The Barclays Premier league. 3 words that are very popular in many holdings. The Barclays Premier league is the most popular league in the world. It is sometimes called the English Premier league. The league was started in 1992. It has gone to become the most popular sports league in the world. The league consists of 20 teams who fight for the trophy after playing 38 games in a season. The season runs from August to May after which there is a 2 months break involving transfers of players. As opposed to other European Leagues, the Premier league does not have an international break. Fans are entertained with exciting football week in week out unless there is an international break mandated by FIFA when players leave to represent their respective countries.
The Premier league is famous for various reasons. Some of us may think that since it is played in Britain, the Premier league is made up of English players. The answer is no. There are world class players from different nationalities in each team. Currently players from 58 countries make their trade in the Premier league making it popular worldwide. Amazing;right? Different teams have different tactics to win matches. Some “park the bus” and attack on the counter, some play tikitaka, some play long balls while others play a direct game. The Premier league is popular for its die hard noisy fans who back their teams and fill the stadiums on match days. The premier league is exciting for the unpredictability of match outcomes and the eventual winner. It often happens that the match favorites loose to the minnows unlike other leagues like the Spanish La Liga where the two big teams(Real Madrid and Barcelona) often win week in week out.
So who wins the league? The team with the most points. When the league ends, the top 4 teams qualify for the coveted positions in the Champions league while the bottom 3 teams are relegated to second division. However, the team that finishes fourth has to play playoffs to determine which team goes on to play in the Champions league.
Now; who plays in the Champions League? The Champions league is played by teams from across Europe where they play group matches and proceed to knock outs and later a final is played in May. The team that finishes fifth in the league usually qualifies for the UEFA Europa League. Moreover, the 6th and 7th placed teams may also qualify for the Europa League. This however depends on the champions and runners-up of the two domestic competitions which are the FA Cup and League Cup.
That’s not all. One more spot is available in the UEFA Europa League through the Fair Play rule. If the Premier League takes one of the three highest FIFA Fair Play rankings in Europe, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings automatically qualifies for the Europa League and starts with the first qualifying round which commences in July.
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