This article concerns football records in England. Unless otherwise stated, records are taken from the Football League or Premier League. Where a different record exists for the top flight (Football League First Division 1888–1992, and Premier League 1992–present), this is also given. This article includes clubs based in Wales that compete in English leagues.

League The original league saw twelve teams become the founding members of the Football League in 1888–89: Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, Preston North End, Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Three of the teams (Blackburn Rovers, Everton, and Aston Villa) also played in the first Premier League season in 1992–93, but Notts County missed out, finishing in the relegation zone in 1991–92.

A second division was added four years later for the 1892–93 season, resulting in the Football League now becoming the Football League First Division, the top division for the next one hundred years. The Southern League became Division 3 in 1920. A Northern League formed the following year that became Division Three North. In 1958, the regional divisions combined to form the Third Division and a national Fourth Division. The top twelve sides from the Northern and Southern divisions formed the Third Division, whilst the bottom twelve of the respective divisions formed the new fourth tier.

Nine clubs have reached double figures of league titles, with Liverpool and Manchester United leading the chasing pack, having won twenty titles each. Five clubs have managed to win all four divisions, while a further seven clubs need the top title to complete the full set. Luton Town have technically also won four different divisions, albeit one of these was the National League (the first tier of English non-league football) in 2014.

+ Top 10 clubs by league titles won Rank Club Division 1:Premier League Division 2:Championship Division 3:League One Division 4:League Two Totals1 Liverpool 20 4 242 Manchester United 20 2 223 Arsenal 14 144 Manchester City 10 7 175 Everton 9 1 106 Aston Villa 7 2 1 107 Sunderland 6 5 1 128 Sheffield Wednesday 4 5 99 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 4 3 1 1110 Leicester City 1 8 1 10

+ Clubs winning all four divisions Rank Club Division 1:Premier League Division 2:Championship Division 3:League One Division 4:League Two 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 4 3 1 2 Burnley 2 4 1 1 3 Preston North End 2 3 2 1 4 Portsmouth 2 1 3 1 5 Sheffield United 1 1 1 1

+ Clubs winning bottom three divisions Rank Club Division 2:Championship Division 3:League One Division 4:League Two 1 Notts County 3 2 3 2 Grimsby Town 2 3 1 3 Reading 2 3 1 4 Brentford 1 2 3 5 Luton Town 1 3 1 6 Millwall 1 3 1 7 Cardiff City 1 1 1

For the 1919–20 season, the first season after the First World War, Arsenal were controversially elected in to the first division, despite finishing fifth in the last season before the outbreak of war in the second division. However, they have remained at this level ever since. Arsenal had once previously won promotion after finishing second behind Preston North End in the 1903–04 season, staying there until finishing bottom in 1912–13. Other clubs won elections to play in the first division: Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United in 1898, Bury and Notts County in 1905, and Chelsea (alongside Arsenal) in 1919 were also elected to the top flight. Blackburn later won Division 2 in 1938–39, and Newcastle United finished runners-up in 1947–48. Notts County became second division champions in 1913–14, while Bury would finish runners-up in 1923–24. In the 1929–30 season, Chelsea finished second behind Blackpool. Arsenal, still to this day, have the unenviable record as being the only club who have never earned their place in the top flight, through their league position, after being elected in the 1919–20 season.

Holding the record of continuous seasons, Arsenal are some way ahead of other clubs who have suffered relegation. Everton spent three years in the second division before finishing as runners-up to Leicester City in the 1953–54 season. Neighbours Liverpool, after having spent eight years outside the top division, won the second division title in the 1961–62 season. Manchester United bounced straight back up in 1974–75, after finishing second bottom in 1973–74. This would be Manchester United's last football league title before the birth of the Premier League, in their only time outside the top division since the end of the Second World War. Tottenham Hotspur also spent a season in the Second Division; similarly to Manchester United, it is the only time they have been outside the top flight since 1950. In 1976–77, Tottenham conceded 72 goals as they finished bottom; the following season, they finished third in the second division to earn promotion back to the top flight. Chelsea have been in the top flight since 1989 after winning the second division, while Manchester City one of the founders of the Premier League, spent five years out of the top flight but have been present since their 2002 promotion as Division 1 (second tier) winners. The 1998–99 season saw Manchester City earn promotion from Division 2 (currently known as League One), after winning a penalty shoot-out against Gillingham in the play-off final. City finished as runners-up to Charlton Athletic in Division 1 (currently known as the Championship) the following season, then made an immediate return after relegation in 2001, before securing their seventh second division title.

Unlike many European clubs that have never played outside their country's top division, no English club can claim that achievement. 65 clubs have played at the top level, six clubs have never returned, and the rest, apart from Arsenal, have secured promotion from the second division. Glossop, Leyton Orient, Northampton Town, Carlisle United, Swindon Town, and Barnsley have completed only one season in the top flight. The club that can boast playing the most seasons in the top tier is Everton, who are playing their 124th season there (out of a possible 128 league seasons). The city of Liverpool has always been represented in football's top tier; while Everton suffered relegation in 1930, Liverpool remained, though Everton instantly returned to the top flight a year later. After three years in the second division from 1951 to 1954, Everton won promotion to the First Division, swapping places with Liverpool who had been relegated; it would be eight years later that under Bill Shankly, Liverpool were promoted from the second division.

+ Top ten clubs by total number of seasons (ever) in top flight* Rank Club seasons 1 Everton 124 2 Aston Villa 113 3 Liverpool 112 4 Arsenal 110 5 Manchester United 102 6 Manchester City 98 7 Newcastle United 95 8 Chelsea 92 Tottenham Hotspur 10 Sunderland 89 Division 1 and Premier League, as of the 2026–27 season

+ Top ten clubs by number of ongoing, successive seasons in top flight* Rank Club First season seasons 1 Arsenal 1919–20 107** 2 Everton 1954–55 73 3 Liverpool 1962–63 65 4 Manchester United 1975–76 52 5 Tottenham Hotspur 1978–79 49 6 Chelsea 1989–90 38 7 Manchester City 2002–03 25 8 Crystal Palace 2013–14 14 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 2017–18 10 Newcastle United 10 Aston Villa 2019–20 8 Division 1 and Premier League, as of the 2026–27 season

** Six seasons lost due to World War II, and one season abandoned.

+ Clubs by number of successive seasons (ever) in top flight* Rank Club First season Seasonrelegated seasons 1 Arsenal 1919–20 107** 2 Everton 1954–55 73 3 Liverpool 1962–63 65 4 Sunderland 1890–91 1957–58 57 5 Manchester United 1975–76 52 6 Tottenham Hotspur 1978–79 49 7 Aston Villa 1888–89 1935–36 43 Blackburn Rovers 9 Chelsea 1989–90 38 10 Sheffield United 1893–94 1933–34 36 Division 1 and Premier League, as of the 2026–27 season

** Six seasons lost due to World War II, and one season abandoned.

Champions of England

24 different football clubs have been crowned English champions since the league began in 1888. In 2020, Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to become league champions again; however, this is nowhere near the longest wait in history to once again be the English champions. Preston North End won the first two top flight league titles, but have not won since 1890. Sheffield United won in 1898, but no second title has yet arrived. Their neighbours, Sheffield Wednesday, have won the league more recently than them, but have not added to their tally of four league titles, with their most recent success coming in 1930. Huddersfield Town won a hat-trick of titles between 1924 and 1926, but now over a century later no fourth title has been added.

It is approaching 100 years since Newcastle United were English champions, while Tottenham Hotspur have now gone 65 years without any league titles. Chelsea had to wait 50 years before their first Premier League success in 2005, although they did win the second division twice in the 1980s.

Manchester City went 44 years without a title before winning the league in 2012. Manchester United went 41 years without a top flight title, but that time period includes two World Wars, with eleven seasons lost. Since first becoming English champions in 1931, Arsenal had their longest period of 22 years without a league title between 2004 and 2026. They also went 18 years without a title twice, between 1953 and 1971, then again until 1989.

In the lower leagues, Leicester City hold the record for most second tier titles with eight, overtaking Manchester City's tally of seven, with six of those won by 1966. Behind are Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, and Norwich City, all with five. The third tier record is held by Plymouth Argyle with five titles; winning League One in the 2022–23 season moved them to outright holders, ahead of Portsmouth, Bristol City, Doncaster Rovers, Wigan Athletic, Hull City, and Lincoln City. Doncaster Rovers and Chesterfield share the fourth tier record, both with four titles, ahead of Notts County, Brentford, and Swindon Town, with three titles each.

+ Clubs that have been champions of England Club First title Longest time between titles Years Current time since last title From Until Last title won Years Preston North End ** 1888–89 1889–90 136 Sunderland * 1891–92 1912–13 1935–36 23 1935–36 90 Aston Villa ** 1893–94 1909–10 1980–81 71 1980–81 45 Sheffield United ** 1897–98 1897–98 128 Liverpool 1900–01 1989–90 2019–20 30 2024–25 1 Sheffield Wednesday * 1902–03 1903–04 1928–29 25 1929–30 96 Newcastle United * 1904–05 1908–09 1926–27 18 1926–27 99 Manchester United ** 1907–08 1910–11 1951–52 41 2012–13 13 Blackburn Rovers ** 1911–12 1913–14 1994–95 81 1994–95 31 West Bromwich Albion * 1919–20 1919–20 106 Burnley 1920–21 1920–21 1959–60 39 1959–60 66 Huddersfield Town * 1923–24 1923–24 1925–26 1925–26 100 Arsenal 1930–31 2003–04 2025–26 22 2025–26 0 Manchester City 1936–37 1967–68 2011–12 44 2023–24 2 Portsmouth 1948–49 1949–50 76 Tottenham Hotspur 1950–51 1950–51 1960–61 10 1960–61 65 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1953–54 1953–54 1957–58 4 1958–59 67 Chelsea 1954–55 1954–55 2004–05 50 2016–17 9 Ipswich Town 1961–62 1961–62 64 Derby County 1971–72 1971–72 1974–75 3 1974–75 51 Nottingham Forest 1977–78 1977–78 48 Everton 1890–91 1890–91 1914–15 24 1986–87 39 Leeds United 1968–69 1973–74 1991–92 18 1991–92 34 Leicester City 2015–16 2015–16 10

+ Legend Same season as first title Same season as last title

Titles Most consecutive league titles: 4, Manchester City (2020–21 to 2023–24) Most top flight titles (Division 1; Premier League): 20 Liverpool Manchester United Most second tier titles (Division 2; Championship): 8, Leicester City Most third tier titles (Division 3; League One): 5, Plymouth Argyle Most fourth tier titles (Division 4; League Two): 4 Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers

Representation