The large number of Brazilian football clubs on this list can be explained by the fact that these clubs were dominant in the relatively small state leagues, which formed the highest tier of competition in Brazil for more than half a century.
**Bohemians were relegated in 1911 from the (now Northern) Irish League, but returned in 1912 and stayed there until 1920 to form the Irish Free State (now Republic of Ireland) League, from which they have never been relegated.