List of English football champions

The English football champions are the annual winners of the top-tier competition in the English football league system. Following the codification of professional football by the Football Association in 1885, the Football League was established in 1888, after meetings initiated by Aston Villa director William McGregor.
The new league's inaugural season was 1888–89, and the first club to be crowned champions was Preston North End, whose team completed its fixtures unbeaten. In its first four seasons, with only twelve to fourteen clubs involved, the league was a single entity in which all the teams were from the North or the Midlands. Professionalism had been embraced more readily in those areas than in the South of England. The Football League expanded its membership in 1892 when it absorbed the rival Football Alliance. With 28 members, the league was split into two divisions. Most of the former Alliance clubs joined the new Second Division, while the original league became the First Division, with promotion and relegation between the two.
Rules stipulating a maximum wage for players were abolished in 1961. This resulted in a shift of power towards bigger clubs with more financial means. Financial considerations became an even bigger influence from 1992, when the clubs then in the First Division defected to form the FA Premier League, which became the new top tier. A series of progressively larger television contracts has put unprecedented wealth into the hands of top flight clubs.
A total of 24 different clubs have won the English top-flight league since 1888. Only five clubs have won the title in three consecutive seasons: Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, with the latter being the only club to have won four successive titles.

List of champions by season

List of champion clubs by titles won

24 clubs which have won the English top level title, including 7 which have won the Premier League. The most recent to join the list were Leicester City and before that, Nottingham Forest and Derby County.
Seven teams have at some point held first or joint first place in the number of titles won: Preston North End, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton.
Eight teams have finished as runners-up without ever finishing top: Bristol City, Oldham Athletic, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Blackpool, Queens Park Rangers, Watford and Southampton. Of these, Cardiff City came closest to winning the league, matching champions Huddersfield Town in points but losing out on goal average, the precursor to goal difference.

Rank	Club	Winners		Winning seasons
1	Manchester United	20	17	1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
1	Liverpool	20	15	1900–01, 1905–06, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1946–47, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2019–20, 2024–25
3	Arsenal	13	12	1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
4	Manchester City	10	6	1936–37, 1967–68, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
5	Everton	9	7	1890–91, 1914–15, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1938–39, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1984–85, 1986–87
6	Aston Villa	7	10	1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10, 1980–81
7	Sunderland	6	5	1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36
7	Chelsea	6	4	1954–55, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17
9	Newcastle United	4	2	1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27
9	Sheffield Wednesday	4	1	1902–03, 1903–04, 1928–29, 1929–30
11		3	5	1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
11	Leeds United	3	5	1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92
11	Huddersfield Town	3	3	1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26
11	Blackburn Rovers	3	1	1911–12, 1913–14, 1994–95
15	Preston North End	2	6	1888–89, 1889–90
15	Tottenham Hotspur	2	5	1950–51, 1960–61
15	Derby County	2	3	1971–72, 1974–75
15	Burnley	2	2	1920–21, 1959–60
15	Portsmouth	2	0	1948–49, 1949–50
20	Sheffield United	1	2	1897–98
20	West Bromwich Albion	1	2	1919–20
20	Ipswich Town	1	2	1961–62
20	Nottingham Forest	1	2	1977–78
20	Leicester City	1	1	2015–16

By region

By historic county

By city/town

Specific

General

Champions
Category:English Football League
Category:Lists of British award winners
England
Champions
Champions