How Many Football Teams Play in the Championship?
Most leagues have different amounts of teams; the German Bundesliga has 16 clubs, the Premier League has 20 sides, but what about the EFL Championship?
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Table of Contents
The English Football League (EFL) Championship, and second-highest division in the professional English football league system, after the Premier League, has 24 clubs participating each season. The size of football leagues around the globe varies, but the English football pyramid differs because of the amount of professional and semi-pro leagues run throughout the country.
The Premier League consists of 20 football clubs, as does La Liga in Spain. Ligue 1 in France has 18 teams, the Bundesliga, Germany’s top flight football league, has 16 teams. SportsBoom is here to break down why 24 football teams play in the Championship, and not 20, like most league divisions around the world.
Image Credit: James Cracknell
What is the EFL Championship?
The English Football League Championship comprises of 24 teams, known as the Championship in England, was introduced in 2004/05 as the Football League Championship. It was a rebrand of the Football League First Division, which is a rebrand of the now-defunct Football League Second Division before the 1992 launch of the Premier League.
The winning club of this division each season receives the EFL Championship trophy, which was the previous trophy awarded to the old First Division champions before the launch of the Premier League.
Welsh clubs can play in any division in England, even the Premier League, which makes these cross-border leagues unique. Welsh clubs can also play in the FA Cup. Scotland’s clubs do not play south of the border, they play in the country’s own professional football pyramid.
How does the EFL Championship work?
The English football League is divided into three professional divisions underneath the Premier League: the Championship, League
One and League Two. There are 72 clubs in total, 24 teams in each division. The Football League consists of 68 professional association football clubs in England and 4 in Wales.
The Football League is the oldest professional football league in the sport’s history. The additional 20 Premier League clubs, and we have 92 clubs in England’s four professional divisions. As always, promotion and relegation between the leagues is non-negotiable.
The top Championship division clubs change places with the three lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom three clubs of League Two with the top three clubs of the National League. Each Championship side plays each other twice, home, and away, resulting in each club playing 46 games in a season - three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.
The top-two teams in the Championship get automatic promotion to the Premier League. The sides that finish from third to sixth enter a playoff tournament, known as the Championship Playoffs, which are played at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football. After a two-legged semi-final between third and sixth and fourth and fifth, the winners reach the Wembley final.
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The winner of the Playoffs Final get promoted to the Premier League with the top two teams. The three lowest-finishing teams in the Championship are relegated to League One, England’s third-highest football division. This process takes place throughout England’s football tiers, from professional to amateur level.
The Championship is the wealthiest non-top-flight division in the world football. Moreover, it is the ninth-richest division in Europe. This down to the Championship’s world-wide appeal and TV revenue. The league also the 12th best-attended division in world football, with the second-highest matchday attendance of any secondary league after the 2. Bundesliga, Germany’s second division.
The championship’s average match attendance for the 2022–23 season was 18,787, but the average attendance per game in the 2023/24 campaign was approximately 27,424, according to Footy Stats. The Playoff final is known as the “richest match in football” because of all television and prize money, and sponsorship deals that come with playing in the Premier League.
The data-driven website went on to find that a total combined attendance was 1,261,004 across 556 league matches, which is why the division is one of the most lucrative in the world. For more features, guides, and the latest news in the world of football, stay connected to SportsBoom.com.
Imge Credit: Peter Woodentop
FAQs
How many teams make up the English Football League (EFL)?
There are 72 teams in the English Football League, 68 English and four Welsh clubs. The Championship, League One, and League Two each have 24 teams in their leagues.
Who is the highest-paid EFL Championship football player?
Jamie Vardy is the highest-paid player in the EFL Championship. Vardy is on £140,000 per week at Leicester City, which is £50,000 more than the next highest-paid Championship footballer.
Which Championship clubs got promoted to the 2024/25 Premier League season?
Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton were all promoted to the Premier League. Leicester qualified as winners of the Championship, Ipswich as runners-up, and Southampton beat Leeds United in the Championship Playoff Final at Wembley.
Which EFL Championship clubs got relegated to League One in 2024/25?
Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, and Rotherham United were all relegated from the Championship to League One.
Which Premier League clubs were relegated to the EFL Championship in 2024/25?
Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, and Rotherham United were all relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.