Football League Championship
| Football League Championship |
|---|
 The Football League 2007-08 |
 |
| Founded |
| 2004 1992 - 2004 (as Division One) 1892 - 1992 (as Division Two) |
| Nation |
 England |
| Promotion To |
| Premier League |
| Relegation To |
| League One |
| Number of Teams |
| 24 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 2 |
| Cups |
| FA Cup League Cup |
| Current Champions (2006-07) |
| Sunderland |
| Website |
| Official |
The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short, or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League.
The Football League Championship was introduced for the 2004-2005 season. It was previously known as the Football League First Division. According to Deloitte, in 2004-05 it was the richest non-top flight football division in the world, and the sixth richest division in the world. [1]
After analysis of the 2006-2007 season only 13 points separated the top 6 teams, also The Championship was the 5th most watched Football League in Europe behind The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, most notably beating Serie A.
History
- For history before 2004, see Football League First Division after 1993 and Football League Second Division before that year.
In 2004-05, the Football League Championship announced a total attendance (including postseason) of 9.8 million, which it said was the fourth highest total attendance for a European football division, behind the FA Premier League (12.88m), Spain's Primera división (11.57m) and Germany's Bundesliga (10.92m), but beating Italy's Serie A (9.77m) and France's Ligue 1 (8.17m).[2][3][4] The total figures were aided somewhat by the presence of 24 clubs, compared to 20 clubs in both Serie A and Ligue 1, and 18 in the Bundesliga. A major factor to the competition's success comes from television revenue. Worldwide viewing figures for the 2004/2005 season revealed that it is the most watched sporting event in Europe.[citation needed]
Football League Championship clubs, 2007-08
| Club | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|
| Barnsley | 20th |
| Blackpool | 3rd in League One (play-off winner) |
| Bristol City | 2nd in League One |
| Burnley | 15th |
| Cardiff City1 | 13th |
| Charlton Athletic | 19th in the Premier League |
| Colchester United | 10th |
| Coventry City | 17th |
| Crystal Palace | 12th |
| Hull City | 21st |
| Ipswich Town | 14th |
| Leicester City | 19th |
| Norwich City | 16th |
| Plymouth Argyle | 11th |
| Preston North End | 7th |
| Queens Park Rangers | 18th |
| Scunthorpe United | 1st in League One |
| Sheffield United | 18th in the Premier League |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 9th |
| Southampton | 6th |
| Stoke City | 8th |
| Watford | 20th in the Premier League |
| West Bromwich Albion | 4th |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5th |
1Club is located in 
Wales
Play-off results
| Season | Semifinal (1st Leg) | Semifinal (2nd Leg) | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Preston North End 2-0 Derby
County |
Derby County 0-0 Preston North
End |
West Ham United 1-0 Preston North End |
| 2005-06 | Leeds United 1-1 Preston North
End |
Preston North End 0-2 Leeds
United |
Leeds United 0-3 Watford |
| 2006-07 | Southampton 1-2 Derby County Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 West Bromwich Albion |
Derby County 2-3 Southampton (Derby won 4-3 on penalties, AET) West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Derby County 1-0 West Bromwich Albion |
Relegated teams
| Season | Clubs |
|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Gillingham, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United |
| 2005-06 | Crewe Alexandra, Millwall, Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 2006-07 | Southend United, Luton Town, Leeds United |
Top Scorers
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Nathan Ellington | Wigan Athletic | 24 |
| 2005-06 | Marlon King | Watford | 21 |
| 2006-07 | Jamie Cureton | Colchester United | 23 |
Championship Stadia 2007-08
| Home Club | Stadium Name | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Wednesday | Hillsborough | 39,814 |
| Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | 33,500 |
| Coventry City | Ricoh Arena | 32,712 |
| Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,689 |
| Leicester City | Walkers Stadium | 32,500 |
| Ipswich Town | Portman Road | 30,311 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Molineux | 28,525 |
| Stoke City | Britannia Stadium | 28,383 |
| West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns | 28,003 |
| Charlton Athletic | The Valley | 27,111 |
| Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park | 26,309 |
| Norwich City | Carrow Road | 26,034 |
| Hull City | KC Stadium | 25,404 |
| Barnsley | Oakwell | 23,009 |
| Burnley | Turf Moor | 22,546 |
| Preston North End | Deepdale | 22,225 |
| Cardiff City | Ninian Park | 22,008 |
| Bristol City | Ashton Gate | 21,497 |
| Plymouth Argyle | Home Park | 20,922 |
| Watford | Vicarage Road | 19,920 |
| Queens Park Rangers | Loftus Road | 19,148 |
| Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 9,612 |
| Scunthorpe United | Glanford Park | 9,183 |
| Colchester United | Layer Road | 6,200 |
References
- ^ First fall in Premiership wages, BBC News, 31 May 2006, reporting on Deloitte's review of football finance in 2004-05.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4748403.stm
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1712938,00.html
- ^ http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsFromTheFA/Postings/2005/08/Features_ChampionshipSuccess.htm
See also
External links
- Championship official site
- Football League Championship clubs' locations
- 2005-2006 English Championship League Final Season, Team, and Player Statistics in .PDF format - (www.worldcupadvice.com)
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
