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EFL Championship
The EFL Championship is the second-highest overall division in the English football league system, sitting below the Premier League and contested by 2
Automatic promotion: 2 Relegation: 3
The Premier League feeder where parachute payments, play-off drama, and financial reset define every season.
Typical movement: 2 up to Premier League (champions + runners-up), 3 down to League One. Play-off winner from 3rd-6th also promoted. How the pyramid works.
Clubs Covered
24
Total Capacity
640,502
Avg Capacity
26,688
League History & Context
EFL Championship is a key competition at step 2 in the English football pyramid.
Promotion, relegation, and club sustainability are central to how this league evolves each season.
Modern History
- 1892: Football League Second Division founded
- 1992: Rebranded as Football League First Division after Premier League creation
- 2004: Rebranded as Football League Championship with current format
- 2016: Football League rebranded as English Football League; division becomes EFL Champ
Recent League Outcomes
| Season | Champion | Promoted | PO Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Leeds United | Leeds United, Burnley | Sunderland |
| 2023-24 | Leicester City | Leicester City, Ipswich Town | Southampton |
| 2022-23 | Burnley | Burnley, Sheffield United | Luton Town |
| 2021-22 | Fulham | Fulham, Bournemouth | Nottingham Forest |
| 2020-21 | Norwich City | Norwich City, Watford | Brentford |
| 2019-20 | Leeds United | Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion | Fulham |
| 2018-19 | Norwich City | Norwich City, Sheffield United | Aston Villa |
| 2017-18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cardiff City | Fulham |
| 2016-17 | Newcastle United | Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion | Huddersfield Town |
| 2015-16 | Burnley | Burnley, Middlesbrough | Hull City |
Competition Structure
Teams 24 clubs
Matches 46
Promotion Top 2 teams promoted to Premier League
Relegation Bottom 3 teams relegated to EFL League One
Title Sponsors & Key Stats
Football League Second Division · 1892-1992
Football League First Division · 1992-2004
Football League Championship · 2004-2016
Teams since 2004 19+
Multiple winners Burnley, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Reading
Latest League Stories
1-5 of 16
team-news
Sky Sports Continue Championship Coverage Because Someone Has To
Sky Sports maintains its commitment to broadcasting EFL Championship matches, ensuring fans can watch second-tier football from the comfort of their sofas while questioning their life choices.
finance
Championship's Big Spenders: The Striker Salary League Table Nobody Talks About
While fans debate goals per game and conversion rates, Football League World has done the dirty work of finding out who's actually getting paid the most to put the ball in the net across England's second tier.
team-news
Sheffield Wednesday Dodge Historical Embarrassment as Bumper Crowd Witnesses Final Day Relief
The Owls managed to avoid entering the EFL record books for all the wrong reasons on a dramatic final day, playing out their salvation in front of the Championship's biggest crowd of the season.
promotion
The Beautiful Madness: EFL's Promotion and Relegation Circus Reaches Fever Pitch
As another season hurtles toward its inevitable chaos, the EFL has kindly reminded everyone what's at stake across the Championship, League One, and League Two. Spoiler alert: it's everything.
promotion
The Great EFL Shuffle: When Mathematics Meets Madness
As the season winds down, clubs across the EFL divisions are frantically calculating their chances of glory or doom. Time to dust off those calculators and prepare for some serious number-crunching.
Club Pages
Direct links to every club profile in this league
Birmingham City
St Andrew's
29,409 capacity
Blackburn Rovers
Ewood Park
31,367 capacity
Bristol City
Ashton Gate
27,000 capacity
Charlton Athletic
The Valley
27,111 capacity
Coventry City
Coventry Building Society Arena
32,609 capacity
Derby County
Pride Park Stadium
33,597 capacity
Hull City
MKM Stadium
25,586 capacity
Ipswich Town
Portman Road
30,056 capacity
Leicester City
King Power Stadium
32,259 capacity
Middlesbrough
Riverside Stadium
33,746 capacity
Millwall
The Den
20,146 capacity
Norwich City
Carrow Road
27,359 capacity
Oxford United
Kassam Stadium
12,573 capacity
Portsmouth
Fratton Park
20,867 capacity
Preston North End
Deepdale
23,404 capacity
Queens Park Rangers
Loftus Road Stadium
18,439 capacity
Sheffield United
Bramall Lane
32,050 capacity
Sheffield Wednesday
Hillsborough Stadium
39,732 capacity
Southampton
St Mary's Stadium
32,384 capacity
Stoke City
bet365 Stadium
30,089 capacity
Swansea City
Swansea.com Stadium
21,000 capacity
Watford
Vicarage Road
22,200 capacity
West Bromwich Albion
The Hawthorns
26,850 capacity
Wrexham
TBC
10,669 capacity