History
For more details on this topic, see Football in England#History of English football.The Football League was founded in 1888 by Aston Villa director Charlie Fossey. It originally consisted of a single division of 12 clubs (Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke (now Stoke City), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers), simply known as The Football League. When the League admitted additional members from the rival Football Alliance in 1892, it was split into two divisions; the original League was expanded (the two best Alliance members joining) and renamed the First Division, while the rest of the Alliance members were admitted into the Second Division.
For the next 100 years, the First Division was the undisputed top professional league in English football. Then, in 1992 the 22 clubs making up the First Division elected to resign from the Football League and set up the Premier League. They did so largely to capitalise upon their status as the biggest and most wealthy clubs in the country, and negotiate more profitable television rights. The Football League was consequently re-organised, with the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions now renamed the First, Second and Third respectively. Thus, the First Division, while still the top level of the Football League, now became the second level of the entire English football league system. The top clubs inherited the promotion playoff system from the old Second Division.
The First Division was renamed as the Football League Championship prior to the start of the 2004–05 season, as part of a league-wide rebrand.
Read more about this topic: Football League First Division
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