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Name

English League Championship

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Poster


Established
2004 (22 years old)

First Recorded Event
1892-09-03

Current Season
2026-2027

Current Round
2

Level Above
English Premier League

Level Below
English League 1

Sport
Soccer

Location
England

Gender
Male

TV Rights
US - ESPN [2018-2021]

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		Upcoming
28 Aug 26	WrexhamWrexham	7:00pm	BirminghBirmingham City
29 Aug 26	WolverhaWolverhampton Wanderers	11:30am	Stoke CiStoke City
29 Aug 26	Derby CoDerby County	11:30am	Swansea Swansea City
29 Aug 26	MiddlesbMiddlesbrough	11:30am	West BroWest Bromwich Albion
29 Aug 26	WatfordWatford	2:00pm	West HamWest Ham United
29 Aug 26	SouthampSouthampton	2:00pm	MillwallMillwall
29 Aug 26	Cardiff Cardiff City	2:00pm	SheffielSheffield United
29 Aug 26	Bristol Bristol City	2:00pm	PortsmouPortsmouth
29 Aug 26	BlackburBlackburn Rovers	2:00pm	Queens PQueens Park Rangers
29 Aug 26	Bolton WBolton Wanderers	2:00pm	Lincoln Lincoln City
		Results
23 Aug 26	West BromWest Bromwich Albion	1 - 1	BurnleyBurnley
22 Aug 26	WrexhamWrexham	1 - 1	WatfordWatford
22 Aug 26	Swansea CSwansea City	0 - 0	SheffieldSheffield United
22 Aug 26	Queens PaQueens Park Rangers	0 - 0	Bolton WaBolton Wanderers
22 Aug 26	Derby CouDerby County	2 - 2	Cardiff CCardiff City
22 Aug 26	BlackburnBlackburn Rovers	2 - 1	MiddlesbrMiddlesbrough
22 Aug 26	Preston NPreston North End	1 - 3	WolverhamWolverhampton Wanderers
22 Aug 26	West Ham West Ham United	1 - 2	Charlton Charlton Athletic
22 Aug 26	SouthamptSouthampton	3 - 1	Stoke CitStoke City
22 Aug 26	Lincoln CLincoln City	1 - 3	PortsmoutPortsmouth

Description

The English Football League Championship is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English football league system, sitting below the Premier League contested by 24 professional clubs from England and Wales.

In its present form, the Championship traces its legacy to the original Football League Second Division, which became the First Division in 1992 when the top flight of English football was reorganised as the Premier League. The current competition was intended for the 2004–05 season as the Football League Championship as a rebrand of the First Division. 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 third to sixth place enter a play-off 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, and the 12th best-attended division in world football (with the second highest per-match attendance of any secondary league – after the German 2. Bundesliga). Its average match attendance for the 2022–23 season was 18,787.

Cardiff City have spent more seasons in this division than any other team, and Bristol City, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers currently hold the longest tenure in this division, having last been absent in the 2014–15 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. The current champions of the league are Coventry City.


Seasons

Teams

Birmingham City		Blackburn Rovers		Bolton Wanderers
Bristol City		Burnley		Cardiff City
Charlton Athletic		Derby County		Lincoln City
Middlesbrough		Millwall		Norwich City
Portsmouth		Preston North End		Queens Park Range
Sheffield United		Southampton		Stoke City
Swansea City		Watford		West Bromwich Alb
West Ham United		Wolverhampton Wan		Wrexham

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Last 5 winners
Coventry City (2025-2026)
Leeds (2024-2025)
Leicester (2023-2024)
Burnley (2022-2023)
Fulham (2021-2022)

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