What does EFL Cup stand for? Organised by the English Football League (EFL), it is open to any club within the top four levels of the English football league system – 92 clubs in total – comprising the top-level Premier League, and the three divisions of the English Football League’s own league competition (Championship, League One and League Two) Who founded the EFL? William McGregor is considered by most to be the father of modern-day football and the founder of the English Football League. He pioneered what is considered to be the original football league competition. In 1888 he pushed for 12 of the most prominent clubs in the country to come together in a league and arrange both home and away fixtures on a season-by-season basis. How many English leagues are there? There are a total of 57 different leagues in England, featuring 84 different English Football League divisions that provide a feeder to the pyramid. What are the different football leagues? Football leagues in England are broken down into different tiers of football; professional, semi-professional and amateur leagues, the top of which is the Premier League. After that, the Championship, League One and League Two are the remaining professional leagues. After League Two, there is the National League, which is the first of the semi-pro leagues. There are two steps in the National League: The National League and the second step, the National League North/South, which cover the two halves of the country. Next is step seven, which is made up of leagues covering the four regional corners of the country The Northern Premier League Southern League Central Division Southern League South Division Isthmian League Premier Division After step seven, there are semi-pro and countless amateur leagues that span the entire country. Premier League The Premier League is the top most prestigious event in the English Football League. 20 teams compete for the grand prize and the bottom three teams are relegated. 20 teams 3 relegations Most titles: Manchester United – 13 Iconic moment: Sergio Aguero wins the league for Manchester City for the first time 2011/12 Latest English Premier League betting odds at William Hill Discover more Premier League news Championship The second most important football event in the EFL is the Championship which includes 24 teams. The top two teams in the Championship are promoted leaving the next four in line to compete in the play-offs. The winner of the play-offs achieves the third promotion position. The bottom three teams out of the 24 are then relegated. 24 teams 3 promotions 3 relegations Most titles: Newcastle, Norwich, Sunderland, Reading, Wolves – 2 each Iconic moment: Troy Deeney winner, play-off semi-final 2012/13 League One Like the Championship, 24 teams compete for promotion. The top two winning teams in the competition are automatically promoted with the next four competing for the third promotion in the play-offs. slightly differently from the Championship, the bottom four are relegated. 24 teams 3 promotions 4 relegations Most titles: Wigan – 3 League Two Following a similar suit to the higher tiers, there are 24 teams in League Two competing to be promoted. However, the top three teams with the most points are automatically promoted with the next four competing for the fourth spot in the play-offs. The bottom two teams are relegated. 24 teams 4 promotions 2 relegations Most titles: Chesterfield, Swindon – 2 each National League The remaining tiers in English football feed the National League: the last before the professional leagues. The winners are the National League are promoted and then the next six teams compete in the play-offs for the second promotion. The bottom four teams are then relegated to the North or South divisions. 24 teams 2 promotions 4 relegations National League North & South The teams are split into the North and South dependent on their geographical location. Both competitions run in parallel to one another with 22 teams each. The winners of each division are promoted to the National League and then the next six teams compete in the play-offs for the second promotion spot. This totals four teams qualifying for the National League. The bottom four teams in each division are then relegated. If the teams in the Norht and South divisions are not equal because of the promotions and relegations, teams are then transferred between the two divisions based on the teams location in the country until there is an even number. 44 teams 4 promotions 8 relegations Northern & Southern Premier Division, Southern Premier Central and Isthmian League In tier 7 there are four leagues that run in parallel; the Northern Premier League Division, Southern Football League Premier Central, Southern Football League Premier South and Isthmian League Premier Division. Each league has 22 teams competing to become the champion and be automatically promoted. The next four then play in the play-offs for the second promotion spot per division. Then the bottom four teams are relegated to a level 8 division. Like the National League North & South, If the number of teams in each division is uneven, teams will be transferred. 88 teams 8 promotions 16 relegations