# 2024–25 in English football
The 2024–25 season in English football ran from August 2024 to May 2025 across the Premier League, the [English Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-football-league) (EFL), the cup competitions, and the women's game. Liverpool won a record-equaling 20th top-flight title, all three promoted Premier League clubs went straight back down, and English clubs reached both major [UEFA](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa) men's finals, with Tottenham Hotspur taking the Europa League and Arsenal Women the [UEFA Women's Champions League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-womens-champions-league).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premier League champions | Liverpool, clinched on 27 April with a 5-1 win over Tottenham at Anfield, equaling Manchester United's record of 20 top-flight titles[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko) |
| Liverpool's record | 84 points from 38 matches (25 wins, 9 draws, 4 losses, 86 scored, 41 conceded); Mohamed Salah top scorer with 29 league goals[2](https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/2024-2025/2024-2025-Premier-League-Stats) |
| Relegated from the Premier League | Southampton (earliest relegation in Premier League history, 6 April), Leicester City, and Ipswich Town[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko) • [3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more) |
| Promoted to the Premier League | Leeds United (Championship champions), Burnley (second), and the Championship play-off winner[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more) |
| European places | Five Premier League clubs in the 2025/26 Champions League league phase, plus Tottenham as Europa League winners and Newcastle United via the Carabao Cup[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko) • [3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more) |
| Women's Super League | Chelsea won a sixth successive title; Crystal Palace relegated[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion) |
| European women's trophy | Arsenal Women beat FC Barcelona 1-0 in Lisbon to win the 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League[5](https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/about-the-fa/2026/2024-25-fa-annual-report.ashx?la=en) |
| Season dates | EFL league season from the weekend of 10/11 August 2024 to 3 May 2025; Premier League final round on 25 May 2025[6](https://www.efl.com/news/2024/january/24/efl-schedule-confirmed-for-2024-25-season/) • [7](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/3832048) |
## Premier League
**Liverpool's title.** Liverpool sealed the championship on 27 April 2025 with a 5-1 home win over [Tottenham](https://www.edgepedia.org/tottenham), a result that gave the club its 20th English top-flight title and drew level with Manchester United's record[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko). Over 38 matches Liverpool recorded 25 wins, 9 draws, and 4 losses, scoring 86 and conceding 41 for a final total of 84 points, with [Mohamed Salah](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohamed-salah) the club's leading scorer on 29 league goals[2](https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/2024-2025/2024-2025-Premier-League-Stats).
**Relegation.** [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton) became the earliest team to be relegated, in terms of games played, in Premier League history when they lost 3-1 at Tottenham on 6 April[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko). Leicester City's relegation was confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, a result that made them the first team in top-flight history to go nine consecutive home league games without scoring, and Ipswich Town's return to the Championship followed a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). For a second year running, all of the newly promoted teams were relegated straight back to the second tier[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more).
**European qualification.** The top five in the Premier League qualified for the 2025/26 Champions League league phase, because Arsenal's quarter-final first-leg win over Real Madrid boosted England's UEFA coefficient and secured an extra place beyond the regular top four[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). As Europa League winners, Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the Champions League league phase as an additional, sixth English team regardless of their league finish[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko). Newcastle United secured a Conference League spot with their Carabao Cup win, with the possibility of upgrading through their league position[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more).
## EFL
**Championship.** Leeds United won the Championship and Burnley finished second, taking the two automatic promotion places to the Premier League[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). Sheffield United finished third, [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland) fourth, Coventry fifth, and Bristol City sixth, contesting the play-offs, whose final was scheduled for Wembley on 24 May[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle, and Luton Town were relegated to League One[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more).
**League One and below.** Birmingham City were crowned League One champions on a record-breaking 111 points, and Wrexham sealed a historic third consecutive promotion by finishing second[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Crawley Town, and Bristol Rovers went down to League Two[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more). In League Two, Doncaster Rovers were champions, Port Vale finished second, and Bradford City took the final automatic promotion spot with a dramatic late final-day win; [Morecambe](https://www.edgepedia.org/morecambe) and Carlisle United were relegated to the [National League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-league), whose title Barnet won with a 4-0 defeat of [Aldershot](https://www.edgepedia.org/aldershot) to return to League Two[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more).
**Scheduling.** The EFL's 46 rounds of Championship matches were spread over 33 weekends, 9 midweeks, and 4 bank holidays, with Leagues One and Two playing over 36 weekends, 6 midweeks, and 4 bank holidays; the Sky Bet play-off finals took place over the May bank holiday weekend[6](https://www.efl.com/news/2024/january/24/efl-schedule-confirmed-for-2024-25-season/). EFL chief executive Trevor Birch noted that pressures from revamped European competitions made scheduling across the season challenging and complex[6](https://www.efl.com/news/2024/january/24/efl-schedule-confirmed-for-2024-25-season/).
## Cup competitions
The League Cup final ended Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool[8](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0290-1bba67b46b87-fb69e389a4d7-1000/first_division_clubs_2024-25.pdf), a result that carried Newcastle's European place through the Carabao Cup win[3](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more) • [16](https://www.efl.com/news/2025/march/16/newcastle-united-beat-liverpool-to-lift-carabao-cup/). The [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) final at Wembley drew an attendance of 84,163[9](https://apnews.com/article/31a843277d6ace630898c0cf3f49ccfb). In the women's game, Arsenal lifted the UEFA Women's Champions League after beating [FC Barcelona](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-barcelona) 1-0 in Lisbon[5](https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/about-the-fa/2026/2024-25-fa-annual-report.ashx?la=en).
## Women's Super League
**Chelsea's sixth title.** Defending champions Chelsea won the WSL for the sixth consecutive season with two games to spare, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the 20th round after Arsenal's 5-2 loss to Aston Villa left Chelsea needing only a point, which a [Lucy Bronze](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucy-bronze) goal secured[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion). Arsenal finished second and Manchester United third[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion).
**Managerial churn and relegation.** Five WSL managers left their posts during the season, including Manchester City's Gareth Taylor, dismissed on performance-related grounds, and Liverpool's Matt Beard, sacked in February with the club seventh[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion). Newly promoted Crystal Palace were relegated after a 7-1 defeat to West Ham[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion).
**Broadcasting.** Sky announced a new five-year deal from 2025/26 under which it will show 90 percent of WSL matches, 78 games exclusively each season, while the BBC committed to broadcasting the league until 2030; the two deals are reportedly worth £65m[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion).
## Rule and financial changes
**On-field changes.** The Premier League and PGMOL issued a competition guidance handbook setting a high threshold for penalizing challenges and for VAR intervention, under which the on-pitch "Referee's Call" stands unless the VAR can see, without doubt, a clear and obvious error[10](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4108592). Semi-automated offside technology was introduced during the season to reduce VAR delays, with the technology creating a 3D offside line and in-stadium graphics[10](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4108592) • [11](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4082251). The multiball system continued with 15 balls in use, the number of substitutes allowed to warm up simultaneously rose from three to five per team, and added time after a goal was only counted beyond the first 30 seconds of the delay[12](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4076251).
**Financial rules.** At the June 2024 Annual General Meeting, Premier League clubs agreed to trial an alternative league-wide financial system during 2024/25 on a non-binding basis, shadowing the existing Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) with Squad Cost Rules (SCR), which regulate on-pitch spend to 85 percent of a club's football revenue and net player-sales profit, and Top to Bottom Anchoring Rules (TBA), a league-level anchor linked to a multiple of the forecast lowest central distribution[13](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4034099).
## Attendance
The Premier League's average attendance topped 40,000 for only the second time in history in 2024-25, helped by the growing number of clubs with grounds above 60,000 capacity[14](https://gameofthepeople.com/2025/06/20/premier-hits-40000-european-attendances-in-2024-25/). Liverpool's home league average was 60,324[2](https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/2024-2025/2024-2025-Premier-League-Stats). A Deloitte review of the game noted that in each of the two most recent seasons, 2023-24 and 2024-25, all three clubs promoted from the Championship were relegated after just one season in the Premier League[15](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-regulator-premier-league-deloitte-labour-tickets-b2768078.html).
## References
1. [Premier League, WSL, EFL, Scottish football: Ups, downs & European qualification, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5yr0n82jgko)
2. [2024-2025 Premier League Stats, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/2024-2025/2024-2025-Premier-League-Stats)
3. [Football promotion, relegation, play-offs and European qualification 2024/25 season, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13346565/football-promotion-relegation-play-offs-and-european-qualification-2024-25-season-ups-and-downs-in-premier-league-efl-and-more)
4. [The story of the 2024/25 WSL season, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/202425-wsl-season-story-so-far-relegation-promotion)
5. [The FA Strategic Report 2024-25](https://www.thefa.com/-/media/thefacom-new/files/about-the-fa/2026/2024-25-fa-annual-report.ashx?la=en)
6. [EFL schedule confirmed for 2024/25 season, English Football League](https://www.efl.com/news/2024/january/24/efl-schedule-confirmed-for-2024-25-season/)
7. [Dates for 2024/25 Premier League season confirmed, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/3832048)
8. [First Division Clubs 2024-25, UEFA](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0290-1bba67b46b87-fb69e389a4d7-1000/first_division_clubs_2024-25.pdf)
9. [Club World Cup crowds have wildly fluctuated, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/31a843277d6ace630898c0cf3f49ccfb)
10. [Premier League & PGMOL Competition Guidance Handbook 2024/25, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4108592)
11. [How VAR will be different in the Premier League this season, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4082251)
12. [What's new in 2024/25: Rule changes, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4076251)
13. [Premier League statement on financial system trial, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4034099)
14. [Premier hits 40,000 – European attendances in 2024-25, Game of the People](https://gameofthepeople.com/2025/06/20/premier-hits-40000-european-attendances-in-2024-25/)
15. ['Under strain' English football must improve value for fans, report says, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-regulator-premier-league-deloitte-labour-tickets-b2768078.html)
16. [Carabao Cup Final Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United](https://www.efl.com/news/2025/march/16/newcastle-united-beat-liverpool-to-lift-carabao-cup/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Country-year season overviews*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license