Today the Premier League is the most watched football league in the world, broadcast into hundreds of millions of homes. But in the late 1980s, English football was in a poor state. Grounds were crumbling, crowds had fallen, hooliganism had damaged the game's reputation, and English clubs had been banned from Europe after the Heysel disaster.
The big clubs want change
The leading clubs believed they could earn far more from television if they negotiated their own deals, instead of sharing income with all 92 clubs of the Football League. At the same time, the Taylor Report after Hillsborough meant they had to spend huge sums converting their grounds into all-seater stadiums.
The Football Association, locked in a power struggle with the Football League, backed the idea of a new top division under its own authority. In 1991 the First Division clubs signed an agreement to break away, and the FA Premier League began life the following year.
The television revolution
The decisive moment came in May 1992, when the clubs voted to accept a television deal with BSkyB worth around £304 million over five years — a huge sum at the time. Live top-flight football moved to satellite television, with Monday Night Football, new graphics and a glossy, American-influenced presentation. Many fans were sceptical at first, but satellite dishes soon appeared on houses across the country.
The first season
The first Premier League season kicked off on 15 August 1992 with 22 clubs. Brian Deane of Sheffield United scored the very first Premier League goal, against Manchester United. That same summer a new law stopped goalkeepers from picking up deliberate back-passes, making the game faster and more attacking.
Manchester United, inspired by the arrival of Eric Cantona from Leeds United, won the first title — their first league championship in 26 years. It was the beginning of an era of success under Sir Alex Ferguson, who went on to win 13 Premier League titles.
A global league
The league was reduced to 20 clubs in 1995. Over the following three decades television income grew enormously, attracting many of the world's best players and coaches. Arsenal's Invincibles of 2003–04, Chelsea's rise under new ownership, Leicester City's astonishing title in 2016 and Manchester City's run of championships all became global stories.
Critics argue that the money has widened the gap between rich and poor clubs and priced out many traditional supporters. Supporters of the league point to the quality of the football and its worldwide reach. Either way, 1992 was the moment English football changed for ever — and the Premier League became one of Britain's best-known exports.
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