the Football League
/ðə ˌfʊtbɔːl ˈliːɡ/
/ðə ˈfʊtbɔːl liːɡ/
- a British football organization in which each team in a particular division plays every other team twice. At the end of the season, the team with the most points is the champion of the division. The League was established in 1888 because the Football Association did not allow professionals to enter its competitions. It was the major competition in English football until the top clubs left to form the Premier League in 1992.