Football League Championship playoffs

The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 3rd playing 6th and 4th playing 5th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt.

The first playoffs at this level were contested in 1987, when it was the Football League Second Division. From 1993 to 2004, following the creation of the FA Premier League as a breakaway from the Football League, it became the Division One playoffs, and since 2005 has taken its current name as the Championship playoffs following a rebranding of the remaining three divisions of the Football League.

There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, who end up approximately £60m better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.

The most recent final was between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers, the score ending 1–0 to Queens Park Rangers. Bobby Zamora scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.

Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997–2000 inclusive, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once in 2000 (when they won promotion). Leicester City have reached the Championship play-off final four times (in the space of five seasons), losing two in 1992 and 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996. Crystal Palace have also appeared in the final five times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2013.

The team finishing highest in the league (third) has succeeded in winning promotion nine times out of twenty five seasons up to 2011, with 4th managing four promotions, 5th six and 6th five.

The play-off winners have managed to finish above the Championship winners and runners-up in the subsequent Premier League season on seven occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992-93, Leicester City in 1996-97, Ipswich Town in 2000-01, West Ham United in 2005-06 and 2012-13, Swansea City in 2011-12, and Crystal Palace in 2013-2014.

Format
In addition to the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.

When they were introduced for the 1986–87 season, the play-offs originally featured a top-flight team as well as the three second-tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987–88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged and held at the home grounds of the two teams involved, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic and Leeds United could not be separated over two legs with the tie settled at a third match at St. Andrews, Birmingham. Charlton won the game to retain their First Division status, while Leeds remained in the Second Division. A year later, however, Middlesbrough won the playoffs to win promotion to the First Division with their opponents Chelsea being relegated.

The first winners of the promotion-only playoffs at this level were Crystal Palace, who beat Blackburn Rovers over two legs at the end of the 1988-89 season.

Since 1989–90, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium. The first winners of the one-match playoff final were Swindon Town, who beat Sunderland 1-0 in 1990 but were later denied promotion due to financial irregularities, with Sunderland being promoted instead.

Birmingham City have reached the Championship Play-Offs four times consecutively from 1999-2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, finally winning promotion to the Premier League after extra time and then penalties. They suffered an additional playoff failure in 2012. Their local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers were beaten three times in the playoffs between 1995 and 2002 before finally winning at the fourth attempt in 2003. They suffered a further playoff failure in 2007.

Past winners
1: Due to financial irregularities, Swindon Town were prevented from taking their place in the top division, which was instead awarded to the losing finalists, Sunderland.

Records
Note: These are only for play-offs at Championship level, for overall records in the Football League play-offs see here.
 * Most play-off promotions: 4 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1997, 2004, 2013)
 * Most play-off finals: 5 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2013)
 * Most play-off final defeats: 3 – Sheffield United (1997, 2003, 2009)
 * Most play-off participations: 7 – Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace
 * Most unsuccessful play-off participations: 6 – Ipswich Town (from 7 in total)
 * Teams without any unsuccessful play-off participations: Notts County (1991), Hull City (2008), Burnley (2009) and Swansea City (2011)
 * Biggest aggregate win: Chelsea 6–1 Blackburn Rovers (1988); Leicester City 6–1 Cambridge United (1992); and Hull City 6–1 Watford (2008)
 * Biggest home win: Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United (Semi-final, 1992)
 * Biggest away win: Birmingham City 0–4 Barnsley (Semi-final, 2000)
 * Biggest win in a final: Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Preston North End (2001); Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003); and Leeds United 0–3 Watford (2006)
 * Highest scoring final: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (1998)
 * Highest scoring play-off match: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (Final, 1998); Ipswich Town 5–3 Bolton Wanderers (Semi-final, 2000)
 * Highest scoring tie (aggregate): 12 goals – Ipswich Town 7–5 Bolton Wanderers (2000)
 * Highest attendance: 87,347 – Derby County vs QPR (Final, 2014)
 * Lowest attendance: 9,225 – Cambridge United vs Leicester City (Semi-final, 1992)