The English Football League Championship, also known as the Championship, is the top tier of the English Football League (EFL) and the second-highest tier overall in the English football league system, behind the Premier League. There are 24 clubs who compete in the league throughout the season to win the title and get promoted to the Premier League.
As the 2022/23 season is underway, fans of the league all over the world can watch and bet on verified sites like www.asiabet8888.com/, where bettors from China have a plethora of reputable sites to use. Founded in 1892 as the Football League Season Division, the championship has gone through a handful of changes in its history.
The division was known as the Football League Second Division from 1892 until 1992 and the Football League First Division from 1992 until 2004, before being renamed as the Football League Championship for the 2004/05 season. The EFL Championship trophy, which was given to the English First Division champions from the league’s inception until 1992, is given to the Championship winner’s team. Welsh clubs may participate in the division, just like in other professional English football levels, making it a cross-border competition.
After the rebranding of the league in 2004/05, the first EFL title was won by Sunderland, and they were promoted to the Premier League alongside Wigan Athletic, who were witnessing a huge milestone in their history. The 2004/05 season saw massive viewership, as fans and audiences of the league increased across England and Europe. This made them among the most watched leagues in Europe in 4th place. In the same season, Championship side Millwall qualified for the UEFA Europa League, making history. In the following season, Reading finished the league with 106 points, the most in the history of the league.
In 2009 they lost major sponsors Coca-Cola, who had been in business with them since 2004, and they signed a deal with new sponsors nPower in 2010. After impressing and winning the league cup final in 2011, Wigan Athletic reached a major milestone in their history again as they competed in the group stages of the Europa league.
In 2013, the league signed its sponsorship deal with Skybet, and both parties have not looked back since. So far in the history of the league since its original Inception, Leicester City and Manchester City are tied with 7 titles each, as the clubs with the most Championship titles. The current champions of the league is Fulham, who dominated the Championship to make their way back to the Premier League.