CONTEST!!! TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE LEAGUE IN FOOTBALL by @edmund.nef

Hello fellow steemians,

It is with great pleasure to be able to participate in this great contest which talks about my favorite football league across the continent. Before that I will want to encourage all Manchester United fans and tell them that there are better days ahead.

Introduction

Football league is a pool of teams or clubs from a particular country or specific geographical area competing against each other to be crown champion or to win the league and the trophy. In recent years, several leagues, especially in Europe, have gained much audience and attention from fans and the media which is good for the game.

There has been a very crucial and understandable argument on which league is the best league in the world. People from different angles have given their own ideas on which league they think is the best in the world. I personally think that for a league to be the best in the world for that matter my favorite it should meet some criteria.

Before I will select the league that is my favorite and talk about it, I will want to make all aware that the league that is once favorite must be treated or regarded with special favor or liking in that person's heart. Despite the fact that we all have local teams or clubs that participate in a league, we also have our favorite teams or clubs that we mostly tune in to watch or follow closely even if our local teams are playing.

For example, as a Ghanaian I would prefer to watch a match between Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid to Accra Hearts of Ork Vs West Africa Football Academy (WAFA). This is not because I do not like my local football but because of the presence of top players, social media buzz generated from these games, and the success of clubs from these leagues in various continental tournaments

Personally I have no doubt that the English Premier League is the best and my favorite league in the world. This is arguable base on different angles from which one will be looking at it. In this post and contest, I will be sharing with the world the seven reasons why the English Premier League is my favorite league .

seven reasons why the English Premier League is my favorite league .

1. The Players in the EPL

Some will definitely ask "are the best players in the world playing in the English Premier League". The answer to this big question is actually NO. It is a fact that the best players in the world currently are not playing in the EPL but rather in the Spanish La Liga. For example, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo who are the best in the world currently are scattered in Spain, France and Italy respectively.

Although this players are excellent, it is not advisable to measure how great a league is with just a player or two. The game is made up of a team and therefore it is all this players performance that must combine to make the league the best and for that matter my favorite. This could be determined with a simple experiment of taking ten teams from each league and selecting a player from each to make a complete new team. It will clear that the teams formed from EPl will have the major strength undoubtedly making it be best and my favorite.

2. The Stadium

One of the requirements for a great game is the pitch. It is therefore important that before a league can be the best or among the best it must possess good or standard stadium. In the premiership, you don't have to travel far to encounter first class stadia which makes the game more and more lovely to watch and play. Definitely the stadium comes with exceptional features such as seating, viewing and facilities statues and others.

It is also a fact to argue about that the world most largest stadium is not found in english premiere league but the rather the Spanish la liga. It is true but apart from that stadium and that of Real Madrid, the rest are not comparable to that of the premier league. The great stadium such as the traditional rectangular favourites like Old Trafford and Anfield to the modern fields like the Emirates. With the newly promoted side and yet to be promoted clubs have well-designed stadia, often built to high standards. Example is Southampton FC who play at St Mary's Stadium, the largest in the south of England outside London with a total capacity close to 32,600.

3. International Tournament

International competition that are been organized by FIFA has a major role such as the world Cup and among others have a major contribution to the various leagues. In as much as that the various leagues also use that to determine their total contributions to the world of football.

Based on the number of players that are selected from your league to represent their country at the international level determines how competitive the league is. It also indirectly tells that that league is the best among the rest. For example taking a look at the EURO 2012. The table below gives the break down of the various leagues most players were called from.

Major League	Total Number of players
English Premier League	74
Bundles Liga	48
La Liga	32
Serie A	31

These figures occurred similarly in the 2014 World Cup with the premier league leading and in that manner. I believe this also gives a clue on which league is the best and why it is my favorite league.

4. TV Coverage

The first match that was broadcasted on Tv was back in 1965 which was between Liverpool and Everton by BBC. It was just a few million of people who watched that match. Years down the line, football matches are been watched by a lot of people both the live and dead matches.

Source
Currently it is estimated that over 600 million people in about 200 countries watch the premier league more than any other league in the world. Matches from the premier league are preferred to any other league matches just because of the the excitement in the game, the pace of the game and how it is been marketed. Live matches are eagerly watched by both the aged and the young in all areas across the globe. With all these there is no reason why premier league will not be my favorite league and i believe everyone taking part in this contest knows that.

5. Great Competition

In every league across the globe, there are great and intense competition for the title race but the issue here is, are all of them having the ability to left the trophy. The answer to me is No except for the English Premier League which all the teams will have the ability to win the trophy. For example, I will be taking six teams from three league to make an argument to confirm that that my favorite league is the best in the world.

Premier League	La Liga	Bundesliga
Man city	Athletico Madrid	Bayern Munchen
Man United	Real Madrid	VFL wolfsburg
Liverpool	Barcelona	TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Chelsea	Sevilla	Turbine potsdam
Leicester city	Real sociedad	Bayer Leverkusen
West Ham	Real Betis	Eintracht Frankfurt

From the table above, it can be deduce that the six teams in the premier league column are all title contenders unlike the other league. Taking the La Liga column, it's inevitably the two elite clubs who end up fighting for the title which are Barcelona and Real Madrid. It is just this year that Athletico Madrid was able to intrude. In Germany it's often two, recently only one which is Bayern Munchen. This is one of the reasons why premier league is my favorite league.

6. Atmosphere

The atmosphere here is talking about the attendance of fans and supporters in the stadium, although in Spain, Barcelona v Real Madrid, creates enormous interest which I will classify the biggest football match in the world. Apart from this match it is very difficult to find another game close to this game . But in the premier league, great matches with greater attendance. Manchester United's Old Trafford is 75,000 which is always full when matches are going on apart from the covid-19 , Emirates 60,000 and Liverpool is 54,000. The list goes on and on and on making people welling to go and that names it may favorite league.

7. Money, Glory and Prestige:

Playing football is a work a lot of people are doing, and they are been horned by payment. Even a few supporters also make some amount of cash for supporting their team through TV shows, commercial commitments and others. It is therefore very important to consider the amount players are taking for their work. I definitely did factor this before I selected my favorite league. Although it is not the premier league that has the most payed player but it is the league with high average salary of the players. It is estimated that the average player earns about £50,000 per week in the EPl from the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association).

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the English Premier League is my favorite and the reasons have been given above. It is also the best in the world to me (arguably) followed by La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and league 1 respectively.

Thank you for your attention.