List of Premier League clubs
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Premier League since its formation in 1992 to the current season. All statistics here refer to time in the Premier League only, with the exception of 'Most Recent Finish' (which refers to all levels of play) and 'Last Promotion' (which refers to the club's last promotion from the second tier of English football). For the 'Top Scorer' column, those in bold still play in the Premier League for the club shown. Premier League teams playing in the 2018–19 season are indicated in bold, while founding members of the Premier League are shown in italics. If the longest spell is the current spell, this is shown in bold, and if the highest finish is that of the most recent season, then this is also shown in bold.
As of the 2018–19 season, 49 teams have played in the Premier League. Preston North End are the only former top-flight First Division champions that have never played in the Premier League,[1] and are among sixteen clubs who have played in the old First Division but not in the Premier League. By contrast, Barnsley, Bournemouth, Hull City, Reading, Swindon Town, and Wigan Athletic never played in the old First Division before being promoted to the Premier League.
Nine of the twenty-two founder members of the Premier League are competing in the 2018–19 season. Six (Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur) have contested every season of the Premier League. Three (Crystal Palace, Manchester City, and Southampton) were also founder members, though each team has been relegated at least once in the past.
As of the 2018-19 season, three clubs, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town, are not founding members of the Premier League, but have never been relegated since their debut in the Premier League.
Two clubs, Cardiff City and Swansea City, are located in Wales but play in the English football league system for practical and historical reasons.
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As of the 2006–07 season, former Premier League members were in all three divisions of the Football League for the first time following the relegation of Swindon Town to Football League Two and their promotion back to Football League One at the end of that season. Since then, other former Premier League clubs relegated to League Two have included Bradford City, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Coventry City and Oldham Athletic. To date no former Premier League club has been relegated to the National League.
Crystal Palace have had the most separate spells in the Premier League, with five; all but the latest lasted a single season. The club were relegated at the end of the inaugural 1992–93 season, but after winning the First Division Championship the following season, they returned to the Premier League for 1994–95 campaign. This was the only season when the Premier League had four relegation places, and Palace finished fourth from bottom to be relegated back to the First Division. At the end of the 1996–97 season, Palace once again gained promotion to the top flight (this time through the play-offs), only to be relegated the following season after finishing bottom. After winning the play–offs again in 2003–04, Palace were once again relegated back to the Championship the following season. They won the play-offs for the third time at the end of the 2012–13 season, and for the first time managed to avoid relegation the following season.
Both Luton Town and Notts County were in the top flight in 1991–92, and so took part in the original negotiations in 1991 that led to the formation of the Premier League, and both resigned their membership of The Football League along with the other 20 clubs in the top flight. However, both clubs were relegated that season and have not returned to the top flight since, with Luton even dropping to the National League. The third top-flight club relegated that season was West Ham United, who subsequently won promotion into the Premier League the following season.
Chart
Location of all clubs who have competed in the Premier League
Where a club has played at multiple locations, the current location is shown (if they are a current Premier League member), or the location they playing at during the last Premier League season they competed in (if they are currently in the lower divisions). Tottenham currently play their home games at Wembley Stadium, this is not displayed.
  West Midlands (5) Location of Premier League clubs since 1992 Current members (2018–19) in bold |
Clubs who have competed in the top flight First Division, but not the Premier League
References
- ↑ "Football Trivia Question of the Day January 2012 Archive". My Football Facts & Stats. January 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Arsenal finished 5th in Division Two in the 1914–15 season, but the Football League was then suspended until 1919–20 due to the First World War. After the war, Division One was expanded from 20 to 22 clubs and Arsenal was elected to the First Division for the 1919–20 season.
- ↑ Wimbledon relocated from London to Milton Keynes in 2003, and renamed themselves Milton Keynes Dons a year later.
- ↑ Throughout their time in the Premier League, Wimbledon played their home games at Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace.
- ↑ The Accrington Stanley club competing today in League One, as well as its 1891 predecessor, are unrelated to the original Accrington club.
- ↑ The original Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. went into liquidation in May 1974 and reformed as a Sunday league club. The club was refounded in 1988.
- ↑ The original Darwen F.C. was wound up in May 2009. A.F.C. Darwen was formed as a phoenix club the same month.
