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EFL Championship
EFL Championship
Country England England (22)
Flag of Wales Wales (2)
Confederation UEFA
Founded 2004–present
1992–2004 (as Division One)
1892–1992 (as Division Two)
Number of teams 24
Promotion to Premier League
Relegation to EFL League One
Levels on pyramid 2
Domestic cup(s) FA Cup
EFL Cup
FA Community Shield
UEFA cup(s) UEFA Europa League (via FA Cup)
UEFA Europa Conference League (via EFL Cup)
Current champions Burnley (2022–23)
Most successful club Burnley, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Reading, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers
(2 titles)
TV List of broadcasters
Website Official website
Football current event 2023–24

The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the English Football League and second-highest overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League. Each year, the top finishing teams in the Championship are promoted to the Premier League, and the lowest finishing teams are relegated to League One.

The Football League Championship, which was introduced for the 2004–05 season, was previously known as the Football League First Division (1992–2004), and before that was known as Division Two (1892–1992). The winners of the Championship receive the Football League Championship trophy, the same trophy as the old First Division champions were handed prior to the Premier League's inception in 1992.

The Championship is the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world and the seventh richest division in Europe. With an average match attendance for the 201415 season of 17,857, the Championship ranked slightly ahead of the German 2. Bundesliga as the most-watched secondary league in the world.

In the 2015–16 season, Burnley were the division champions, Middlesbrough were the runners up, and Hull City were promoted via the play-offs. At present, Ipswich Town hold the longest tenure in the Championship, last being out of the division in the 2001–02 season when they were relegated from the Premier League.

Clubs participating in the 2022–23 season[]

The following 24 clubs will compete in the EFL Championship during the 2022–23 season.

Club Finishing position last season Location Stadium Capacity
Birmingham City &0000000000000020.00000020th Birmingham St Andrew's Stadium 29,409
Blackburn Rovers &0000000000000008.0000008th Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Blackpool &0000000000000016.00000016th Blackpool Bloomfield Road 17,338
Bristol City &0000000000000017.00000017th Bristol Ashton Gate 27,000
Burnley &0000000000000001.00000018th in Premier League (relegated) Burnley Turf Moor 21,944
Cardiff City &0000000000000018.00000018th Cardiff Cardiff City Stadium 33,316
Coventry City &0000000000000012.00000012th Coventry Coventry Building Society Arena 32,609
Huddersfield Town &0000000000000004.0000003rd Huddersfield John Smith's Stadium 24,121
Hull City &0000000000000019.00000019th Kingston upon Hull MKM Stadium 25,400
Luton Town &0000000000000006.0000006th Luton Kenilworth Road 10,356
Middlesbrough &0000000000000007.0000007th Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 34,742
Millwall &0000000000000009.0000009th London (South Bermondsey) The Den 20,146
Norwich City &0000000000000003.00000020th in Premier League (relegated) Norwich Carrow Road 27,244
Preston North End &0000000000000013.00000013th Preston Deepdale 23,408
Queens Park Rangers &0000000000000011.00000011th London (Shepherd's Bush) Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium 18,360
Reading &0000000000000021.00000021st Reading Select Car Leasing Stadium 24,200
Rotherham United &0000000000000023.0000002nd in League One (promoted) Rotherham New York Stadium 12,021
Sheffield United &0000000000000005.0000005th Sheffield Bramall Lane 32,050
Stoke City &0000000000000014.00000014th Stoke-on-Trent bet365 Stadium 30,089
Sunderland &0000000000000024.0000005th in League One (promoted via play-offs) Sunderland Stadium of Light 49,000
Swansea City &0000000000000015.00000015th Swansea Liberty Stadium 21,088
Watford &0000000000000002.00000019th in Premier League (relegated) Watford Vicarage Road 22,200
West Bromwich Albion &0000000000000010.00000010th West Bromwich The Hawthorns 26,688
Wigan Athletic &0000000000000022.0000001st in League One (promoted) Wigan DW Stadium 25,133

Results[]

League champions, runners-up and play-off finalists[]

Season Champions Runner-up Play-off winner score Play-off runner-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 72 (5th)
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 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 (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)

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 they gained the most points for a second placed team.

Relegated teams (from Championship to League One)[]

Season Clubs
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)

Relegated teams (from Premier League to Championship)[]

Season Clubs
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 Blackpool (39), Birmingham City (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)

[]

Season Clubs
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 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)

Top scorers[]

Season Top scorer Club 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 Burnley 25
2016–17 Dwight Gayle Newcastle United 11
2017–18 Flag of Czech Republic Matěj Vydra Derby County 21
2018–19 Flag of Finland Teemu Pukki Norwich City 29
2019–20 Flag of Serbia Aleksandar Mitrović Fulham 26
2020–21 Flag of England Ivan Toney Brentford 31
2021–22 Flag of Serbia Aleksandar Mitrović Fulham 43

External links[]

Football League Championship EFL Championship 2024–25

Blackburn Rovers · Bristol City · Burnley · Cardiff City · Coventry City · Derby County · Hull City · Leeds United · Luton Town · Middlesbrough · Millwall · Norwich City · Oxford United · Plymouth Argyle · Portsmouth · Preston North End · Queens Park Rangers · Sheffield United · Sheffield Wednesday · Stoke City · Sunderland · Swansea City · Watford · West Bromwich Albion

EFL Championship seasons Flag of England
1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 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 · 2024–25 ·
Current EFL League Championship managers

Eustace (Blackburn Rovers) · Manning (Bristol City) · Parker (Burnley) · Bulut (Cardiff City) · Robins (Coventry City) · Warne (Derby County) · Walter (Hull City) · Farke (Leeds United) · Edwards (Luton Town) · Carrick (Middlesbrough) · Harris (Millwall) · Thorup (Norwich City) · Buckingham (Oxford United) · Rooney (Plymouth Argyle) · Mousinho (Portsmouth) · Vacant (Preston North End) · Cifuentes (Queens Park Rangers) · Wilder (Sheffield United) · Röhl (Sheffield Wednesday) · Schumacher (Stoke City) · Le Bris (Sunderland) · Williams (Swansea City) · Cleverley (Watford) · Corberán (West Bromwich Albion)

Football in England
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