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EFL Championship

The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship in England and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship,[1] is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League, and is currently contested by 24 clubs. The current holders are Burnley, who won the 2022–23 edition.

EFL Championship
Founded
  • 1892; 132 years ago (1892) (as Football League Second Division)
  • 1992; 32 years ago (1992) as (Football League First Division)
  • 2004; 20 years ago (2004) (as Football League Championship)
  • 2016; 8 years ago (2016) (as EFL Championship)
CountryEngland
Other club(s) fromWales
Number of teams24
Level on pyramid2
Promotion toPremier League
Relegation toEFL League One
Domestic cup(s)
League cup(s)
International cup(s)
Current championsBurnley
(2nd title)
(2022–23)
Most championships
TV partnersList of broadcasters
WebsiteOfficial website
Current: 2023–24 EFL Championship

Introduced for the 2004–05 season as the Football League Championship, the division is a rebrand of the former Football League First Division, which itself is a rebrand of the now-defunct Football League Second Division prior to the 1992 launch of the Premier League. The winning club 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 3rd to 6th 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,[2] and the tenth best-attended division in world football (with the highest per-match attendance of any secondary league).[3] Its average match attendance for the 2022–23 season was 18,787.[4]

Cardiff City have spent more seasons in this division than any other team, and Birmingham City currently hold the longest tenure in this division having last been absent in the 2010–11 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. (W1028, D747, L1224).[5]

History edit

Sunderland won the league in the first season since rebranding, with Wigan Athletic finishing second to win promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history. They had only been elected to the Football League in 1987; playing in the fourth tier as recently as 1994 before their promotion. West Ham United won the first Championship play-off final that season, following a 1–0 victory over Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The 2004–05 season saw the division announce a total attendance (including postseason) of 9.8 million, the fourth-highest total attendance for a European football division, behind the Premier League (12.88 million), Spain's La Liga (11.57 million) and Germany's Bundesliga (10.92 million).[6][7][8] Additionally, Millwall, competing in the inaugural Championship season, qualified for the UEFA Cup, only to lose in the first qualifying round. In the 2005–06 season, Reading broke the Football League points record for a season, finishing with 106 points, exceeding the record of 105 set by Sunderland in 1999.[9]

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.[10][11] On 28 May 2007, Derby County won the first Championship play-off final at the new Wembley Stadium, beating West Bromwich Albion 1–0.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] On 16 March 2010, 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.[15] Crystal Palace became the second Championship club to enter administration in 2010.[16]

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.[17]

On 18 July 2013, UK bookmaker Sky Bet announced that they had signed a five-year agreement to sponsor the league.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20] Newcastle won the title in 2016–17, while Aston Villa finished 13th, eventually returning to the Premier League in 2019.[21]

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.[22]

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.[23] 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.[24]

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.[25]

League structure edit

The league comprises 24 teams. Over the course of a season, which runs annually from August to the following May (in 2022, the year of a World Cup break in November and December, the league started in July), each team plays twice against the others in the league, once at 'home' and once 'away', resulting in each team competing in 46 games in total. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the league table by points gained, then goal difference, then goals scored, and then their head-to-head record for that season (including away goals record). If two or more teams finish the season equal in all these respects, then teams are separated by alphabetical order, unless a promotion, relegation, or play-off place (see below) is at stake, when the teams are separated by a play-off game, though this improbable situation has never arisen in all the years the rule has existed.[26]

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.

Current members edit

class=notpageimage|
Location of EFL Championship clubs around Greater London
class=notpageimage|
Location of the West Midland's EFL Championship clubs

The following 24 clubs will compete in the EFL Championship during the 2023–24 season.

Club Finishing position last season Location Stadium Capacity[27]
Birmingham City 17th Birmingham St Andrew's Stadium 29,409
Blackburn Rovers 7th Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bristol City 14th Bristol Ashton Gate 27,000
Cardiff City 21st Cardiff Cardiff City Stadium 33,316
Coventry City 5th Coventry Coventry Building Society Arena 32,609
Huddersfield Town 18th Huddersfield John Smith's Stadium 24,121
Hull City 15th Kingston upon Hull MKM Stadium 25,586
Ipswich Town 2nd in League One (promoted) Ipswich Portman Road 29,673
Leeds United 19th in Premier League (relegated) Leeds Elland Road 37,608
Leicester City 18th in Premier League (relegated) Leicester King Power Stadium 32,262
Middlesbrough 4th Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 34,742
Millwall 8th London (South Bermondsey) The Den 20,146
Norwich City 13th Norwich Carrow Road 27,244
Plymouth Argyle 1st in League One (promoted) Plymouth Home Park 17,900
Preston North End 12th Preston Deepdale 23,408
Queens Park Rangers 20th London (Shepherd's Bush) Loftus Road 18,439
Rotherham United 19th Rotherham New York Stadium 12,021
Sheffield Wednesday 3rd in League One (promoted via play-offs) Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium 34,854
Southampton 20th in Premier League (relegated) Southampton St Mary's Stadium 32,384
Stoke City 16th Stoke-on-Trent bet365 Stadium 30,089
Sunderland 6th Sunderland Stadium of Light 49,000
Swansea City 10th Swansea Swansea.com Stadium 21,088
Watford 11th Watford Vicarage Road 22,200
West Bromwich Albion 9th West Bromwich The Hawthorns 26,688

Results edit

League champions, runners-up and play-off finalists edit

Season Champions Runners-up Play-off winners Score Play-off runners-up
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 (a.e.t.) Watford 77 (3rd)
2013–14 Leicester City 102 Burnley2 93 Queens Park Rangers 80 (4th) 1–0 Derby County 85 (3rd)
2014–15 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 Albion2 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 (a.e.t.) Brentford 81 (3rd)
2020–21 Norwich City 97 Watford 91 Brentford 87 (3rd) 2–0 Swansea City 80 (4th)
2021–22 Fulham 90 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)

1 When Norwich City gained promotion to the Premier League they were the first team to be relegated to, relegated from, promoted to and promoted from the Championship.
2 When Burnley were promoted with 93 points they set a record for the most points for a second-placed team; this was matched by Brighton & Hove Albion three years later.

For past winners at this level before 2004, see List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors

Relegated teams (from Championship to League One) edit

Season Clubs (Points)
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)

Relegated teams (from Premier League to Championship) edit

Season Clubs (Points)
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 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)

edit

Season Clubs (Points)
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), 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)
2019–20[28] 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)

Top scorers edit

Season Top scorer(s) Club(s) Goals
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

Attendances edit

 

The EFL Championship is the second most-watched second-tier domestic sports league in the World, behind the German 2. Bundesliga (22,224), with an average of 18,787 spectators per game in the 2022–23 season. The Championship is the fifth most watched league in Europe.[29]

The highest average league attendance was in 2017–18 season, when 11.3 million fans attended Championship matches, at an average of 20,489 per game.[30] 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.[31] The highest seasonal average for a club was 51,106 for Newcastle United in the 2016–17 season.[32]

Season League average attendance Highest average
Club Attendance
2004–05 17,417 Leeds United 29,207 [33]
2005–06 17,607 Norwich City 24,952 [34]
2006–07 18,179 Sunderland 31,887 [35]
2007–08 17,027 Sheffield United 25,631 [36]
2008–09 17,888 Derby County 29,440 [37]
2009–10 17,949 Newcastle United 43,388 [38]
2010–11 17,369 Leeds United 27,299 [39]
2011–12 17,739 West Ham United 30,923 [40]
2012–13 17,493 Brighton & Hove Albion 26,236 [41]
2013–14 16,605 Brighton & Hove Albion 27,283 [31]
2014–15 17,857 Derby County 29,232 [42]
2015–16 17,583 Derby County 29,663 [43]
2016–17 20,119 Newcastle United 51,106 [44]
2017–18 20,489 Aston Villa 32,097 [30]
2018–19 20,269 Aston Villa 36,029 [45]
2019–20 18,585 [46] Leeds United 27,643 [47]
2020–21 No attendances due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 16,776 Sheffield United 27,611 [48]
2022–23 18,787 Sunderland 38,653 [49]

Historic performance edit

Since the restructuring into the Championship in 2004, 56 teams have spent at least one season in the division, including 13 of the 20 teams in the 2023–24 Premier League. Cardiff City have spent the longest in the league with 18 seasons. The 15-season spell for Ipswich Town between 2004 and 2019 is the longest consecutive spell of any team in the division. The team with the current longest tenure is Birmingham City, which will have their thirteenth consecutive season as a Championship team in the 2023-24 season. Norwich City has had six separate spells in the Championship; the most of any team. There have been 13 different winners of the EFL Championship, with six teams (Burnley, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Reading and Norwich City) having won it twice.

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 and Wigan Athletic have been relegated from the Championship on four occasions, with 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.

Key

  •    † Teams with this background and symbol in the "Club" column will be competing in the 2023–24 EFL Championship
  •    ‡ Team will be competing in the 2023–24 Premier League
  •    The club competed in the EFL Championship during that season (the number is the club's final league position)
Club Total Seasons Number of Spells Longest Spell (Seasons) Highest Position Lowest Position Season
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
Bournemouth 4 2 2 1 10 10 1 6 2
Aston Villa 3 1 3 4 13 13 4 5
Barnsley 13 3 8 5 24 20 18 20 18 17 21 21 23 14 22 21 5 24
Birmingham City 15 3 13 2 21 2 2 4 12 21 10 10 19 19 17 20 18 20 17 -
Blackburn Rovers 11 2 6 8 22 17 8 9 15 22 15 11 15 8 7 -
Blackpool 9 3 4 5 24 19 16 6 5 15 20 24 16 23
Bolton Wanderers 6 2 4 7 24 7 14 18 24 21 23
Brentford 7 1 7 3 11 5 9 10 9 11 3 3
Brighton & Hove Albion 8 2 6 2 24 20 24 10 4 6 20 3 2
Bristol City 15 2 9 4 24 4 10 10 15 20 24 18 17 11 8 12 19 17 14 -
Burnley 11 4 5 1 17 13 17 15 13 5 8 13 11 2 1 1
Burton Albion 2 1 2 20 23 20 23
Cardiff City 18 3 9 1 18 16 11 13 12 7 4 4 6 1 11 8 12 2 5 8 18 21 -
Charlton Athletic 7 3 4 9 24 11 24 9 18 12 22 22
Colchester United 2 1 2 10 24 10 24
Coventry City 12 2 8 5 23 19 8 17 21 17 19 18 23 16 12 5 -
Crewe Alexandra 2 1 2 21 22 21 22
Crystal Palace 8 1 8 5 21 6 12 5 15 21 20 17 5
Derby County 17 2 14 3 23 4 20 3 18 14 19 12 10 3 8 5 9 6 6 10 21 23
Doncaster Rovers 5 2 4 12 24 14 12 21 24 22
Fulham 6 3 4 1 20 17 20 6 3 4 1
Gillingham 1 1 1 22 22 22
Huddersfield Town 10 2 5 3 20 19 17 16 19 5 18 20 3 18 -
Hull City 13 5 3 2 24 18 21 3 11 8 2 4 18 13 24 19 15 -
Ipswich Town 16 2 15 3 24 3 15 14 8 9 15 13 15 14 9 6 7 16 12 24 -
Leeds United 14 3 10 1 24 14 5 24 7 14 13 15 15 13 7 13 3 1 -
Leicester City 10 3 5 1 22 15 16 19 22 5 10 9 6 1 -
Luton Town 6 2 4 3 23 10 23 19 12 6 3
Middlesbrough 14 2 7 2 17 11 12 7 16 12 4 2 5 7 17 10 7 4 -
Millwall 14 3 7 8 23 10 23 9 16 20 19 22 8 21 8 11 9 8 -
Milton Keynes Dons 1 1 1 23 23 23
Newcastle United 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Norwich City 12 6 4 1 22 9 16 17 22 2 3 8 14 1 1 13 -
Nottingham Forest 15 2 14 3 23 23 19 3 6 19 8 11 14 16 21 17 9 7 17 4
Peterborough United 4 2 2 18 24 24 18 22 22
Plymouth Argyle 7 2 6 10 23 17 14 11 10 21 23 -
Portsmouth 2 1 2 16 22 16 22
Preston North End 16 2 9 4 22 5 4 7 15 6 17 22 11 11 7 14 9 13 13 12 -
Queens Park Rangers 17 3 9 1 21 11 21 18 14 11 13 1 4 12 18 16 19 13 9 11 20 -
Reading 16 3 10 1 22 7 1 4 9 5 1 7 19 17 3 20 20 14 7 21 22
Rotherham United 8 5 3 21 24 24 21 21 24 22 23 19 -
Scunthorpe United 3 2 2 20 24 23 20 24
Sheffield United 10 4 4 2 23 8 2 9 3 8 23 10 2 5 2
Sheffield Wednesday 15 3 9 4 24 19 9 16 12 22 18 16 13 6 4 15 12 16 24 -
Southampton 6 3 4 2 23 12 6 20 23 2 -
Southend United 1 1 1 22 22 22
Stoke City 10 2 6 2 16 12 13 8 2 16 15 14 14 16 -
Sunderland 5 4 2 1 24 1 1 24 6 -
Swansea City 9 2 6 3 15 8 7 3 10 6 4 15 10 -
Watford 13 3 8 2 18 18 3 6 13 16 14 11 3 13 2 2 11 -
West Bromwich Albion 8 4 3 1 10 4 1 2 4 2 10 9 -
West Ham United 2 2 1 3 6 6 3
Wigan Athletic 7 5 2 2 24 2 5 23 23 18 23 24
Wolverhampton Wanderers 10 3 5 1 23 9 7 5 7 1 23 7 14 15 1
Wycombe Wanderers 1 1 1 22 22 22
Yeovil Town 1 1 1 24 24 24

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ . English Football League (The Football League]]. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  2. ^ . deloitte.com. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  3. ^ A referenced list of all leagues ranking above the Championship is available at the Major League Soccer attendance page.
  4. ^ "Championship 2022/2023 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Barnsley 2–1 Brighton". BBC Sport. 12 March 2013. from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2017. Barnsley became the first team to play 3,000 games in second level league football.
  6. ^ "Countdown underway to new season". BBC Sport News. 6 August 2005. from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2010. Attendances rose by 10% to 9.8 million in 2004/05; it is the fourth best attended division in Europe; 9 clubs had something to play for on the final day of the last campaign (2004–05).
  7. ^ Lansley, Peter (29 July 2005). "Championship glories in outstripping Serie A". The Times. UK. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  8. ^ First class second division TheFA.com
  9. ^ . Football League 125. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Leeds Utd call in administrators". BBC News. 4 May 2007. from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Relegated Leeds in administration". BBC Sport. 4 May 2007. from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Derby 1–0 West Brom". BBC Sport. 28 May 2007. from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Burnley 1–0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 25 May 2009. from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  14. ^ Coca-Cola end Football League sponsorship deal 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian, 30 September 2009
  15. ^ Football League names npower as new sponsor 15 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport, 16 March 2010
  16. ^ . 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010.
  17. ^ "Season 2013/14". uefa.com. UEFA. from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Sky Bet Sponsor Football League". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 18 July 2013. from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Derby County 0–1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 24 May 2014. from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  20. ^ "EFL: More than 18m fans watched matches in 2016–17". BBC Sport. 11 May 2017. from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Championship play-off final: Aston Villa 2-1 Derby County". BBC Sport. 14 May 2019. from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  22. ^ "¡Vamos Leeds Carajo! Bielsa's boys back in the big time". Goal.com. 17 July 2020. from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
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  24. ^ "Huddersfield 0–1 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 29 May 2022. from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
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  41. ^ "Championship 2012/2013 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  42. ^ "Championship 2014/2015 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  43. ^ "Championship 2015/2016 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
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External links edit

  • Official website

championship, english, championship, redirects, here, golf, tournament, english, championship, golf, defunct, south, african, golf, tournament, which, used, former, sponsored, name, coca, cola, championship, coca, cola, charity, championship, english, football. English Championship redirects here For the golf tournament see English Championship golf For the defunct South African golf tournament which used its former sponsored name Coca Cola Championship see Coca Cola Charity Championship The English Football League Championship known simply as the Championship in England and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship 1 is the highest division of the English Football League EFL and second highest overall in the English football league system after the Premier League and is currently contested by 24 clubs The current holders are Burnley who won the 2022 23 edition EFL ChampionshipFounded1892 132 years ago 1892 as Football League Second Division 1992 32 years ago 1992 as Football League First Division 2004 20 years ago 2004 as Football League Championship 2016 8 years ago 2016 as EFL Championship CountryEnglandOther club s fromWalesNumber of teams24Level on pyramid2Promotion toPremier LeagueRelegation toEFL League OneDomestic cup s FA CupLeague cup s EFL CupInternational cup s UEFA Europa League via FA Cup UEFA Europa Conference League via EFL Cup Current championsBurnley 2nd title 2022 23 Most championshipsBurnleyNewcastle UnitedNorwich CityReadingSunderlandWolverhampton Wanderers 2 titles each TV partnersList of broadcastersWebsiteOfficial websiteCurrent 2023 24 EFL ChampionshipIntroduced for the 2004 05 season as the Football League Championship the division is a rebrand of the former Football League First Division which itself is a rebrand of the now defunct Football League Second Division prior to the 1992 launch of the Premier League The winning club 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 3rd to 6th 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 2 and the tenth best attended division in world football with the highest per match attendance of any secondary league 3 Its average match attendance for the 2022 23 season was 18 787 4 Cardiff City have spent more seasons in this division than any other team and Birmingham City currently hold the longest tenure in this division having last been absent in the 2010 11 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 amp Hove Albion on 12 March 2013 W1028 D747 L1224 5 Contents 1 History 2 League structure 3 Current members 4 Results 4 1 League champions runners up and play off finalists 4 2 Relegated teams from Championship to League One 4 3 Relegated teams from Premier League to Championship 4 4 Promoted teams from League One to Championship 5 Top scorers 6 Attendances 7 Historic performance 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksHistory editFor its history between 1892 and 1992 see Football League Second Division For its history between 1992 and 2004 see Football League First Division This section may contain information not important or relevant to the article s subject Please help improve this section January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sunderland won the league in the first season since rebranding with Wigan Athletic finishing second to win promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history They had only been elected to the Football League in 1987 playing in the fourth tier as recently as 1994 before their promotion West Ham United won the first Championship play off final that season following a 1 0 victory over Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff The 2004 05 season saw the division announce a total attendance including postseason of 9 8 million the fourth highest total attendance for a European football division behind the Premier League 12 88 million Spain s La Liga 11 57 million and Germany s Bundesliga 10 92 million 6 7 8 Additionally Millwall competing in the inaugural Championship season qualified for the UEFA Cup only to lose in the first qualifying round In the 2005 06 season Reading broke the Football League points record for a season finishing with 106 points exceeding the record of 105 set by Sunderland in 1999 9 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 10 11 On 28 May 2007 Derby County won the first Championship play off final at the new Wembley Stadium beating West Bromwich Albion 1 0 12 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 13 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 14 On 16 March 2010 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 15 Crystal Palace became the second Championship club to enter administration in 2010 16 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 17 On 18 July 2013 UK bookmaker Sky Bet announced that they had signed a five year agreement to sponsor the league 18 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 19 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 20 Newcastle won the title in 2016 17 while Aston Villa finished 13th eventually returning to the Premier League in 2019 21 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 22 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 23 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 24 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 25 League structure editThe league comprises 24 teams Over the course of a season which runs annually from August to the following May in 2022 the year of a World Cup break in November and December the league started in July each team plays twice against the others in the league once at home and once away resulting in each team competing in 46 games in total Three points are awarded for a win one for a draw and zero for a loss The teams are ranked in the league table by points gained then goal difference then goals scored and then their head to head record for that season including away goals record If two or more teams finish the season equal in all these respects then teams are separated by alphabetical order unless a promotion relegation or play off place see below is at stake when the teams are separated by a play off game though this improbable situation has never arisen in all the years the rule has existed 26 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 Current members edit nbsp nbsp London nbsp West Midlands nbsp Blackburn Rovers nbsp Bristol City nbsp CardiffCity nbsp Huddersfield Town nbsp Hull City nbsp Ipswich Town nbsp Leeds United nbsp Leicester City nbsp Middlesbrough nbsp NorwichCity nbsp Plymouth Argyle nbsp Preston North End nbsp Rotherham United nbsp Sheffield Wednesday nbsp Southampton nbsp Stoke City nbsp Sunderland nbsp Swansea City nbsp Teams around LondonMillwallQueens Park Rangers Watford nbsp West Midlands teamsBirmingham CityCoventry CityWest Bromwich Albionclass notpageimage Locations of the 2023 24 EFL Championship teams nbsp nbsp Watford nbsp Millwall nbsp Queens Park Rangersclass notpageimage Location of EFL Championship clubs around Greater London nbsp nbsp Birmingham City nbsp Coventry City nbsp West Bromwich Albionclass notpageimage Location of the West Midland s EFL Championship clubs The following 24 clubs will compete in the EFL Championship during the 2023 24 season Club Finishing position last season Location Stadium Capacity 27 Birmingham City 17th Birmingham St Andrew s Stadium 29 409Blackburn Rovers 7th Blackburn Ewood Park 31 367Bristol City 14th Bristol Ashton Gate 27 000Cardiff City 21st Cardiff Cardiff City Stadium 33 316Coventry City 5th Coventry Coventry Building Society Arena 32 609Huddersfield Town 18th Huddersfield John Smith s Stadium 24 121Hull City 15th Kingston upon Hull MKM Stadium 25 586Ipswich Town 2nd in League One promoted Ipswich Portman Road 29 673Leeds United 19th in Premier League relegated Leeds Elland Road 37 608Leicester City 18th in Premier League relegated Leicester King Power Stadium 32 262Middlesbrough 4th Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 34 742Millwall 8th London South Bermondsey The Den 20 146Norwich City 13th Norwich Carrow Road 27 244Plymouth Argyle 1st in League One promoted Plymouth Home Park 17 900Preston North End 12th Preston Deepdale 23 408Queens Park Rangers 20th London Shepherd s Bush Loftus Road 18 439Rotherham United 19th Rotherham New York Stadium 12 021Sheffield Wednesday 3rd in League One promoted via play offs Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium 34 854Southampton 20th in Premier League relegated Southampton St Mary s Stadium 32 384Stoke City 16th Stoke on Trent bet365 Stadium 30 089Sunderland 6th Sunderland Stadium of Light 49 000Swansea City 10th Swansea Swansea com Stadium 21 088Watford 11th Watford Vicarage Road 22 200West Bromwich Albion 9th West Bromwich The Hawthorns 26 688Results editLeague champions runners up and play off finalists edit See also List of winners of the EFL Championship and predecessors Season Champions Runners up Play off winners Score Play off runners up2004 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 a e t Watford 77 3rd 2013 14 Leicester City 102 Burnley2 93 Queens Park Rangers 80 4th 1 0 Derby County 85 3rd 2014 15 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 amp Hove Albion2 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 a e t Brentford 81 3rd 2020 21 Norwich City 97 Watford 91 Brentford 87 3rd 2 0 Swansea City 80 4th 2021 22 Fulham 90 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 1 When Norwich City gained promotion to the Premier League they were the first team to be relegated to relegated from promoted to and promoted from the Championship 2 When Burnley were promoted with 93 points they set a record for the most points for a second placed team this was matched by Brighton amp Hove Albion three years later For past winners at this level before 2004 see List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors Relegated teams from Championship to League One edit Season Clubs Points 2004 05 Gillingham 50 Nottingham Forest 44 Rotherham United 29 2005 06 Crewe Alexandra 42 Millwall 40 Brighton amp 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 Relegated teams from Premier League to Championship edit Season Clubs Points 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 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 Promoted teams from League One to Championship edit Season Clubs Points 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 amp 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 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 20 28 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 Top scorers editSeason Top scorer s Club s Goals2004 05 nbsp Nathan Ellington Wigan Athletic 242005 06 nbsp Marlon King Watford 212006 07 nbsp Jamie Cureton Colchester United 232007 08 nbsp Sylvan Ebanks Blake Plymouth ArgyleWolverhampton Wanderers 232008 09 nbsp Sylvan Ebanks Blake Wolverhampton Wanderers 252009 10 nbsp Peter Whittingham Cardiff City 20 nbsp Nicky Maynard Bristol City2010 11 nbsp Danny Graham Watford 242011 12 nbsp Rickie Lambert Southampton 272012 13 nbsp Glenn Murray Crystal Palace 302013 14 nbsp Ross McCormack Leeds United 282014 15 nbsp Daryl Murphy Ipswich Town 272015 16 nbsp Andre Gray BrentfordBurnley 252016 17 nbsp Chris Wood Leeds United 272017 18 nbsp Matej Vydra Derby County 212018 19 nbsp Teemu Pukki Norwich City 292019 20 nbsp Aleksandar Mitrovic Fulham 262020 21 nbsp Ivan Toney Brentford 312021 22 nbsp Aleksandar Mitrovic Fulham 432022 23 nbsp Chuba Akpom Middlesbrough 28Attendances edit nbsp The EFL Championship is the second most watched second tier domestic sports league in the World behind the German 2 Bundesliga 22 224 with an average of 18 787 spectators per game in the 2022 23 season The Championship is the fifth most watched league in Europe 29 The highest average league attendance was in 2017 18 season when 11 3 million fans attended Championship matches at an average of 20 489 per game 30 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 31 The highest seasonal average for a club was 51 106 for Newcastle United in the 2016 17 season 32 Season League average attendance Highest averageClub Attendance2004 05 17 417 Leeds United 29 207 33 2005 06 17 607 Norwich City 24 952 34 2006 07 18 179 Sunderland 31 887 35 2007 08 17 027 Sheffield United 25 631 36 2008 09 17 888 Derby County 29 440 37 2009 10 17 949 Newcastle United 43 388 38 2010 11 17 369 Leeds United 27 299 39 2011 12 17 739 West Ham United 30 923 40 2012 13 17 493 Brighton amp Hove Albion 26 236 41 2013 14 16 605 Brighton amp Hove Albion 27 283 31 2014 15 17 857 Derby County 29 232 42 2015 16 17 583 Derby County 29 663 43 2016 17 20 119 Newcastle United 51 106 44 2017 18 20 489 Aston Villa 32 097 30 2018 19 20 269 Aston Villa 36 029 45 2019 20 18 585 46 Leeds United 27 643 47 2020 21 No attendances due to COVID 19 pandemic2021 22 16 776 Sheffield United 27 611 48 2022 23 18 787 Sunderland 38 653 49 Historic performance editSince the restructuring into the Championship in 2004 56 teams have spent at least one season in the division including 13 of the 20 teams in the 2023 24 Premier League Cardiff City have spent the longest in the league with 18 seasons The 15 season spell for Ipswich Town between 2004 and 2019 is the longest consecutive spell of any team in the division The team with the current longest tenure is Birmingham City which will have their thirteenth consecutive season as a Championship team in the 2023 24 season Norwich City has had six separate spells in the Championship the most of any team There have been 13 different winners of the EFL Championship with six teams Burnley Newcastle United Sunderland Wolverhampton Wanderers Reading and Norwich City having won it twice 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 and Wigan Athletic have been relegated from the Championship on four occasions with 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 Key Teams with this background and symbol in the Club column will be competing in the 2023 24 EFL Championship Team will be competing in the 2023 24 Premier League The club competed in the EFL Championship during that season the number is the club s final league position Club Total Seasons Number of Spells Longest Spell Seasons Highest Position Lowest Position Season2004 05 2005 06 2006 07 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 2012 13 2013 14 2014 15 2015 16 2016 17 2017 18 2018 19 2019 20 2020 21 2021 22 2022 23 2023 24Bournemouth 4 2 2 1 10 10 1 6 2Aston Villa 3 1 3 4 13 13 4 5Barnsley 13 3 8 5 24 20 18 20 18 17 21 21 23 14 22 21 5 24Birmingham City 15 3 13 2 21 2 2 4 12 21 10 10 19 19 17 20 18 20 17 Blackburn Rovers 11 2 6 8 22 17 8 9 15 22 15 11 15 8 7 Blackpool 9 3 4 5 24 19 16 6 5 15 20 24 16 23Bolton Wanderers 6 2 4 7 24 7 14 18 24 21 23Brentford 7 1 7 3 11 5 9 10 9 11 3 3Brighton amp Hove Albion 8 2 6 2 24 20 24 10 4 6 20 3 2Bristol City 15 2 9 4 24 4 10 10 15 20 24 18 17 11 8 12 19 17 14 Burnley 11 4 5 1 17 13 17 15 13 5 8 13 11 2 1 1Burton Albion 2 1 2 20 23 20 23Cardiff City 18 3 9 1 18 16 11 13 12 7 4 4 6 1 11 8 12 2 5 8 18 21 Charlton Athletic 7 3 4 9 24 11 24 9 18 12 22 22Colchester United 2 1 2 10 24 10 24Coventry City 12 2 8 5 23 19 8 17 21 17 19 18 23 16 12 5 Crewe Alexandra 2 1 2 21 22 21 22Crystal Palace 8 1 8 5 21 6 12 5 15 21 20 17 5Derby County 17 2 14 3 23 4 20 3 18 14 19 12 10 3 8 5 9 6 6 10 21 23Doncaster Rovers 5 2 4 12 24 14 12 21 24 22Fulham 6 3 4 1 20 17 20 6 3 4 1Gillingham 1 1 1 22 22 22Huddersfield Town 10 2 5 3 20 19 17 16 19 5 18 20 3 18 Hull City 13 5 3 2 24 18 21 3 11 8 2 4 18 13 24 19 15 Ipswich Town 16 2 15 3 24 3 15 14 8 9 15 13 15 14 9 6 7 16 12 24 Leeds United 14 3 10 1 24 14 5 24 7 14 13 15 15 13 7 13 3 1 Leicester City 10 3 5 1 22 15 16 19 22 5 10 9 6 1 Luton Town 6 2 4 3 23 10 23 19 12 6 3Middlesbrough 14 2 7 2 17 11 12 7 16 12 4 2 5 7 17 10 7 4 Millwall 14 3 7 8 23 10 23 9 16 20 19 22 8 21 8 11 9 8 Milton Keynes Dons 1 1 1 23 23 23Newcastle United 2 2 1 1 1 1 1Norwich City 12 6 4 1 22 9 16 17 22 2 3 8 14 1 1 13 Nottingham Forest 15 2 14 3 23 23 19 3 6 19 8 11 14 16 21 17 9 7 17 4Peterborough United 4 2 2 18 24 24 18 22 22Plymouth Argyle 7 2 6 10 23 17 14 11 10 21 23 Portsmouth 2 1 2 16 22 16 22Preston North End 16 2 9 4 22 5 4 7 15 6 17 22 11 11 7 14 9 13 13 12 Queens Park Rangers 17 3 9 1 21 11 21 18 14 11 13 1 4 12 18 16 19 13 9 11 20 Reading 16 3 10 1 22 7 1 4 9 5 1 7 19 17 3 20 20 14 7 21 22Rotherham United 8 5 3 21 24 24 21 21 24 22 23 19 Scunthorpe United 3 2 2 20 24 23 20 24Sheffield United 10 4 4 2 23 8 2 9 3 8 23 10 2 5 2Sheffield Wednesday 15 3 9 4 24 19 9 16 12 22 18 16 13 6 4 15 12 16 24 Southampton 6 3 4 2 23 12 6 20 23 2 Southend United 1 1 1 22 22 22Stoke City 10 2 6 2 16 12 13 8 2 16 15 14 14 16 Sunderland 5 4 2 1 24 1 1 24 6 Swansea City 9 2 6 3 15 8 7 3 10 6 4 15 10 Watford 13 3 8 2 18 18 3 6 13 16 14 11 3 13 2 2 11 West Bromwich Albion 8 4 3 1 10 4 1 2 4 2 10 9 West Ham United 2 2 1 3 6 6 3Wigan Athletic 7 5 2 2 24 2 5 23 23 18 23 24Wolverhampton Wanderers 10 3 5 1 23 9 7 5 7 1 23 7 14 15 1Wycombe Wanderers 1 1 1 22 22 22Yeovil Town 1 1 1 24 24 24See also editEnglish football league system EFL Championship Manager of the Month List of English football club owners List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues Championship attendance in a worldwide context List of professional sports teams in the United KingdomReferences edit Sky Bet to sponsor The Football League English Football League The Football League 18 July 2013 Archived from the original on 21 July 2013 Retrieved 18 July 2013 Cumulative revenue of Europe s big five leagues grew by 5 in 2012 13 to 9 8 billion deloitte com Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited Archived from the original on 4 February 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2015 A referenced list of all leagues ranking above the Championship is available at the Major League Soccer attendance page Championship 2022 2023 Attendance worldfootball net Retrieved 13 December 2023 Barnsley 2 1 Brighton BBC Sport 12 March 2013 Archived from the original on 22 November 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2017 Barnsley became the first team to play 3 000 games in second level league football Countdown underway to new season BBC Sport News 6 August 2005 Archived from the original on 24 August 2007 Retrieved 2 May 2010 Attendances rose by 10 to 9 8 million in 2004 05 it is the fourth best attended division in Europe 9 clubs had something to play for on the final day of the last campaign 2004 05 Lansley Peter 29 July 2005 Championship glories in outstripping Serie A The Times UK Retrieved 2 May 2010 First class second division TheFA com League Points Football League 125 Archived from the original on 12 November 2017 Retrieved 2 March 2018 Leeds Utd call in administrators BBC News 4 May 2007 Archived from the original on 10 May 2007 Retrieved 2 March 2018 Relegated Leeds in administration BBC Sport 4 May 2007 Archived from the original on 7 September 2009 Retrieved 2 March 2018 Derby 1 0 West Brom BBC Sport 28 May 2007 Archived from the original on 1 August 2017 Retrieved 2 March 2018 Burnley 1 0 Sheff Utd BBC Sport 25 May 2009 Archived from the original on 13 January 2016 Retrieved 11 July 2022 Coca Cola end Football League sponsorship deal Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian 30 September 2009 Football League names npower as new sponsor Archived 15 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport 16 March 2010 Crystal Palace in Administration 28 January 2010 Archived from the original on 31 January 2010 Season 2013 14 uefa com UEFA Archived from the original on 27 July 2022 Retrieved 2 September 2022 Sky Bet Sponsor Football League skysports com Sky Sports 18 July 2013 Archived from the original on 2 September 2022 Retrieved 2 September 2022 Derby County 0 1 Queens Park Rangers BBC Sport 24 May 2014 Archived from the original on 11 September 2018 Retrieved 2 March 2018 EFL More than 18m fans watched matches in 2016 17 BBC Sport 11 May 2017 Archived from the original on 15 November 2017 Retrieved 2 March 2018 Championship play off final Aston Villa 2 1 Derby County BBC Sport 14 May 2019 Archived from the original on 27 May 2019 Retrieved 11 July 2022 Vamos Leeds Carajo Bielsa s boys back in the big time Goal com 17 July 2020 Archived from the original on 11 July 2022 Retrieved 11 July 2022 Championship play off final Brentford promoted to Premier League after winning football s richest game Sky News 29 May 2021 Archived from the original on 11 July 2022 Retrieved 11 July 2022 Huddersfield 0 1 Nottingham Forest BBC Sport 29 May 2022 Archived from the original on 30 May 2022 Retrieved 11 July 2022 World Cup Championship to be paused during Qatar 2022 showpiece permanent dead link Championship Sporting Life Archived from the original on 9 May 2006 Retrieved 2 April 2008 Football Ground Guide Football Ground Guide Retrieved 1 July 2023 The 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 Highest League attendances for 70 years as nearly 22 million attend EFL competitions www efl com Retrieved 10 June 2023 a b Championship 2017 2018 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 12 May 2016 Retrieved 1 June 2022 a b Championship 2013 2014 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 EFL records highest attendance records in 60 years thanks to Newcastle www shieldsgazette com 11 May 2017 Archived from the original on 18 August 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 EFL Championship 2004 2005 Attendance worldfootball net 16 May 2023 Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2005 2006 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2006 2007 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2007 2008 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2008 2009 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2009 2010 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2010 2011 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2011 2012 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2012 2013 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2014 2015 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2015 2016 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2016 2017 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 12 May 2016 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2018 2019 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 13 May 2019 Retrieved 1 June 2022 English League Championship Performance Stats 2019 20 ESPN Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2019 2020 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2021 2022 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 3 July 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Championship 2022 2023 Attendance worldfootball net Archived from the original on 25 March 2023 Retrieved 27 May 2023 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Football League Championship Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title EFL Championship amp oldid 1189690354, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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