no matches left to play, or reached late cup rounds and had to cancel other fixtures.

William McGregor was a Scottish shop owner who became an administrator for Aston Villa. In March 1888, he proposed a fixed schedule of home and away matches between 12 leading clubs. By September 1888, the Football League played its first matches.

Financial equality was rejected early on

McGregor wanted match ticket money shared equally between home and visiting teams. However, 10 of the 12 original clubs voted his proposal down. That decision stopped equal financial sharing right at the start.

Today, European football uses open promotion and relegation across leagues. London alone has 17 professional teams, and Premier League clubs put an average of 66% of their revenue into player salaries. But unequal revenues still create massive gaps between teams.

Manchester City, owned by a trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund from a Middle Eastern nation, faces potential expulsion from the league. The club artificially inflated revenues by more than $1 billion to compete in a league that now generates close to $10 billion a year.