How Many Games Are in the EFL Championship?

The English Premier League is the country's top-flight division. It is the wealthiest, and most watched league in the world. The Premier League has twenty clubs. Each club plays thirty-eight matches a season. The bottom three teams are relegated every season. SportsBoom wanted to know how many games there are in the EFL Championship. This is what we found. 

The Number of EFL Championship Games and League Structure

The English Football League (EFL) Championship is the second-highest division in England’s professional football pyramid. The EFL Championship is the second-richest league in world football because of television revenue income and sponsorship deals from around the globe. Many media outlets estimated that promotion, via the play-offs was worth £265,000,000.

Every season, each club plays forty-six games in the EFL Championship. The league begins in early August and ends in late May. There are twenty-four clubs in the Championship. The clubs play twenty-three home games and twenty-three away games. After the nine-month-long competition, three teams are promoted and relegated. 

As with most professional football leagues, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. If any teams end the season level on points, the title will be decided by goal difference. Should this be equal, the title is awarded based on the most goals scored or head-to-head records. 

Jamie Vardy lifts the Championship trophy//Getty Images

How Many Games are in the EFL Championship Play-offs?

The top two EFL Championship clubs are automatically promoted to the English Premier League. A three-round mini-play-off tournament decides the final Premier League spot for the following campaign. The play-offs are contested by the teams who finished third to sixth. 

Each team plays a home and away leg. The winners go through to a two-legged semi-final round. The semi-final winners play a one-off final at Wembley Stadium in London. The EFL Championship final is regarded as the richest game in association football. The increase in TV money, sponsorships, and media partnerships is worth more than most top-flight clubs in Europe. Many Championship players earn more money than players from Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues.

Only Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona  in La Liga, German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich, and a few nouveau riche clubs across the continent make more money than the bottom Premier League clubs. Despite swimming in wealth, the English clubs do not dominate European competitions. Spanish clubs have had unrivalled success in continental and international club and country tournaments, which makes La Liga – arguably – the best league in the world. 

History of the EFL Championship

The English Football League has undergone several changes since 1992. The last restructuring took place in 2004. Since then, fifty-six clubs have played one season in the EFL Championship. There have been thirteen different winners. Leicester City has won two EFL Championships, including the 2023/24 campaign, which saw them promoted back to the top flight. The Foxes hold the record for the most English Second Division titles, winning eight in their 140-year history.

Cardiff City (18) have played the most seasons in the league. Ipswich Town spent the longest time in the Championship without promotion or relegation. Ipswich spent fifteen years in the Championship between promotion from League One to the Premier League in 2023/24. Birmingham City has the longest current Championship record, thirteen seasons without promotion or relegation. 

Seven clubs have won the Championship two or more times. Norwich City is the ultimate ‘yo-yo’ club. Norwich has spent one or more campaigns in the second division six times. Burnley and the Canaries have been promoted to the Premier League five times, the equal most. Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United are the only two clubs to be relegated four times from the division. Fourteen clubs have been promoted to the Premier League and relegated to League One. 
 

Sam Morsy and team celebrates with the trophy//Getty