How it works

Championship Standings

A guide to how the EFL Championship table works — promotion, play-offs and relegation explained.

The Red and White Wizards originally included a live league table on this page, but league table data is the property of the EFL and cannot be reproduced here. Instead, this page explains how the Championship table works for any visitors who are new to English football. For the current table please visit efl.com.
The Championship

How the League Table Works

Points system

Each of the 24 clubs plays 46 league games per season — home and away against every other club. Points are awarded as follows:

3
Win
1
Draw
0
Defeat
Promotion, play-offs & relegation
  • Automatic promotion (positions 1 & 2) — The top two clubs go straight up to the Premier League.
  • Play-off places (positions 3, 4, 5 & 6) — These four clubs enter the end-of-season play-offs. Semi-finals are played over two legs, with the winners meeting in the Play-Off Final at Wembley. The winners earn the third and final promotion spot.
  • Automatic relegation (positions 22, 23 & 24) — The bottom three clubs are relegated to League One.
  • Mid-table (positions 7 to 21) — No promotion or relegation — these clubs remain in the Championship for the following season.
Tiebreaker rules

When two or more clubs finish level on points, the following tiebreakers are applied in order:

  • Goal difference — The club with the better (higher) goal difference finishes higher. Goal difference is calculated as goals scored minus goals conceded across all league games.
  • Goals scored — If goal difference is also equal, the club which has scored more goals in league games finishes higher.
  • Head-to-head record — If still level, results between the two clubs are compared.
Sheffield United in the Championship

During the years covered by this website, Sheffield United spent time across several divisions of English football. The most significant seasons were:

  • 2005/06 — Promotion from the Championship as runners-up, earning a place in the Premier League.
  • 2006/07 — Premier League season, finishing 18th and being relegated back to the Championship.
  • 2002/03 — Division One campaign which included a remarkable League Cup run to the semi-final, where the Blades beat Leeds United and Sunderland before losing to Liverpool over two legs.