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.

Where to watch · USParamount+

See it on the England map →Translate the jargon →

Standings

Final table · 2025–26 — the new season hasn't kicked off yet.

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Coventry City	46	28	11	7	+52	95
2	Ipswich Town	46	23	15	8	+33	84
3	Millwall	46	24	11	11	+15	83
4	Southampton	46	22	14	10	+26	80
5	Middlesbrough	46	22	14	10	+25	80
6	Hull City	46	21	10	15	+4	73
7	Wrexham	46	19	14	13	+4	71
8	Derby County	46	20	9	17	+8	69
9	Norwich	46	19	8	19	+7	65
10	Birmingham	46	17	13	16	+1	64
11	Swansea	46	18	10	18	-2	64
12	Bristol City	46	17	11	18	0	62
13	Sheffield Utd	46	18	6	22	0	60
14	Preston NE	46	15	15	16	-7	60
15	QPR	46	16	10	20	-12	58
16	Watford	46	14	15	17	-12	57
17	Stoke	46	15	10	21	-5	55
18	Portsmouth	46	14	13	19	-15	55
19	West Brom	46	13	14	19	-10	53
20	Charlton	46	13	14	19	-14	53
21	Leicester City	46	12	16	18	-10	52
22	Blackburn	46	13	13	20	-14	52
23	Oxford United	46	11	14	21	-14	47
24	Sheffield Wed	46	2	12	32	-60	18