The English Football League Championship is the second division league of the English Football League system after the Premier League which is the highest level league in the whole of England. English Football League Championship is commonly known as Championship and for sponsorship purposes, Sky Bet Championship. Currently, it features 24 Clubs only.
The English Football League Championship was introduced in the 2004-05 season. It is a rebrand of the former Football League First Division which is itself a rebrand of Football League Second division. It all existed before the Premier League came into picture in 1992. But as soon as it was launched, the game was reversed and the Premier League became the highest level (First Division) league in England.
Who gets promoted from the English Championship?
As of now, every division or league has scope of promotion except for the Premier League. The top performing clubs from every division are promoted to upper divisions or Cup competitions. Same thing goes with the English Championship. The two top performing clubs of the second highest league are automatically promoted to Premier League which is considered the boss of all.
Also, the teams which finish the season in 3rd through 6th place compete in the playoff tournament. And whoever club becomes the winner receives the promotion to Premier League as well. So, in total three clubs get promoted from the English Football League Championship.
You should know that not only clubs get promoted from but to the English Championship as well. Though the term used for it is different, it is the same as this. The worst performing clubs of the Premier League get relegated to the English Championship.
Do you know that despite being the second highest division in the English football league system, the Championship is the wealthiest non-top-flight football division in the entire world. Also, it is ninth richest division in Europe while tenth best attended division in the world given its attendance in the average match for 2018-19 season was 20,181.
Barnsley is known for staying for the more seasons in this league than any other team while Birmingham City holds the record for longest tenure in the division. Barnsley also became the first club to score 1000 wins in second tier English League Football.
In the last season 2022-23 which was the 31st season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. Teams where got promoted from English Championship to Premier League in this season are Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest.
Which teams got relegated to the English Championship?
The three worst performing teams of the Premier League get relegated to the English Championship. The relegation occurs each season and the teams that got promotion to English Championship are:
Season | Relegated teams |
2004-05 | Norwich City, crystal palace, Southampton |
2005-06 | Birmingham City, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion |
2006-07 | Charlton Athletic, Sheffield United, Watford |
2007-08 | Reading, Derby County, Birmingham City |
2008-09 | Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion |
2009-10 | Hull City, Burnley, Portsmouth |
2010-11 | Blackpool, Birmingham City, West Ham United |
2011-12 | Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Wolverhampton wanderers |
2012-13 | Reading, Wigan athletic, Queens Park Rangers |
2013-14 | Fulham, Norwich City, Cardiff City |
2014-15 | Burnley, Hull City, Queens Park Rangers |
2015-16 | Norwich City, Newcastle United, Aston Villa |
2016-17 | Middlesbrough, Hull City, Sunderland |
2017-18 | Stoke City, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion |
2018-19 | Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Fulham |
2019-20 | Watford, Bournemouth, Norwich City |
2020-21 | West Bromwich Albion, Fulham, Sheffield United |
2021-22 | Watford, Norwich City, Burnley |
Promoted teams to English Championship from League 1
Top two best performing teams from Ligue 1 get promoted to the English Championship automatically while teams which finish in 3rd to 6th place enter the playoff tournament. The winner of the play-off tournament joins the two promoted teams in the English Championship. In total, each season three best teams are promoted to the English Championship.
Season | Teams |
2004-05 | Hull City, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday |
2005-06 | Colchester United, Barnsley, Southend United |
2006-07 | Scunthorpe United, Blackpool, Bristol City |
2007-08 | Nottingham Forest, Swansea City, Doncaster Rovers |
2008-09 | Peterborough United, Leicester City, Scunthorpe United |
2009-10 | Norwich City, Millwall, Leeds United |
2010-11 | Southampton, Brighton &Hove Albion, Peterborough United |
2011-12 | Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Huddersfield Town |
2012-13 | Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town |
2013-14 | Brentford, Rotherham United, Wolverhampton wanderers |
2014-15 | Bristol City, Preston North End, Milton Keynes Dons |
2015-16 | Burton Albion, Wigan athletic, Barnsley |
2016-17 | Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United, Millwall |
2017-18 | Wigan athletic, Rotherham United, Blackburn Rovers |
2018-19 | Barnsley, Luton Town, Charlton Athletic |
2019-20 | Rotherham United, Coventry City, Wycombe wanderers |
2020-21 | Peterborough United, Hull City, Blackpool |
2021-22 | Rotherham United, Wigan athletic, Sunderland |
Third and Fourth Division
Its time to take a glimpse inside League 1 and League 2 which are the third and fourth levels of this system respectively. Both of these leagues function quite similarly.
Unlike the Premier League, both these leagues have scope of promotion. The top three teams in both leagues are promoted to higher level divisions. Teams that finished fourth to seventh place in the league are promoted to the playoffs tournament. Whichever team wins in the playoffs will be the fourth team to get promotion. So, in total four promotion slots are available in these sister leagues.
While talking about relegation, there is some variation in the method. The four worst performing teams in League 1 are relegated to League 2. And in League 2, the four worst performing teams are excluded to the Fifth division.