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Creating the English Premier League

The story of how the top clubs in English football broke away from the Football League to create the Premier League.

In the 1990s, the biggest clubs in English football decided to form a new league to bring in more revenue.

Spearheaded by the ‘big five’ of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, the top teams broke away from the Football League in 1992.

Backed by the Football Association, the Premier League began on the 15 August 1992, after securing a $500 million TV deal.

David Dein was the vice-chairman of Arsenal in 1992 and was one of the main drivers of the new league. He tells Tim O’Callaghan how it was done.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Players from the 24 clubs in the new Premier League at the launch in 1992. Credit:©SkySports)

Release date:

10 minutes

On radio

Sat 22 Aug 202617:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 22 Aug 202617:50GMT
  • Sun 23 Aug 202600:50GMT
  • Sun 23 Aug 202603:50GMT
  • Sun 23 Aug 202604:50GMT

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