Product Code Database
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English football league system, sitting below the Premier League.
In its present form, the Championship traces its legacy to the original Football League Second Division, which became the First Division in 1992 when the top flight of English football was reorganised as the Premier League. The current competition was intended for the 2004–05 season as the Football League Championship as a rebrand of the First Division. The winning football team of this division each season receives the EFL Championship trophy, which was the previous trophy awarded to the winners of the English top-flight prior to the launch of the Premier League. As with other divisions of professional English football, Welsh clubs can be part of this division, thus making it a cross-border league.
Each season, the two top-finishing teams in the Championship are automatically promoted to the Premier League. The teams that finish the season in third to sixth place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Premier League. The three lowest-finishing teams in the Championship are relegated to League One.
The Championship is the wealthiest non-top-flight football division in the world, the ninth-richest division in Europe, and the 12th best-attended division in world football (with the second highest per-match attendance of any secondary league – after the German 2.Bundesliga).A referenced list of all leagues ranking above the Championship is available at the Major League Soccer attendance page. Its average match attendance for the 2022–23 season was 18,787.
Cardiff City have spent more seasons in this division than any other team, and Bristol City, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers currently hold the longest tenure in this division, having last been absent in the 2014–15 season. Barnsley became the first club to attain 1,000 wins in second-tier English league football with a 2–1 home victory over Coventry City on 3 January 2011. They also became the first club to play 3,000 games in second-level English league football following another 2–1 home victory, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion on 12 March 2013 The current champions of the league are Leeds United.
Sunderland won their second Championship title in the 2006–07 season, after being relegated from the top division the previous season. On 4 May 2007, Leeds United became the first side since the re-branding of the division to enter administration; they were deducted 10 points and were relegated as a result. On 28 May 2007, Derby County won the first Championship play-off final at the new Wembley Stadium, beating West Bromwich Albion 1–0. West Brom would go on to win the Championship in the following season.
Burnley, who finished fifth in 2009, defeated Sheffield United to earn their first season in the newly branded Premier League, last being in the Football League First Division in 1976.
On 30 September 2009, Coca-Cola announced they would end their sponsorship deal with the Football League, which began in 2004, at the end of the 2009–10 season. Coca-Cola end Football League sponsorship deal The Guardian, 30 September 2009 On 16 March 2010, RWE npower were announced as the new title sponsors of the Football League, and from the start of the 2010–11 Football League season until the end of the 2012–13 season, the Football League Championship was known as the Npower Championship. Football League names npower as new sponsor BBC Sport, 16 March 2010 Crystal Palace became the second Championship club to enter administration in 2010.
After winning the 2011 League Cup final, Birmingham City became the first Championship club to compete in the group stage of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, finishing third in the group, only one point behind Portuguese club Braga. Birmingham City eventually finished fourth in the Championship that season, and would lose to fifth-place Blackpool in the play-off. Wigan Athletic became the second club to participate in the Europa League group stage after winning the 2013 FA Cup, only to accumulate one win and lose their last three group matches.
On 18 July 2013, UK bookmaker Sky Bet announced that they had signed a five-year agreement to sponsor the league.
On 24 May 2014, the Championship play-off final between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers saw the highest crowd for any Championship fixture – 87,348 witnessed a Bobby Zamora stoppage time winner for QPR to win promotion for the London club.
For the 2016–17 season, the Football League was rebranded as the English Football League. The league had a cumulative attendance of more than 11 million – excluding play-off matches – with more than two million watching Newcastle United and Aston Villa home fixtures alone, both of whom had been relegated from the Premier League in the previous season. This was included in the highest crowds for the second to fourth tier in England since the 1958–59 season. Newcastle won the title in 2016–17, while Aston Villa finished 13th, eventually returning to the Premier League in 2019.
On 13 March 2020, Championship play was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a suspension lasting until 4 April. It was then extended to the end of April, with the league eventually restarting on 20 June. Leeds United were confirmed as champions on 17 July 2020, being promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.
Brentford, having been in League Two in 2009 and gaining promotion to the Championship five years later, were promoted following a play-off victory against Swansea City on 29 May 2021, after losing the play-off to Fulham the previous year. On 29 May 2022, Nottingham Forest, having been in the Championship for 14 consecutive seasons, ended their 23-year absence from the top flight by beating Huddersfield Town in the play-off final, after being last in the league as late as round 8 of the 2021–22 season.
The EFL Championship took a unique four-week break in November and December 2022 to allow for players to join their national teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.
At the end of the season, the top two teams and the winner of the Championship play-offs are promoted to the Premier League and the bottom three teams are relegated to EFL League One. The Football League Championship play-offs is a knock-out competition for the teams finishing the season in third to sixth place with the winner being promoted to the Premier League. In the play-offs, the third-placed team plays against the sixth-placed team and the fourth-placed team plays against the fifth-placed team in two-legged semi-finals (home and away). The winners of each semi-final then compete in a single match at Wembley Stadium with the prize being promotion to the Premier League and the Championship play-off trophy.
| Birmingham City | Birmingham | St Andrew's | 29,409 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 |
| Bristol City | Bristol | Ashton Gate | 26,462 |
| Charlton Athletic | Greater London | The Valley | 27,111 |
| Coventry City | Coventry | 32,609 | |
| Derby County | Derby | Pride Park | 32,926 |
| Hull City | Kingston upon Hull | MKM Stadium | 25,586 |
| Ipswich Town | Ipswich | Portman Road | 30,056 |
| Leicester City | Leicester | King Power Stadium | 32,259 |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 34,742 |
| Millwall | London | The Den | 20,146 |
| Norwich City | Norwich | Carrow Road | 27,359 |
| Oxford United | Oxford | Kassam Stadium | 12,500 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 20,899 |
| Preston North End | Preston | Deepdale | 23,408 |
| Queens Park Rangers | London (Shepherd's Bush) | Loftus Road | 18,439 |
| Sheffield United | Sheffield (Highfield) | Bramall Lane | 32,050 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield (Hillsborough) | Hillsborough Stadium | 39,732 |
| Southampton | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,384 |
| Stoke City | Stoke-on-Trent | bet365 Stadium | 30,089 |
| Swansea City | Swansea | Swansea.com Stadium | 21,088 |
| Watford | Watford | Vicarage Road | 22,200 |
| West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,850 | |
| Wrexham | Wrexham | Racecourse Ground | 10,771 |
| 2004–05 | Sunderland 94 | Wigan Athletic 87 | West Ham United 73 (6th) | 1–0 | Preston North End 75 (5th) |
| 2005–06 | Reading 106 | Sheffield United 90 | Watford 81 (3rd) | 3–0 | Leeds United 78 (5th) |
| 2006–07 | Sunderland 88 | Birmingham City 86 | Derby County 84 (3rd) | 1–0 | West Bromwich Albion 76 (4th) |
| 2007–08 | West Bromwich Albion 81 | Stoke City 79 | Hull City 75 (3rd) | 1–0 | Bristol City 74 (4th) |
| 2008–09 | Wolverhampton Wanderers 90 | Birmingham City 83 | Burnley 76 (5th) | 1–0 | Sheffield United 80 (3rd) |
| 2009–10 | Newcastle United 102 | West Bromwich Albion 91 | Blackpool 70 (6th) | 3–2 | Cardiff City 76 (4th) |
| 2010–11 | Queens Park Rangers 88 | Norwich City1 84 | Swansea City 80 (3rd) | 4–2 | Reading 77 (5th) |
| 2011–12 | Reading 89 | Southampton 88 | West Ham United 86 (3rd) | 2–1 | Blackpool 75 (5th) |
| 2012–13 | Cardiff City 87 | Hull City 79 | Crystal Palace 72 (5th) | 1–0 | Watford 77 (3rd) |
| 2013–14 | Leicester City 102 | Burnley 93 | Queens Park Rangers 80 (4th) | 1–0 | Derby County 85 (3rd) |
| 2014–15 | AFC Bournemouth 90 | Watford 89 | Norwich City 86 (3rd) | 2–0 | Middlesbrough 85 (4th) |
| 2015–16 | Burnley 93 | Middlesbrough 89 | Hull City 83 (4th) | 1–0 | Sheffield Wednesday 74 (6th) |
| 2016–17 | Newcastle United 94 | Brighton & Hove Albion 93 | Huddersfield Town 81 (5th) | 0–0 (4–3 pen.) | Reading 85 (3rd) |
| 2017–18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers 99 | Cardiff City 90 | Fulham 88 (3rd) | 1–0 | Aston Villa 83 (4th) |
| 2018–19 | Norwich City 94 | Sheffield United 89 | Aston Villa 76 (5th) | 2–1 | Derby County 74 (6th) |
| 2019–20 | Leeds United 93 | West Bromwich Albion 83 | Fulham 81 (4th) | 2–1 | Brentford 81 (3rd) |
| 2020–21 | Norwich City 97 | Watford 91 | Brentford 87 (3rd) | 2–0 | Swansea City 80 (4th) |
| 2021–22 | Fulham 90 | AFC Bournemouth 88 | Nottingham Forest 80 (4th) | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town 82 (3rd) |
| 2022–23 | Burnley 101 | Sheffield United 91 | Luton Town 80 (3rd) | 1–1 (6–5 pen.) | Coventry City 70 (5th) |
| 2023–24 | Leicester City 97 | Ipswich Town 96 | Southampton 87 (4th) | 1–0 | Leeds United 90 (3rd) |
| 2024–25 | Leeds United 100 | Burnley2 100 | Sunderland 76 (4th) | 2–1 | Sheffield United 90 (3rd) |
| 2004–05 | Gillingham (50), Nottingham Forest (44), Rotherham United (29) |
| 2005–06 | Crewe Alexandra (42), Millwall (40), Brighton & Hove Albion (38) |
| 2006–07 | Southend United (42), Luton Town (40), Leeds United (36) |
| 2007–08 | Leicester City (52), Scunthorpe United (46), Colchester United (38) |
| 2008–09 | Norwich City (46), Southampton (45), Charlton Athletic (39) |
| 2009–10 | Sheffield Wednesday (47), Plymouth Argyle (41), Peterborough United (34) |
| 2010–11 | Preston North End (42), Sheffield United (42), Scunthorpe United (42) |
| 2011–12 | Portsmouth (40), Coventry City (40), Doncaster Rovers (36) |
| 2012–13 | Peterborough United (54), Wolverhampton Wanderers (51), Bristol City (41) |
| 2013–14 | Doncaster Rovers (44), Barnsley (39), Yeovil Town (37) |
| 2014–15 | Millwall (41), Wigan Athletic (39), Blackpool (26) |
| 2015–16 | Charlton Athletic (40), Milton Keynes Dons (39), Bolton Wanderers (30) |
| 2016–17 | Blackburn Rovers (51), Wigan Athletic (42), Rotherham United (23) |
| 2017–18 | Barnsley (41), Burton Albion (41), Sunderland (37) |
| 2018–19 | Rotherham United (40), Bolton Wanderers (32), Ipswich Town (31) |
| 2019–20 | Charlton Athletic (48), Wigan Athletic (47), Hull City (45) |
| 2020–21 | Wycombe Wanderers (43), Rotherham United (42), Sheffield Wednesday (41) |
| 2021–22 | Peterborough United (37), Derby County (34), Barnsley (30) |
| 2022–23 | Reading (44), Blackpool (44), Wigan Athletic (42) |
| 2023–24 | Birmingham City (50), Huddersfield Town (45), Rotherham United (27) |
| 2024–25 | Luton Town (49), Plymouth Argyle (46), Cardiff City (44) |
| 2004–05 | Crystal Palace (33), Norwich City (33), Southampton (32) |
| 2005–06 | Birmingham City (34), West Bromwich Albion (30), Sunderland (15) |
| 2006–07 | Sheffield United (38), Charlton Athletic (34), Watford (29) |
| 2007–08 | Reading (36), Birmingham City (35), Derby County (11) |
| 2008–09 | Newcastle United (34), Middlesbrough (32), West Bromwich Albion (32) |
| 2009–10 | Burnley (30), Hull City (30), Portsmouth (19) |
| 2010–11 | Birmingham City (39), Blackpool (39), West Ham United (33) |
| 2011–12 | Bolton Wanderers (36), Blackburn Rovers (31), Wolverhampton Wanderers (25) |
| 2012–13 | Wigan Athletic (36), Reading (28), Queens Park Rangers (25) |
| 2013–14 | Norwich City (33), Fulham (32), Cardiff City (30) |
| 2014–15 | Hull City (35), Burnley (33), Queens Park Rangers (30) |
| 2015–16 | Newcastle United (37), Norwich City (34), Aston Villa (17) |
| 2016–17 | Hull City (34), Middlesbrough (28), Sunderland (24) |
| 2017–18 | Swansea City (33), Stoke City (33), West Bromwich Albion (31) |
| 2018–19 | Cardiff City (34), Fulham (26), Huddersfield Town (16) |
| 2019–20 | AFC Bournemouth (34), Watford (34), Norwich City (21) |
| 2020–21 | Fulham (28), West Bromwich Albion (26), Sheffield United (23) |
| 2021–22 | Burnley (35), Watford (23), Norwich City (22) |
| 2022–23 | Leicester City (34), Leeds United (31), Southampton (25) |
| 2023–24 | Luton Town (26), Burnley (24), Sheffield United (16) |
| 2024–25 | Leicester (25), Ipswich Town (22), Southampton (12) |
| 2004–05 | Luton Town (98), Hull City (86), Sheffield Wednesday (Play-off winners) (72) |
| 2005–06 | Southend United (82), Colchester United (79), Barnsley (Play-off winners) (72) |
| 2006–07 | Scunthorpe United (91), Bristol City (85), Blackpool (Play-off winners) (83) |
| 2007–08 | Swansea City (91), Nottingham Forest (82), Doncaster Rovers (Play-off winners) (80) |
| 2008–09 | Leicester City (96), Peterborough United (89), Scunthorpe United (Play-off winners) (76) |
| 2009–10 | Norwich City (95), Leeds United (86), Millwall (Play-off winners) (85) |
| 2010–11 | Brighton & Hove Albion (95), Southampton (92), Peterborough United (Play-off winners) (79) |
| 2011–12 | Charlton Athletic (101), Sheffield Wednesday (93), Huddersfield Town (Play-off winners) (81) |
| 2012–13 | Doncaster Rovers (84), AFC Bournemouth (83), Yeovil Town (Play-off winners) (77) |
| 2013–14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (103), Brentford (94), Rotherham United (Play-off winners) (86) |
| 2014–15 | Bristol City (99), Milton Keynes Dons (91), Preston North End (Play-off winners) (89) |
| 2015–16 | Wigan Athletic (87), Burton Albion (85), Barnsley (Play-off winners) (74) |
| 2016–17 | Sheffield United (100), Bolton Wanderers (87), Millwall (Play-off winners) (73) |
| 2017–18 | Wigan Athletic (98), Blackburn Rovers (96), Rotherham United (Play-off winners) (79) |
| 2018–19 | Luton Town (94), Barnsley (91), Charlton Athletic (Play-off winners) (88) |
| 2019–20The teams listed for this season were ranked using points per game following the curtailment of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. | Coventry City (88.71), Rotherham United (77.94), Wycombe Wanderers (Play-off winners) (76.35) |
| 2020–21 | Hull City (89), Peterborough United (87), Blackpool (Play-off winners) (80) |
| 2021–22 | Wigan Athletic (92), Rotherham United (90), Sunderland (Play-off winners) (84) |
| 2022–23 | Plymouth Argyle (101), Ipswich Town (98), Sheffield Wednesday (Play-off winners) (96) |
| 2023–24 | Portsmouth (97), Derby County (92), Oxford United (Play-off winners) (77) |
| 2024–25 | Birmingham City (111), Wrexham A.F.C. (92), Charlton Athletic (Play-off winners) (84) |
| 2004–05 | Nathan Ellington | Wigan Athletic | 24 |
| 2005–06 | Marlon King | Watford | 21 |
| 2006–07 | Jamie Cureton | Colchester United | 23 |
| 2007–08 | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | Plymouth Argyle Wolverhampton Wanderers | 23 |
| 2008–09 | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 25 |
| 2009–10 | Peter Whittingham | Cardiff City | 20 |
| Nicky Maynard | Bristol City | ||
| 2010–11 | Danny Graham | Watford | 24 |
| 2011–12 | Rickie Lambert | Southampton | 27 |
| 2012–13 | Glenn Murray | Crystal Palace | 30 |
| 2013–14 | Ross McCormack | Leeds United | 28 |
| 2014–15 | Daryl Murphy | Ipswich Town | 27 |
| 2015–16 | Andre Gray | Brentford Burnley | 25 |
| 2016–17 | Chris Wood | Leeds United | 27 |
| 2017–18 | Matěj Vydra | Derby County | 21 |
| 2018–19 | Teemu Pukki | Norwich City | 29 |
| 2019–20 | Aleksandar Mitrović | Fulham | 26 |
| 2020–21 | Ivan Toney | Brentford | 31 |
| 2021–22 | Aleksandar Mitrović | Fulham | 43 |
| 2022–23 | Chuba Akpom | Middlesbrough | 28 |
| 2023–24 | Sammie Szmodics | Blackburn Rovers | 27 |
| 2024–25 | Joël Piroe | Leeds United | 19 |
The highest average league attendance was in 2023–24 season, when 12.7 million fans attended Championship matches, at an average of 23,048 per game. The lowest average league attendance came in the 2013–14 season, when 9.1 million spectators watched at an average of 16,605 per game. The highest seasonal average for a club was 51,106 for Newcastle United in the 2016–17 season.
| 29,207 | |||
| 24,952 | |||
| 31,887 | |||
| 25,631 | |||
| 29,440 | |||
| 43,388 | |||
| 27,299 | |||
| 30,923 | |||
| 26,236 | |||
| 27,283 | |||
| 29,232 | |||
| 29,663 | |||
| 51,106 | |||
| 32,097 | |||
| 36,029 | |||
| 27,643 | |||
| No attendances due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 27,611 | |||
| 38,653 | |||
| 41,158 | |||
| 40,425 | |||
Burnley and Norwich City have been promoted out of the Championship on four occasions, with five teams (Fulham, Hull City, Sheffield United, Watford, West Brom) having been promoted on three occasions. Rotherham United have been relegated from the Championship the most times on five occasions, with Wigan Athletic having been relegated the second-most times on four occasions and two teams (Barnsley and Charlton Athletic) having been relegated on three occasions. 14 teams have been both promoted out of and relegated from the Championship.
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