England · Tier 2 · 24 clubs
Championship
In US-sports termsLike Triple-A baseball if Triple-A had NFL-sized crowds and TV money — plus a single playoff final worth nine figures to the winner.
What it is
The second tier. 24 clubs, 46 games, widely called the most brutal league in the sport.
How you get in
Relegated from the Premier League or promoted from League One.
What it feeds
Top 2 go up automatically. 3rd–6th enter the playoffs — the final at Wembley is routinely called the richest single match in world soccer (a nine-figure revenue swing for the winner). Bottom 3 drop to League One.
Giants cycle through here constantly — Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton have all done recent stretches. Every Championship club also enters both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup every season.