List of football

league club League Club is a term used to refer to football (soccer) clubs that are in one of the top professional leagues of a country. The club itself does not have to be professional and in some of the lower leagues of more minor footballing nations some ...

s in the top four tiers of English football (i.e. the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

), as of the 2023–24 season, by year formed. To provide a consistent methodology, the year used is that published by the clubs themselves. Where month and day are also published, these are recorded in the notes. Different sources offer alternative dates for club foundation dates, and the date attributed to a club can be disputed. Reasons for differences include: *Informal status: Clubs can originate as an

unincorporated association Unincorporated associations are one vehicle for people to cooperate towards a common goal. The range of possible unincorporated associations is nearly limitless, but typical examples are: :* An amateur football team who agree to hire a pitch onc ...

; sources may include this relatively informal period as part of their history. *Mergers: Clubs can form by a merger of two clubs, with the date of one of the original clubs being selected as the foundation date. *Liquidation: Some clubs were liquidated, with a new club adopting the history of the liquidated club. *Historicity: Some dates are based on non-contemporary accounts with sources of uncertain provenance. *Continuity: Contemporary newspaper reports may give club names whose direct connection to modern-day clubs is not established. *Viewing a relocation as a foundation: This applies to MK Dons Other listings of club foundation dates using different criteria are available.

References

{{Reflist History of football in the United Kingdom

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...