WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
Formed in 1888 by its twelve founder members, The Football League is the world's original league football competition and is the template for leagues the world over. With 72 member clubs, it is also the largest single body of professional clubs in European football and is responsible for administering and regulating the npower Football League, Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy, as well as reserve and youth football.
Through the work of The Football League Trust, we encourage all parts of the community to enjoy league football through community inclusion programmes. The League is also responsible for generating the commercial revenue that sustains and fuels football's growth and encouraging the next generation of football supporters to watch their local Football League club.
OUR COMPETITIONS
The Football League Championships
The Football League Championships (currently known as The npower Football League) is comprised of three divisions - the Championship, League 1 and League 2 - with 24 teams in each division. Each season there are 1,656 regular season matches (552 per division) with 15 end-of-season Play-Off Matches. Attendances across The Football League are at a fifty year high with admissions of over 16 million in each of the last five seasons. The Championship itself is the fourth most watched division in Europe, ahead of Italy's Serie A. This season, a new domestic broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky Sports will bring a forecast 63% increase in audience reach to over 18 million.
The Football League Cup
The Football League Cup (currently known as the Carling Cup) was established in 1960 and is English football's midweek cup competition. The Carling Cup features all 72 clubs from The Football League, as well as the Premier League's 20 clubs, with a total of 93 ties being played each season between early August and late February. The Final is played at Wembley Stadium in London.
The winners of the Carling Cup receive automatic entry into the following season's UEFA Europa League. Recent winners include Manchester United (2009 & 2010) and Tottenham Hotspur (2008). In 2009/100, the competition attracted 1.4 million admissions and a domestic television audience for live matches and highlights of more than 40 million. Matches in the Carling Cup were shown in 137 different countries around the world.
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy (currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy) is a mid-week knockout cup competition for clubs in League 1 and League 2. There are 49 matches per season and the competition is organised on a regional basis with the winners from the Northern and Southern sections meeting each other in a national Final.
The competition was established in 1983 and offers lower division clubs a realistic opportunity of appearing in a showpiece final at Wembley Stadium. The competition attracts more than 200,000 spectators each season with crowds for Season 2009/10 showing a 40% increase. Sky Sports cover up to 6 matches from the competition each season including two Area Final matches and the Final.
OUR VALUES
COMMUNITY: We are at the heart of 72 communities across England and Wales, and share the pride and heritage of each.
AUTHENTICITY: We are the world's original league and retain honest, open and exciting competitions that are about developing home-grown talent.
PROGRESSION: We are a modern, forward-looking organisation that is always striving to improve the game, our competitions and the experience for fans.
INCLUSION: We are committed to making the game accessible to people of all backgrounds.
