League Sponsorship
Since 1983 the League has accepted lucrative sponsorships for its main competition. Below is a list of sponsors and the League's name under their sponsorship:
- 1983–1986: Canon (Canon League)
- 1986–1987: Today newspaper (Today League)
- 1987–1993: Barclays Bank (Barclays League)
- 1993–1996: Endsleigh Insurance (Endsleigh League)
- 1996–2004: Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide Football League)
- 2004–2010: Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola Football League)
- 2010–2013: npower (npower Football League)
After the formation of the Premier League the newly slimmed-down football League (70 clubs until 1995 and 72 clubs since) renamed its divisions to reflect the changes. The old Second Division became the new First Division, the Third Division became the Second Division, and the Fourth Division became the Third Division. The financial health of its clubs had become perhaps the highest League priority due to the limited resources available. However, there were some promising signs for the future, as the League planned to announce new initiatives beginning with the 2004–05 season, coinciding with the start of a new sponsorship agreement with Coca-Cola. The first of these changes was a rebranding of the League with the renaming of the First Division as The Championship, the Second Division as League One and the Third Division as League Two.
The League's cup competitions had different sponsors (see English football sponsorship for more information).
Read more about this topic: The Football League
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