Football League Championship play-offs
Encyclopedia
The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff
matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship
table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium
, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
while Wembley was being rebuilt.
There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, who end up approximately £85,000,000 better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.
The most recent final was played on 30 May 2011, with Swansea City
beating Reading
4–2 at Wembley Stadium
.
Ipswich Town
have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997–2000 inclusive, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once in 2000 (when they won promotion). Leicester City
have reached the Championship play-off final a record four times, losing two in 1992 and 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996. Crystal Palace
have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.
Interestingly the team finishing highest in the league, usually third, has only succeeded in winning promotion seven times out of twenty five seasons up to 2011.
In addition to the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.
When they were introduced for the 1986–87 season
, the play-offs originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987–88
, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.
Since 1989–90
, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic
and Leeds United
could not be separated over two legs and took the tie to a third match at St. Andrews
, Birmingham
.
Preston North End have appeared in the Play Offs across all three divisions of the Football League the most times since their inception, and also have the worst record having not been promoted via the method in 8 appearances.
Blackpool are the only team to have won all three play off finals and are also the only team to have won promotion via the play offs on four separate occasions, once to the premiership, once to the championship and twice to what is now known as league one. They are also the only team to have played in five play off competitions and always reached the final, Gillingham have four finals from four attempts and have won two.
Peterborough United and Cheltenham Town are the only teams to have played in more than one play off competition and have a 100% success rate, Peterborough with three wins (two into the championship and one into league one) have the best play offs record and Cheltenham have two wins from league two play offs.
The other teams with 100% records (one win from one appearance) are Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, Dagenham and Redbridge, and Stevenage.
Reading, Preston North End, Bristol City, Sheffield United and Leeds United have the unenviable record of losing 3 play off finals each. None of these teams have ever won promotion via the play offs despite a combined 27 appearances.
Nottingham Forest have had four play off appearances and have never gotten beyond the semi finals.
In 2008 Hull City won £60,000,000 for winning the play-offs.
|}* Leeds win on away goals
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Following successful prosecutions against Swindon Town and the club chairman, Brian Hillier, after they admitted 36 breaches of League rules – 35 of which are related to illegal payments, Swindon remained in the Second Division and Sunderland took their promotion place (see History of Swindon Town F.C.)
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) automatically and one other through the play-offs.
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Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
while Wembley was being rebuilt.
There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, who end up approximately £85,000,000 better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.
The most recent final was played on 30 May 2011, with Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
beating Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
4–2 at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
.
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997–2000 inclusive, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once in 2000 (when they won promotion). Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
have reached the Championship play-off final a record four times, losing two in 1992 and 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996. Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.
Interestingly the team finishing highest in the league, usually third, has only succeeded in winning promotion seven times out of twenty five seasons up to 2011.
Format
| Name changes | |
|---|---|
| 1987–1992 | Football League Second Division Football League Second Division From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams... play-offs |
| 1993–2004 | Football League First Division Football League First Division The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship.... play-offs |
| 2005 – | Football League Championship Football League Championship The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League... play-offs |
In addition to the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.
When they were introduced for the 1986–87 season
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
, the play-offs originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987–88
1987-88 in English football
The 1987–88 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season....
, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.
Since 1989–90
1989-90 in English football
-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...
, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
and Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
could not be separated over two legs and took the tie to a third match at St. Andrews
St Andrews (stadium)
St Andrew's is an association football stadium in the Bordesley district of Birmingham, England. It has been the home ground of Birmingham City Football Club for more than a century....
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Preston North End have appeared in the Play Offs across all three divisions of the Football League the most times since their inception, and also have the worst record having not been promoted via the method in 8 appearances.
Blackpool are the only team to have won all three play off finals and are also the only team to have won promotion via the play offs on four separate occasions, once to the premiership, once to the championship and twice to what is now known as league one. They are also the only team to have played in five play off competitions and always reached the final, Gillingham have four finals from four attempts and have won two.
Peterborough United and Cheltenham Town are the only teams to have played in more than one play off competition and have a 100% success rate, Peterborough with three wins (two into the championship and one into league one) have the best play offs record and Cheltenham have two wins from league two play offs.
The other teams with 100% records (one win from one appearance) are Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, Dagenham and Redbridge, and Stevenage.
Reading, Preston North End, Bristol City, Sheffield United and Leeds United have the unenviable record of losing 3 play off finals each. None of these teams have ever won promotion via the play offs despite a combined 27 appearances.
Nottingham Forest have had four play off appearances and have never gotten beyond the semi finals.
In 2008 Hull City won £60,000,000 for winning the play-offs.
1987
Semi-finals|}* Leeds win on away goals
Final
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Replay
1988
Semi-finals|}
Final
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1989
Semi-finals|}*Blackburn win on away goals.
- Final
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1990
Semi-finals|}
Final
Following successful prosecutions against Swindon Town and the club chairman, Brian Hillier, after they admitted 36 breaches of League rules – 35 of which are related to illegal payments, Swindon remained in the Second Division and Sunderland took their promotion place (see History of Swindon Town F.C.)
1991
Semi-finals|}
Final
1992
Semi-finals|}
Final
1993
Semi-finals|}
Final
1994
Semi-finals|}
Final
1995
The play-offs in 1995 featured the teams finishing in positions 2–5; during this season the Premiership was reduced from 22 to 20 clubs, with four relegated to Division 1 and only two promoted, the champions (MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
) automatically and one other through the play-offs.
Semi-finals
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Final
1996
Semi-finals|}
Final
1997
Semi-finals|}*Sheffield United win on away goals
Final
1998
Semi-finals|}
Final
1999
Semi-finals|}* Bolton win on away goals
Final
2000
Semi-finals|}
Final
2001
Semi-finals|}
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2002
Semi-finals|}
Final
2003
Semi-finals|}
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
Semi-finals|}
Final