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The '''Football League''' was the first established league competition in the world for the game internationally known as [[Association Football]] or just [[football]] (known as soccer in the U.S.A).  

The '''Football League''' was the first established league competition in the world for the game internationally known as [[Association Football]] or just [[football]] (known as [[soccer]] in the U.S.A).  

The Football League was established in 1886 to provide a more frequent schedule of games as an addition to the [[Football Association]]'s knock-out cup competition which had made provision for professional teams in 1885. The teams were predominantly from the midlands and north-west of England and the league's headquarters are in Lytham St. Annes in [[Lancashire]]. The two organisations have had love-hate relationship over their history with the Football League being concerned with a mainly working class but professional teams, while the Football Association has been concerned with all levels of the game including amateur sides and is the official codifier of the laws.  The founding members of the league were:

The Football League was established in 1886 to provide a more frequent schedule of games as an addition to the [[Football Association]]'s knock-out cup competition which had made provision for professional teams in 1885. The teams were predominantly from the midlands and north-west of England and the league's headquarters are in Lytham St. Annes in [[Lancashire]]. The two organisations have had love-hate relationship over their history with the Football League being concerned with a mainly working class but professional teams, while the Football Association has been concerned with all levels of the game including amateur sides and is the official codifier of the laws.  The founding members of the league were:

: Wolverhampton Wanderers

: Wolverhampton Wanderers

In 1892 a [[Second Division]] was established and by 1898 there were eighteen teams in each division.  The early 1900s saw the addition of clubs from the south of England but it was not until 1931 that the competition was first won by [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]].  After a break for [[World War I]] the competition resumed in 1919 with 22 teams in each division and in 1920 top clubs from the Southern League joined to create a [[Third Division]].  In 1921, following an influx of teams from the north of England, there was a reorganisation with the southern teams being in the Third Division South and the northern teams being in the Third Division North. The winners of each Third Division would be promoted to the Second Division and the relegated teams would be assigned to their respective geographical region.  To keep the numbers in each division constant it meant that midland teams could be reassigned to different divisions at the end of each season.  Without the diversion of television, the inter-war years saw tremendous growth in attendance at club games and many ground records date from this time.  

In 1892 a Second Division was established and by 1898 there were eighteen teams in each division.  The early 1900s saw the addition of clubs from the south of England but it was not until 1931 that the competition was first won by [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]].  After a break for [[World War I]] the competition resumed in 1919 with 22 teams in each division and in 1920 top clubs from the Southern League joined to create a Third Division.  In 1921, following an influx of teams from the north of England, there was a reorganisation with the southern teams being in the Third Division South and the northern teams being in the Third Division North. The winners of each Third Division would be promoted to the Second Division and the relegated teams would be assigned to their respective geographical region.  To keep the numbers in each division constant it meant that midland teams could be reassigned to different divisions at the end of each season.  Without the diversion of television, the inter-war years saw tremendous growth in attendance at club games and many ground records date from this time.  

The leagues were suspended for a period of seven years during [[World War II]] - from 1939 (with only five or six games of the season played) until 1946 when the game resumed. In 1950, both Third Divisions were expanded to 24 clubs but in 1958 the regionalisation was ended with the top half of each division forming the new Third Division and the bottom half forming the new Fourth Division.   

The leagues were suspended for a period of seven years during [[World War II]] - from 1939 (with only five or six games of the season played) until 1946 when the game resumed. In 1950, both Third Divisions were expanded to 24 clubs but in 1958 the regionalisation was ended with the top half of each division forming the new Third Division and the bottom half forming the new Fourth Division.