The 1888–89 Football League was the first edition of the Football League, which ran from the autumn of 1888 until the spring of 1889. Created and named in Manchester during a meeting on 17 April 1888, the Football League is the oldest professional association football league competition in the world.
The season began on 8 September 1888 with 12 member clubs from the Midlands and North of England: Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Each club played the other twice, once at home and once away. The season concluded on 20 April 1889, with Preston crowned as the first league champions; they were also never defeated throughout the season, a very rare achievement that has only been replicated in England once since then, when Arsenal won the Premier League in the 2003–04 season.