Championship

The English Football League Championship (shortened as EFL Championship), or SkyBet Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest category in the English football league system behind the Premier League. This league is the wealthiest non-top-flight football division in the world and the seventh richest league in Europe.

The EFL Championship works under a promotion-relegation system. Each season, 24 teams battle to win one of three spots to play in the Premier League the following season.

The two top-ranked teams after each season earn a spot in the Premier League, while spots three to six battle for the final promotion spot in a playoff. On the other side of the table, the three lowest-ranked teams get relegated to the League One, or Third Division of the English Football League System.

The Premier League, England’s top=flight league, is the wealthiest domestic league in the world. As a result, promotion into it paves way for a fortune unmatched anywhere else in the sport. The Championship play-off final is widely regarded as the most valuable one-off match in the world, as it unlocks the door to Premier League television revenue and parachute payments.

In 2018, the Premier League guaranteed all shareholder clubs a minimum of £94.7m ($125.9m), rising to £149.4m ($198.7m) for the winner, Manchester City. The amount has multiplied even further in subsequent years with more lucrative television broadcast deals arriving.