England - Championship

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ESPN » Seasons 2021-2024 Available on: ESPN+ ESPN App

iFollow » Season 2021-2022 iFollow continues to maintain streaming and digital rights for the EFL over the course of the 2021/22 season. In addition to at least 36 Championship games taking place on Saturdays at 15.00 UK time, fans will also be able to get access to select Carabao Cup ties. Midweek games will also be streamed by individual clubs using either iFollow or their own club’s equivalent application. More details

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.